The Minot Daily News article’s description of the relay events stated the horses are bred to run and they don’t hold still very long before they want to hit the track. One person is the rider and the other three are tending to the horses at the side of the track.

The race begins with the rider holding the mane of the first horse to ride and when the horn sounds, the rider leaps onto the bareback of the horse and off they go. Each horse carries the rider around the track once.

The rider then leaps from that horse and bounds to and up onto the next horse and around the track they go. The exchange takes place in a designated box marked at the start line that is also the finish line.

The Indian Horse Relay teams follow a summer and fall schedule, with races across the indigenous regions and prize money for the top finisher at each race.

by Karen LoneFight PJ Nomiee, left, with team Big Metal and Stacy Alden with team Red Man are among the competitors in the Indian Horse Relay at the MHA Nation Healing Horse Ranch near Parshall Sunday, July 20. The event was a qualifier for the North Dakota State Fair MHA Nation Indian Horse Relay, but the fair event was canceled this year due to the muddy track.

This year, the MHA Nation Indian Horse Relays at the State Fair in July were canceled due to the muddy track. A muddy track is dangerous for the riders and the horses.