Fun for all ages

Most of the people waiting on Saturday to greet competitors at the finish line of the 7th Annual Dash for Cash weren't just standing there, they were playing.

It was a moment for children of all ages, even babies who were protected from the dust and blazing sun by pieces of lightweight fabric draped over their strollers.

Nearby were parents, grandparents, older brothers and sisters, all waiting to hear announcer Bennie Begay call out the approach of another rider and horse.

The children raced to the finish line to peer down the dusty racecourse as Begay, alternating between Navajo and English, cautioned everyone to clear the track.

On any other day of the year it is just an unpaved, one-lane road leading south from U.S. Highway 160. On Saturday, it was the home stretch of a 36.7-mile horseback relay race that each year attracts some of the most skilled equestrians in Dinétah.

And people - almost all Navajo - came from as far away as Albuquerque to enjoy it.

The Dash for Cash is more than a sporting event, however, it's a community get-together that pulls in big crowds for some old-fashioned Navajo socializing.

Almost outnumbering the children were teens, who gathered in the hundreds near the finish line and sought shade under the piñon, cedar and juniper trees or walked lazily around a handful of food booths.

There were no grandstands or bleachers for the spectators who witnessed 41 riders and horses galloping at breakneck speed through a rising cloud of dust. Instead, people sat on the tailgates of pickup trucks.

The course ran west for 11.7 miles to the first exchange point, located near the Red Mesa Chapter House, then wound southward to the second exchange point a short way north of U.S. 160. From there the course crossed under the highway and then followed a roughly parallel route eastward, eventually turning south for a couple of miles to the finish line.

The teams are limited to two riders and three horses.

Post time was 8 a.m., which meant riders and their horses began arriving at the starting line about 6 a.m. Most had spent the night at the informal campground located near the finish line after hauling their mounts in stock trailers.

Near the starting line, a few locals walked among the crowd selling fresh homemade breakfast burritos.

One industrious family set up a portable butane stove and brewed coffee for sale. The light chill in the clear morning air generated steam from the strong black coffee, which is how most residents of the vast Navajo Nation prefer theirs.

C.J. Sheppard of Hard Rock, Ariz., and his wife Chelcca, Penobscot, from Maine, brought their own coffee in a thermos.

Sheppard smiled contently as he poured a cup and said, "It's espresso."

The young couple recently graduated from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe and have two boys, Haaskii, 2, and River, 9 months.

This was their first visit to the Dash for Cash, which they heard about from relatives in Hard Rock who were competing.

The team from Hard Rock was named Way Out West Trailz' Riderz. One of its two riders was 13-year-old Ray Lando, a seventh grader who weighed 95 pounds and barely cleared his horse's head when seated on its back.

Lando said this was his first time in the race.

"It runs in the family," he said. "And it's fun."

Way Out West Trailz' Riderz went on to place 16th among the 41 teams.

Another first-time Dash rider was Haaskie Littleben, 13, a seventh grader at Red Mesa Middle School. He rode for Rez Rocket Racing of Mexican Water, Utah, which placed 26th.

Rez Rocket's second rider, 16-year-old Dustin Sagg, is a junior at Red Mesa High School.

Littleben predicted that they would take first next year.

"We'll be prepared," he said, slapping his boots with his horsewhip.

Dash for Cash President Chris Francis said Monday that this year he realized that the event is "not just about horses but about family also."

WINNING TEAM: Whitehorse Racing sets horsemanship standard »

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