Sunday was a bit of a later start with our plan to arrive at the Relays at 12 noon. Initially before the trip I was told that there would be no relays which was terribly disappointing. The Relays are absolutely my favorite event—both for spectating and for screening. Upon arrival at the rez, I found out that the relays were on, and this was great news!
We received a warm welcome when paying our entry fee with the promise that we would be announced for our screening tent. With our early arrival, we had our choice of spots for canopy and ended up with a prime spectating spot right by the starting line. As promised the announcer let the crowd know that we were there and available for free screenings and free hygiene supplies. Very quickly we began to have business with many repeat screenings from past years. It’s hard to describe what makes this environment different for screenings—it is more relaxed, people are more willing to chat, and overall, it is just more open. Also, thankfully, the temp was cooler than 95 with clouds and a nice breeze.
Before we knew it, two hours plus had passed, and the races were on. One of our first screening participants parked next to us was the family member of one of the relay racing teams and had a grandson that we had watched a few years ago (when he was 2!) in the pony races. The grandson, P., was in the pony races again—he was fully dressed in racing regalia and his dad lead him during the race again. This was quite the exciting pony race, with P.’s dad falling down amongst the ponies during the race, and P. finishing second on his own in full meltdown crying. Poor baby-he probably thought that his dad had been trampled. Everyone was fine though—no injuries but just the type of excitement that we are used to at the relays!
During a lull in the activity, Suzie and I and some of the students went to the concession stand in the center infield area of the track to seek out snow cones. During this trip away from the tent, we ended up preoccupied by a month-old pony that was absolutely precious. We took so long that a race was run and completed. I happened to look up and see the majority of my students sprinting down the track—a rider in this race fell off his horse and was stepped on at the end of the race. I told Suzie that we had to go, and we walked quickly (sorry, no sprinting from me at this point). Side note: There is usually an ambulance present throughout the relays, but for some reason there was not one present this year. The students and relay officials/organizers were gathered around the rider who was screaming in pain. They had already cleaned and dressed his leg wound and done an initial survey. There was no neck injury or other injuries beyond the leg. This rider, a young Lakota man, insisted upon standing up—screaming, “I’m an f*&3@ing cowboy”. He was helped to standing and supported to be non-weight bearing and carried to a four-wheeler. It was unclear if his leg was fractured or only the wound with soft tissue injury, but it was treated like his leg was broken. After being taken off to wait for the ambulance to arrive, the students received big thank you from the relays announcer and clapping and car horn honking from the relays audience. I am very proud of their actions—they acted quickly, appropriately, and as a team. What an outstanding representation of the school and the profession of nursing. We had a visit from one of the relays officials after this incident telling us that we needed to be on stand-by in case anything else happened injury-wise since the ambulance was not present. Thank God there were no further injuries, even though the relays were some of the wildest that I have seen. Just absolute chaos and craziness.
Also, during the races, two young boys came around selling raffle tickets to try to raise money to go to compete in a horse race in Minnesota. Jordan bought $5 worth of tickets from them, and toward the end of the races, we were quite surprised when his winning ticket was drawn. He won a beautiful star quilt in white and blue tones that almost looks like a snowflake and some relay team t-shirts and a hoodie. What an end to the day at the races!
Nursing Students at Pine Ridge 