Born to Ride: Young Lakota horse racer heads to championship

Friday, September 21, 2018  

By Richie Richards
Native Sun News Today Correspondent
nativesunnews.today

RAPID CITY – A young woman from Pine Ridge has qualified to race in the champion of champions races in Walla Walla, Washington, and she has only been racing for two months.

Karlee LaRae Witt, 17, is a senior at Pine Ridge High School and has qualified to race at the Championship of Champions. This event is hosted by the Horse Nations Indian Relay Council and will be held at the Walla Walla Fairgrounds September 21 – September 23.

Witt has grown up around horses for all of her young life. She has three sisters and very supportive, parents Nicole Ward and stepdad Brady Ward. She cannot remember the first time she was led around on a horse by her mother, Nicole, but remembers those early connections she felt for her horse relatives.

“I remember my mom putting me on her grey horse by myself when I was about 3 years old,” she said.

She was born to ride and that is evident once she starts to talk about riding. During this interview for Native Sun News Today, Witt had tears in her eyes because she is a humble rider who loves her family and loves this experience of being a champion horse racer.

“I've grown up around them pretty much my whole life. My dad is a saddle bronc rider and my mom has rodeo'd pretty much her whole life,” said Witt. Her paternal grandparents Betty and Lyle Ducheneaux were some of her inspirations to continue a family legacy of horsemanship. “My grandpa did a lot with horses. He Indian relayed and used to saddle bronc too.”

Standing all of 5’2”, Karlee Witt has played sports in school, including basketball and track, but admits horse racing is her sport. Although not tall in stature, her humility and inner strength are leaps and bounds above most athletes. She has good grades and is on the honor roll despite having some challenges with school attendance. “Dave Michaud (Oglala Lakota MMA fighter and friend) wants me to wrestle. I wanted to wrestle last year but my grandma said no,” said Witt. Ironically, her grandmother feels wrestling similar sized women on a mat is not safe for Witt who races horses weighing over one thousand pounds at full speed on a dirt track.

Witt raced for the first time this summer. “I just started this year in July. I raced in Pine Ridge at Three Moccasin Park. It was during Fourth of July so it was the Firecracker Races. I won first place and that was the first time I ever raced,” she said smiling. This was all it took for Witt to become addicted to the rush of the race and the intensity of competition.

“I barrel raced when I was really young. I competed in a couple of rodeos. I work cows on horses. I just have been around a lot of horses. We move cows from one pasture to another pasture. I help give them shots and gather them up to brand them,” Witt said. Her family is heavily into ranch work and type of physical labor just comes with the territory.

The connection that any horse rider has with their horse is special and in many ways it is a sacred relationship. The communication between rider and horse is an unspoken language which travels between ones senses to the others and Witt and the horse she races, Little Wayne, is no exception.

“Me and my horse just connect. I don't really have to talk to him much because he knows what we're doing. We both have the same intentions. We're usually out in front, so I just let him do what he does and just hang on for the ride,” she said.

Hanging on for the ride is an interesting explanation for navigating the other racers, the race track conditions, environmental factors, dirt and dust, and crowd cheers and jeers. These races are often held at dusty and hot rodeo grounds next to powwows, fairgrounds and other event spaces on or near reservations.

The horse Witt races on is named little Wayne and he is approximately ten years old, according to the champion racer. He belongs to Derek Weston who is the owner and operator of Knife Chief racing team. This is who helps to manage Karlee Witt’s racing and plays a pivotal role in her budding career as a horse racer.

This past summer, Witt has spent nearly every weekend horse racing. She has raced in Batesland, Pine Ridge, Eagle Butte, Faith and Manderson to name a few. These races are generally held in conjunction with powwows, celebrations, memorials and fairs. She races in the “Maiden Race” or “Lady Race” as she calls it. She has won first place on four occasions this summer.

At 17, Witt is about the same age as other racers. “I race in the Maiden Race. We are all about the same age, but I’m pretty much the smallest. I'm like 5'2",” she said.

She does not feel her size gives her an advantage. She believes it’s the hard work at practice, the relationship with her horse and her warrior spirit which give her an edge. She is fearless.

On Sunday, September 16, Karlee Witt and her family left the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for Walla Walla, Wash. to compete in the Champion of Champions races. “I qualified by winning the first day in Pine Ridge when Horse Nations held their competition there and again in Eagle Butte. You just have to keep placing in top spots,” she said. There is a point system for certain events held throughout the racing season for riders to qualify for the event.

“I heard there are some teams from Canada coming to race. I raced against some teams from Montana and North Dakota. There are a lot of tough teams out there (Champion of Champions),” she said.

Horse racing is a traditional sport in Native American cultures. In the past, this has been a male dominated sport with male riders and men’s races taking the spotlight and media attention. The Indian relay races often over shadow the Maiden Race, but Karlee Witt wants that to change. She wants equality and fairness in the sport and expects that to change in the near future.

Contact Native Sun News Today Correspondent Richie Richards at richie4175@gmail.com

Copyright permission Native Sun News Today