Kari Gibb/MDN Chaos erupted with the horn to start the 2024 MHA Indian Relay Final at the NDSF at the Minot fairgrounds on Tuesday, July 22.

With the grandstands packed with guests from all over North Dakota, the United States and Canada, the 2024 North Dakota State Fair enjoyed a sellout crowd for the running of the MHA Indian Relay Races that featured ten teams in the men’s division and five teams in the women’s division.

The Indian Relays consist of three horses, four humans on each team and chaos on the track. The horses are bred to run and they don’t hold still very long before they want to hit the track. One of the humans is the rider. 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 men raced four heats with the winner of each heat advancing to the finals while the women raced two heats. In the women’s heats, no men are allowed to tend or assist the riders. Each of the attendees and the riders are women.

In between each heat, members of affiliated tribes dance traditional dances wearing traditional, homemade costumes, accompanied by local native singers for the audience. Many of the dancers are champions in the genre they are showcasing. Many of the singers have been part of the drum circle for decades.

In the final race of the night, team Fast Horse, team Arrow J, team Mad Bear and team Big Metal made the final cut by winning each heat previously.

The lead changed twice in the race with team Big Metal crossing the finish line in front by two horse lengths.

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