“There’s always a lot of pressure. You want to be in the top spots as much as you can because you’re competing for money. You need money to keep going, to stay on the road and to keep buying horses. So you really want to win as often as you can and stay on top,” Jackson said. While the prize money helps keep teams on the road, most competitors say relay racing is about something much bigger than winning. “This is who we are as
people. That’s what we grew up doing. Horse racing is in my blood, and being around horses and doing this for as long as I can means a lot to me as a person,” Jackson said. For Carlson, the competition is also about representing his people every time he steps onto the track. “All our tribes are here competing. This is tribe against tribe. I’m here to prove the Blackfeet are the best of the best, and we’ve proved it over the years. I’m here
to prove again that my people in Browning are the best and the best horsemen on the Plains.” You can catch relay racing every night from July 3 to July 12 after the Rangeland Derby. Email: sknox@postmedia.com X: @knoxie84
Calgary Stampede, relay racing, Rangeland Derby, Jackson, Carlson, Blackfeet, Browning
Wait so is this like regular relay like track teams or is it literally horses running??
Sounds cool but I’m confused why they need prize money to “stay on the road”??? Like you just… keep riding? Unless horses are insanely expensive (they are), but still. Either way I’ll probably check it out.
It’s basically tribal Olympics on horseback right? Like the whole “tribe against tribe” thing is what I took from it. Also Blackfeet are always the best horsemen or whatever, so I hope Carlson wins again. I mean they said over the years so it’s not like a one-off.
“Money to keep going” just feels grim to me, like why do they have to be pressured to win to afford horses?? But then they say it’s about identity and who they are, which is nice. I saw “nightly July 3 to July 12 after the Rangeland Derby” and thought it was just a weekend thing, so now I gotta adjust my plans. Also the article mentions Jackson and Carlson but I’m not sure if they’re both from the same area or not, lol.