Randy Stewart Team captures wild horse racing crown at Ceremonial

Posted by Quentin Jodie | Aug 15, 2024 | Rodeo |

CHURCH ROCK, N.M. – The draws for Sunday’s Wild Horse Race at the 102nd Annual Gallup Inter-Tribal Ceremonial Indian Rodeo were pretty even.

The competitors had their hands full in trying to handle the testy equines provided by stock contractor Beshbetoh Bucking Horses. Of the six teams that competed on Sunday, only two crossed the barrel at the other end of the arena at Red Rock Park with the Randy Stewart Team winning this year’s event.

The Randy Stewart Team consisted of mugger Marshall Allen, shanker Randy Stewart and rider Marshall Tsosie.

“Beshbetoh brought in some good bucking horses, so it was a good pen,” said Allen, who also served as the event coordinator. “We had a couple of teams that came up from the south. A lot of teams came for this show, and they like this environment.

“Ceremonial is always a good show,” he added. “It’s something that everyone wants to go to.”

The wild horse race was held on Saturday and Sunday during the four-day Ceremonial rodeo with the committee awarding cash prizes to the first- and second-place teams for the day rounds.

As the aggregate winners, the Randy Stewart Team were presented jackets and buckles as well as the winner-take-all jackpot.

“It’s good to win any rodeos that you enter,” Stewart said. “You know, I have a really good team with my nephew Marshall Allen and my in-law Marshall Allen, so this was more of a family deal.

“We have a lot of trust with each other and that is what we feed off of,” he added. “We’ve raced with each other before, so it makes it that much easier to work together.”

And while Allen has been competing all year, this was Stewart’s second time racing this year.

“I’m getting back into it,” Stewart said. “We’re looking forward to finishing out the year with the different rodeos coming up.”

The winning team drew one of the strongest horses in the pen and they were able to get control of their onery equine.

“We were finally able to shut him down to get our rider on him,” Allen said. “We had a good horse but at the end of the day it’s more about how well you can trust each other.”

They also had a plan going into Sunday’s competition as Tsosie was nursing an ankle injury he sustained on Saturday afternoon. After successfully getting across the barrel, the 24-year-old rider twisted his ankle while dismounting the wild equine on the first day of the competition.

“My ankle is swollen, and it’s blue,” Tsosie said. “Today, I really couldn’t squeeze my legs, so I was trying to hold on with my hands. It kind of made it harder to ride, but either way I was happy that we were able to get our horse to ride across the barrel.”

Tsosie said the plan was to keep their draw near the bucking chutes, so he didn’t have to run as much.

“I just told them to grab him quick, and they got that horse down pretty easy,” Tsosie said. “As long as they did their job, I can do my own job.”

As for his dismount on Sunday, he took a tuck-and-roll approach to get down.

“There was nothing to it,” he said. “I just had to hit the ground with my body and hope for the best.”