Indian relay thrills crowd at Browning rodeo

Along the rodeo circuit the loudest cheers are usually reserved for the roughstock events.

Both saddle bronc and bull riding give spectators an exciting blend of athleticism and skill, mixed with enough danger to keep fans on the edge of their seats.

But at the North American Indian Days Rodeo (NAID) a different event is almost guaranteed to get the crowd to their feet. The Indian relay one of the most anticipated events at Native American rodeos across the western United States.

Part horse race, part bronc riding, Indian relay is a team event that tests both speed and skill — and is dangerous enough that spectators are warned to keep at least three-feet back from the racetrack railing.

Four to eight teams of four people each enter the arena for each relay heat. The goal is for a single rider from each team to circle the track three times using a different horse for each lap. All the horses are ridden bareback and the first man to cross the finish line after completing three laps is the winner.

It sounds simple enough, but the event nearly always includes collisions and downed riders.

"It's about as exciting as it can get," said Carol Murray, organizer of this year's NAID Indian relay. "There's a potential for falls and a potential for a horse to run off without its rider. It's all part of the event."

In addition to the rider, each team also consists of a "mugger" who grabs the rider's horse as he leaps off to mount the next one, and two "holders" who do their best to calm the horses as riders speed in and leaps from one animal to the next.

The greatest potential for wrecks or lost horses is during this exchange of horses. The riders come flying in, try to avoid crashing into other horses entering and exiting the exchange area, fling themselves onto the next horse and race off as quickly as possible. It's a blur of dust and sweat staged right in front of the grandstands — something akin to a mid-race pit stop at a stock car race.

"Their might be a crash, a rider might lose his horse, the rider may not be able to get on for some odd reason, but as long as they get back on and their horse doesn't get away they stay in the race," Murray said.

Indian relay was once a fairly common event at rodeos across Montana, including the Montana State Fair in Great Falls. Today it can only be witnessed at Indian rodeos or at the Northwest Montana Fair in Kalispell. But Indian Relay is starting to come back.

"They run it at the Pendleton Roundup in Oregon and the Calgary Stampede is looking at us for a new event next year," Murray said. "Last year for the first time ever we had a 30-team relay event in Sheridan, Wyoming. It was so successful that this year we're moving it to the Billings Metra on Sept. 17-20."