Indian Relay (DVD)

From the bitter cold of winter on the Rocky Mountain front to the heat and mayhem of the summer's championship races in Montana and Idaho, Indian Relay follows three teams from different American Indian communities as they prepare for and compete in a grueling Indian Relay season. A mix of high-speed daring and exquisite horsemanship, Indian Relay is a sport widely enjoyed and practiced by men and women from tribal nations across the Rocky Mountain West. Each race begins with up to eight Indian athletes riding a horse bareback around a track at full gallop. After one lap, barely slowing down, the riders leap from their speeding horses to a second set of horses. Each team's "mugger" must then catch the first horse or the team will be disqualified, creating a chaotic melee of up to 32 people and 24 thoroughbreds in front of the grandstands. Another top-speed lap, another daring horse change, and the teams race for the finish line, at speeds topping 40 miles an hour.