The Brew Crew, a team of Oglala horse men, took home the Indian Relay World Championship title earlier this month in Sheridan, Wyoming.
Brew Crew win world championship
By Brandon Ecoffey
LCT Editor SHERIDAN, WYO—After four days of racing, a team of Oglala Lakota riders, outlasted their Crow, Arapahoe, and Northern Cheyenne pursuers to take home the title of Indian Relay World Champions. If you have not had the pleasure of watching an Indian relay you are missing out on seeing some of the top horses and riders in the entire country. During the course of these relays a team consisting of anywhere from 5-8 assist a single rider across a course where he is required to exchange his switch horses at two separate half mile intervals after mounting his first horse at the start of the race. The team that was made up of owners/ trainers Stan Brewer and G. W. Ecoffey, as well as two time world champion rider Hermis Tall, catcher Trey Goings, and chaser JB chase alone overcame a bad first exchange to take home the crown. After a strong start that saw rider Hermis Tall take the lead early on the back of the Brew Crew’s lone quarter horse, a slight mishap nearly knocked the team from Pine Ridge out of the competition.
Hermis Tall, left, rides out front in this Indian relay race from 2014. Photo from Professional Indian Horse Racing Association / Facebook
“On our first exchange (Hermis) jumped and fell on the ground and it allowed Red Bone to take the lead. It looked bad. We fell behind by about ten lengths,” said Stand Brewer. Despite the fall, experience took over as Tall mounted one of the Brew Crew’s elite through bred horses provided by Brewer racing and the storied Ecoffey racing stable. The big horse ran down the competition during the second half-mile split. As the horses rushed towards the final exchange the image of the Oglala rider being pursued by a group of Crow elicited feelings of nostalgia amongst those in attendance as they rose to their feet for the final exchange. As luck would have it the Brew Crew’s horses lined up perfectly as a result of the Brew Crew’s placement and Tall was able to make a nearly flawless transfer on to the back of the final through bred. The Brew Crew would not surrender the lead from again as Tall put distance between him and his opponents and secured a comfortable win. “Hermis is proving himself as the best rider in the entire country,” said Brewer. Brewer would go on to note that the team went to Montana two weeks ago where they ran three days of relays and ended up second amongst the 20 teams they competed against there. The run of solid finishes and the big victory this past week lines has the Brew Crew riding confident heading in to the World Indian Relay Finals that will take place later this year in Billings, Montana.
An Indian relay race from 2014. Photo from Professional Indian Horse Racing Association / Facebook
“We do this for the kids to provide them with an example of something positive that they could also achieve if they work hard,” said Brewer. I want to thank everybody who has made donations to us and to our support crew for always being there and for everything they do.” Although the support crew consists of people who are both near and far from the races Brewer noted that his wife Ella, his son parker, and Will Du Brewer have been in attendance at every race the team has run. (Contact Brandon Ecoffey at editor@lakotacountrytimes.com) Find the award-winning Lakota Country Times on the Internet, Facebook and Twitter.
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