Horse relay revival

One of the most nailbiting, adrenaline-pumping and sheerly breathtaking sports returns to North Dakota this summer – the Indian Relay.

Often called “America’s first extreme sport” and one of the nation’s oldest sports, Indian Relay is having a modern revival.
 

Events on the horse relay circuit will be held in North Dakota this summer and across the Upper Great Plains, the West and into Canada. Chippewa Downs on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation hosts an Indian Relay event for a fifth year in 2025. Teams from across the state and country come to compete, many hoping to secure a spot in the Horse Nations Indian Relay Council Championship of Champions competition in Casper, Wyo.

“Don’t blink,” says Steve Herman, event coordinator for Chippewa Downs and horseman himself, or you might miss this face-paced event.

Teams line up to start, with the rider standing on the ground next to the horse. When the horn blows, the riders launch themselves onto their horse’s back – and the horses run. Soon, they’re galloping full speed around the track with no saddle to hold the riders in place.

“As soon as you are swinging on, you can feel the horse’s heartbeat as you guys are in sync, and once you can hear the horses running behind you … just feeling the power, there’s nothing to compare it to,” says Jessee Vigen, an Indian Relay rider from Mandaree.

Standard Indian Relay teams consist of four individuals – a rider, a mugger and two holders – and several horses. The number of horses and laps varies by age and group, but the standard is three horses and three laps. At the end of the lap, the horse and rider approach full speed to where their team waits, with boxes drawn in flour to mark their spots. A mugger grabs the running horse as the rider jumps off and, in just a couple of steps, launches onto the next horse, hanging on as the horse breaks free from the holder and takes off around the track.

One bad handoff, or a loose horse, can make or break a team’s chance of winning. And a wrong move in a swarm of 1,200-pound animals can be extremely dangerous.

“Even though you are scared, you know your horse will take care of you, and the horse will know that you take care of them,” Vigen says.

But it’s more than an adrenaline rush for the competitors: It’s about culture and relationships with their thoroughbred teammates.

“It’s part of our culture,” says Hailey Vigen, Jessee’s sister and fellow competitor. “You are super close (with the horses), because you have to trust them. We know all their different personalities, their quirks, everything. Because all Native people, we come from a horse background, and we are all very good horse people, and we are really proud of that. So, I think it is an important thing to bring that back to everyone.”

According to Calvin Ghost Bear, president of the Horse Nations Indian Relay Council, each tribal nation has its own interpretation and history of the sport. Ghost Bear is from the Sioux Tribe, and their history with the race goes back to war and battles with the U.S. cavalry.

“We were going into raids and different things, we always had fresh horses. I was told the real name of the race is ‘Running into the Fight,’” Ghost Bear says.

“Our Tribe tries to do a lot of things and bring our culture into everything they do, to try and bring the younger generation in, because like anything else, it just kind of dwindles away,” Herman says.

This year, the Indian Relay event at Chippewa Downs will be held Sept. 6 and 7. Chippewa Downs is served by North Central Electric Cooperative. Find other events and more information online at horsenationsindianrelay.com.

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Kennedy DeLap is interning with North Dakota Living. She can be reached at kdelap@ndarec.com.

See the Indian Relay at the state fair
In addition to the Indian Relay event Sept. 6 and 7 at Chippewa Downs, located between Shell Valley and Belcourt, spectators can catch the Indian Relay at the North Dakota State Fair in Minot this summer.

For the third year in a row, the fair will host the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara Indian Horse Relay on Tuesday, July 22, at the grandstand. Visit ndstatefair.com/mha-indian-horse-relay for more information.