Horse riders compete in world horse racing championship. Photo COURTESY/Tommy Robinson
Lakota War Path Team wins world horse races
By David Michaud
Native Sun News Correspondent Horse racers come in all shapes and sizes, but the best bareback riders have always come from the Great Plains. This year that remains true, as the winners of the Indian Relay World Championships. Running for four days, the Lakota War Path team won every heat they competed in en route to taking the championship. The dominant display was not a surprise either. Lakota War Path, owned by Calvin Ghost Bear and captained by his son Don Ghost Bear, has been winning all year. They are currently leading the points standing in the Professional Indian Horse Racing Association. So another win was more than expected. “Being that close to world champions last year, we ended up losing by twenty feet, it made us hungry,” said Calvin Ghost Bear. “An old man said he never saw anyone sweep all the races last year and it put more pressure on the team. We have been working our horses all year after that loss it drove us and made us work harder. We wanted to go back and win every heat again but this year and get the championship too.” In order to pull off the sweep they aimed for there was a total of four races they had to win; the finals and the three heat races. They're all timed and the five fastest teams make it to the championships on Saturday. “This year there was 18 teams, normally 20 but they're narrowing it down,” said Ghost Bear. “It's run over four days. They do that before the rodeo and there are thousands of the fans in attendance for the races.” During the races the riders must exchange horses three times per race. The rider does one lap on each horse and most races are won and lost on the exchanges. The rider for Lakota War Path, Hermis Tall was far and away the best. He was off his first horse and back on his next in the time it took most other to racers dismount. Ghost Bear had only good things to say about their team’s rider. “It helps to have a rider like Hermis Tall. He's got a gift. He broke a lot of our relay horses so he knows their likes and dislikes. I bred most of the relay horses within our program and we raised them up from babies. Hermis continues to work with them daily and practice with them with the rest of the relay team.” That is a big part of the championship, the training. Taking care of the horses and getting them ready for the races is much more important than just the night of the race. Like any other athletes, if the horses aren't prepared they can't perform at the highest level. That comes down to knowing when to work them, when to rest them and giving them the right feed. Another thing that was a little different for Lakota War Path is that, although they ran together last year, they hadn't been running together this year until the championships. The Ghost Bear team had been dealing with some injuries, the holder and jockey got into a collision a few weeks ago and was unable to perform at the World Championships so that made the team up of a “who's who” in Oglala Lakota Horse racing come together. “Stan Brewer joined us last year and it was only fitting that we team up again this year for the Sheridan event. It took four of our horses and two of theirs. It was the same team that got second last year though so it worked out perfect,” said Ghost Bear. So perfect in fact, it culminated in Tall coming in first: A moment that was a year later than expected but none the less amazing. “It was really emotional for my wife and for me,” said Ghost Bear. “You go through so much throughout the years trying to improve your program and when it finally comes together like this it's special. It was one of those things where you might not ever reach it again, but you enjoy it and live for the moment. We combined and it worked out for the best.” “The Lakota War Path Racing Team from the Oglala Nation...we won the championship. It's something that throughout Indian Country they will be recognized, that we have good horses and riders.” “We had a lot of support, the Wilson family, my mom, the Brewer family, all the boys from the Pine Ridge Reservation that came down to the races. I cannot thank them enough. They gave us encouragement that kept us going and kept us strong,” said Ghost Bear. “We could not have done it without everyone behind us and everyone who helps us out at the ranch. It was because of all of them that we got this big win.” (Contact David Michaud at staffwriter2@nsweekly.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
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