Sixteen-year-old Carter Houle, of team Wild and Green representing the Kehewin Cree Nation, celebrates Sunday as he heads toward the finish line in first place in the championship race of the Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede's inaugural Indian Relay Racing event.--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
Sunday’s champ of Medicine Hat’s inaugural Indian Relay Racing even says part of his winning strategy involves getting an early lead out the gate to hopefully avoid the inevitable chaos that ensues after each half-mile lap.
Sixteen-year-old Carter Houle, from team Wild and Green representing the Kehewin Cree Nation in northern Alberta, says the key to winning the relay-style horse race is to be first off the horse and onto the next horse while other racers get tangled-up in all the disorder occurring in front of a cheering grandstand.
“Try to come in first,” says Houle, as if it were just that easy. “So you don’t have to worry about everybody looking around, pulling up your horse so you’re not hitting them, you’re not cutting them off.”
The weekend event was the first time a Medicine Hat audience was able to witness the Indian Relays, with Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede partnering with Travel Alberta to host two days of racing between 20 top teams, offering a $50,000 prize pool.
The sport has been dubbed ‘North America’s original extreme sport,’ and pays homage to the spiritual importance of horses in Indigenous culture.
On paper the relay races seem simple: up to five riders race with only their regalia around the half-mile track, switching their horse every lap. The first rider to complete three laps wins.
However, in reality, nothing about the sport is simple. The true chaos unfolds in the ‘exchange’ area where riders leap off their horses to jump onto a waiting horse for the next lap. This can be compared to a ‘pit stop’ in car racing, however instead of cars, the exchange area looks like a cluster of large thoroughbred horses kicking up dust from their front and rear legs, neighing loudly along the way.
Teammates do their best to keep horses calm during the exchange and act as a ‘pit crew’ during the transfer.
That’s why Houle emphasized the importance of leading the race early, mostly to avoid split-second collisions that can cost riders their position.
“It’s fast, anything could happen in a matter of seconds,” he says. “If you have the lead, you mess up, you can go straight to last place.”
Houle says that’s what makes Indian Horse Relay racing such an exciting sport.
“I have a lot of adrenaline going through me, a lot of excitement,” says Houle. “You can’t really get too cocky or anything, you just have to keep your mind clear.”
The Medicine Hat race marked Houle’s second win of the season, entering the event after finishing first in Morley earlier this month.
Medicine Hat’s inaugural races featured 20 teams competing across nine races. Between races were several performances by jingle dancers, fancy dancers, boy’s grass dancers and drumming performances by the Wild Tongues.
The two-day event also featured an Indigenous Market featuring a handful of traditional artists. Stampede staff worked with community partners, volunteers and Indigenous leaders and experts to help the event be a cultural experience that honoured the culture of Indian Relay Racing.
