Horse Racing on the Navajo Nation

Horse racing on the Navajo Nation, the largest Indian reservation in the United States, is a tradition that goes back hundreds of years, to when the Spanish Conquistadors brought horses to the New World. The sport has waxed and waned through the years and is currently enjoying a resurgence. St. Michael's, Arizona, USA. 09/09/2007.

Horse racing on the Navajo Nation, the largest Indian reservation in the United States, is a tradition that goes back hundreds of years, to when the Spanish Conquistadors brought horses to the New World. The sport has waxed and waned through the years and is currently enjoying a resurgence.

Navajo horse racing is nothing like horse racing at a conventional track. Instead of running on a grass oval, Navajo horses are run on an unimproved track through the forests and deserts of the reservation. Races are anywhere from a mile to 25 miles or more.

These photos were made at a Navajo horse race near St. Michael's, a small town on the reservation about 15 miles from Window Rock, the Navajo administrative capitol.