Relayhorse e-magazine March 2018 RHeM Feb 2018 2 26 2 | Page 9

Abrahamson. It also becomes a challenge to balance his schoolwork.
“It’s hard. I try to finish everything by Friday or even Thursday. One race
was in Pendleton during exam week. It was tough. I didn’t really get to
study.”
They took first place in Indian Relay at Pendleton Roundup this fall,
however, and Abrahamson is also doing well in his courses. He treats his
academics with equal dedication and has found success in the classroom
as well as on the racetrack. Abrahamson was nominated by his tribe for
the MOU Tribal Scholarship and was selected for the WSU Tribal Nation
Building Leadership Program that prepares students with the skills need-
ed to be future tribal leaders. He plans to use his mechanical engineering
degree to go back and work on his reservation as an engineer at Grand
Coulee Dam. His engineer’s salary will go to “buy more horses and better
horse trailers.”
When on the track, Abrahamson does his best to stay focused on the
race and use the other competitors as a source of motivation, adding,
“everyone makes everyone better and we kind of push each other.” The
final event for Indian Relay 2017 was the “Champion of Champions Indian
Relay Race” in Billings, MT, during the last weekend of September, host-
ed by the Horse Nations Indian Relay Council.
Before the race, there was an issue of whether or not the rain was going
to be a tough factor all weekend. There were weather predictions for
possible rain all weekend. Because of the heavy rainfall, the dirt track at
the MetraPark stadium turned into thick mud before the weekend came.
Race officials decided to still hold the race. For his team, Abrahamson
recalls racing in mud before but not to the extent of the thickness there.
“[The mud] was so deep and muddy. We just wanted to keep the horses
safe.” To do so, the team made sure they wrapped the horse’s ankles
well to give them stability and strength to combat the track.
While at the “Champion of Champions” race, Abrahamson Relay had a
couple goals in mind: to do better than last year’s race and to continue
their winning streak that they were currently on.
“We just wanted to keep our motivation, everything going… as we went
into the race.”
Last year, the team’s horse collided with another team’s and did not qual-
ify for the final round of the relays so the stakes were even higher this
year. When it was time for the last round of racing for the weekend, the
team did their best to keep their excitement and nerves at bay.
“We had a lot of momentum going into that last race,” said Abrahamson,
adding that his team won both of their heats prior to the final round and
were feeling pretty confident going into the last race of the 2017 season.
As the race played out, Abrahamson broke off from the pack relatively
early to take home the win! Abrahamson Relay has now successfully won
the title of “Champion of Champions” among numerous other accolades
they have won this season. Congrats, Scott!
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