Teams are made up of one rider, one mugger, two holders, and three horses. At the end of each lap, the rider must leap off their horse and onto a different horse for the next lap. That’s where the pandemonium happens: holders getting knocked over, catchers getting stepped on and horses racing off with no riders. It’s exhilarating, it’s dangerous, it’s technically demanding, and when a transition is executed flawlessly, the roar from the grandstands is deafening.

“For us Native American people, not just the Colville Tribe, but every tribe, we are people of the horse, so now we’ve got to go out and prove it, be the best horseman we can be,”
–TINY Williams.

“I take care of the youth, that’s what I was taught. Racing, teaching, keeping them busy, that’s what we do, so they don’t have to rely on alcohol to go have fun. I haven’t had a drink in 24 years and if I can teach them that, then my people are getting better.”
–Tiny Williams

“We compete to see who is the better tribe. Everybody that’s part of Colville, if I'm Colville blood, they’re my family, blood or not. If a Colville member wins it, we all win it. We don’t share no prize, but we share the pride.” – Kamiuse Pakootas