The Globe and Mail
Indigenous relay racing is a fast and frantic display of horsemanship with a long history steeped in cultural significance.
The sport, which goes by the name Indian relay, is much like an Olympic relay race, except instead of a team of runners taking turns, these races feature one rider who switches between three different horses. Both riders and animals are typically adorned with traditional Indigenous dress and paintings, such as hand prints and stripes.
The thoroughbred horses are ridden unsaddled, with the jockey holding on by sheer strength and skill during a lap of the track at full gallop. The jockey then hops off the horse as it skids to a stop and jumps onto a new horse for the next lap.
Leah Hennel/The Globe and Mail
Top: Rufus Pretty Young Man Jr. tapes one of the Pretty Young Man relay team's horses before their race. Bottom: Brooker Pretty Young Man, left, Tyler Leather, jockey, and Jarrett Pretty Young Man practise at Rufus Pretty Young Man Sr., house on the Siksika First Nation on Aug. 31, 2021.Leah Hennel/The Globe and Mail
Three other team members act as supports: the mugger catches the first horse as the rider finishes a lap, the setter steadies the second horse for the rider to mount, while a back-holder controls the third horse as it waits its turn. Teams compete against as many as four others during a race.
Indigenous relay has long been popular in the U.S. and has gained momentum in Canada, making its debut at the Calgary Stampede in 2017. The relay racing circuit runs through the summer across Western Canada. This included a two-day Extreme Indian Relay event on Enoch Cree Nation, near Edmonton, in September. Jason Doore and his team, Pretty Young Man of the Siksika First Nation, near Calgary, were among the competitors.
As the team’s owner, Mr. Doore doesn’t participate in the races himself. He loves the action and athleticism of relay racing, but says it’s the chance to reunite with extended family while camping over a number of days of competition that he enjoys the most.
Leah Hennel/The Globe and Mail
Top: Indigenous relay teams race during the Extreme Indian Relay at Enoch Park race track on Sept. 4, 2021. Bottom: Jason Doore, owner of team Pretty Young Man paints his family's traditional markings on the horses before the team races.Leah Hennel/The Globe and Mail
“It’s the family-knit gatherings that’s good about it, because everybody comes,” Mr. Doore says. “They all gather at a race. Sometimes we have a meal.”
It’s a family gathering on the track, too.
Mr. Doore’s nephew Tyler Leather is the team’s jockey. Jarrett Pretty Young Man, the oldest son of Mr. Doore and his wife, Louise, is the mugger, while son Brooker Pretty Young Man serves as setter. Mr. Doore’s nephew Rufus Pretty Young Man Jr. is the team’s back-holder.
In the Indigenous relay race, the actions of every team member have to be coordinated perfectly and carried out at top speed.
It’s a major accomplishment just to finish a race. And though every precaution is taken, there’s always the chance that something could go wrong. But for members of the Pretty Young Man team, the excitement of racing is worth the risk.
“It’s just a thrill – the adrenalin,” says Mr. Doore. “We love running horses.”
Leah Hennel/The Globe and Mail
Top: Tyler Leather, jockey, for the Pretty Young Man relay team wrangles their horses ahead of the relay. Bottom: Louise Doore helps jockey Tyler Leather, seated, get ready for the race.Leah Hennel/The Globe and Mail
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