Worst Seat In The House: A very unique racing event

It was a very busy weekend to say the least, with high school football on Friday night followed by a road trip to Moscow on Saturday. My teams didn’t fare well this weekend but they were also non-league affairs so there is still time to clean things up so to speak.

On Sunday my wife and I traveled to Walla Walla for what turned out to be one of the most exciting events that I have ever witnessed. We went to the Championship of Champions Indian Relay Races. This weekend was the finals for 40 tribal teams from the USA and Canada.

I’ve been to rodeos and I’ve been to horse races before but I certainly didn’t have a clue as to what would take place at the Walla Walla Fairgrounds on Sunday.

All of the racing would be done on bareback horses as in no saddles whatsoever. The preliminary events saw 50 yard foot races to where the horses were and the young Indian men would jump on the horse and race around the track to the finish line. This was followed by women’s races and the first relays that were done with kids aged 4-10. Some were riding miniature ponies while others rode ponies that were still growing. These kids gave it everything they had. A few were thrown from their horse and needed to track them down to finish the race in order to get paid.

The kids’ relay was the first that involved more than one horse per rider and the track was shortened by a bunch. It was amazing how fast those little ponies ran.

There was a short intermission followed by the main events which were 4 consolation rounds and a championship race. Onto the track teams were introduced that consisted of holders and a mugger and a jockey. Each team had three horses. At the starting line were the jockey and a teammate holding onto the horse. There were usually 6 teams racing each event. At the edge of the track were the other individuals holding onto the other two horses. For a six team race there were 18 horses either racing or at track side.

Most all of the horses seemed to have a bit of wild in them and they were at times antsy and tough to control or maybe they just wanted to get out and run. When the horn sounded the jockeys would jump on the horse and sprint round the track. When they got around to the grandstands the jockey would dismount and a mugger would grab the horse that just took the lap. These guys were dismounting and sprinting to the next horse and they would take off again.

The dismount timing was important but getting on the next horse is where the adrenaline rush came into play at least for the fans it was. Some of these guys jumped up on the side but the winner of the championship round reminded me of the good guy with the white hat chasing the bad guy as he leaped on to the horse from the rear and bam he was gone.

The athleticism was remarkable. What was very evident is that in order for the riders to have any sort of chance to win these races they needed to get on the next horse quickly otherwise they would lose valuable time even if they had the fastest horse. More than one team went from first to third by not mounting the next horse quickly enough.

The races were exciting and dangerous. A holder for the consolation championship team got hit by a horse and rider as that jockey was getting ready to dismount. I can guarantee you that no NFL running back, receiver or QB got hit as hard as that guy did on Sunday. He made it to the photo area with a little help before getting into the ambulance.

The Indian horse relay races were some of the most exciting events I’ve ever witnessed. The athleticism was unbelievable and the sportsmanship and respect was evident. They are hoping to have the event back in Walla Walla next year and if they do we’ll be there again.