Winning team

The winner of the 2009 Dash for Cash horse relay race on Saturday was 20-year-old Dominique Whitehorse of Kayenta.

Whitehorse, who also won last year's event, shaved four minutes off his 2008 time.

He said he probably would have crossed the finish line earlier if his horse had not accidentally stepped in some loose barbed wire.

"It kind of messed up one of his legs," he said. "Coming up this way, it's a hard ride and I didn't want to push him."

Whitehorse, who rode the entire 36.7 miles himself, took home a two-horse trailer, $3,000 in cash, and a Navajo rug with a commemorative design depicting three horse heads and the words, "Dash for Cash 09."

He won despite weighing in at 10 pounds over the usual 115 pounds he carries on his 5-foot-7 frame.

"I've been having a hard time not eating pizza," Whitehorse explained.

Riding for Whitehorse Racing One, he finished the race in 1:44:15.

Last year, he crossed the finish line in 1:48, which was the same time that his younger brother, Conrad, turned in to win the 2007 race. Dominique took second that year.

This year, Conrad's horse decided to stop during the last leg of the race, forcing him to finish the race on foot.

But Conrad, who was riding for Whitehorse Racing Eight, had company on the ground. Several other riders also had to resort to their feet when their horses balked at some point along the course.

Whitehorse Racing Eight ended 32nd among the 41 teams.

This year's second-place winner was Lionel Castillo, 17, of Star Lake, N.M., who literally rode in on the heels of Dominique Whitehorse.

Castillo, who rides for Leaning Rock Racing Team of Star Lake, turned in a time five seconds behind the leader.

Afterward, he walked over to the winner's camp, shook his hand and congratulated him.

The Whitehorses' dominance at the Dash for Cash is no fluke - Dominique also took first place for the past two years at the Little Beaver Pony Express Race, a 75-mile race held annually on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation.

This year's race is scheduled for July 17 and the Whitehorse brothers plan to enter.

Dominique credited all his success to God.

"It's a blessing," he said as he pointed at the horse trailers he won in the Pony Express races, and several horses resting and eating hay in a portable metal corral.

"I'm just putting my God first, the Lord Jesus Christ," Dominique said with a smile. "With him, all things are possible. I just thank him for the horses, trailers, and everything."

He added that it's also a lot of hard work to be a winning jockey and to care for winning horses.

"Having them healthy during race time makes a lot of difference," he noted.

Horses require training, exercise, feeding, watering, brushing, and regular hoof care.

As his family began crowding around, Dominique smiled and proudly acknowledged their support: "This is my tribe, my crew!"

Then he suddenly remembered, "I was supposed to be at a graduation today at Crownpoint."

The graduation ceremony he missed was his own - he earned an electrician certificate from Navajo Technical College.

"But I wanted to be here at the same time so I had to make a choice," he said. "And I decided to come here."

When asked if he wanted a photograph with his brothers, he immediately called out to his brothers, Conrad and Jordan, and cousin brother, Landrick Strong, who rides for Slim Racing of Tonalea, Ariz.

Jordan rode for Whitehorse Racing Two, which placed fifth in the Dash. Slim Racing placed sixth.

After the four young men finished teasing each other and jostling for camera position, Dominique shouted, "We're all Whitehorse racers!"

And then one by one they shouted, "Happy Mother's Day!"

Then Dominique turned both thumbs up and delivered a message to all the riders in the 2009 Dash for Cash: "I want to tell everybody, keep up the good work and better luck!"

He held up his right hand in a peace sign and said, "Peace!"

Dash for Cash President Chris Francis said Monday that the Whitehorse family has set the bar for excellence in horsemanship.

"Mom, dad, kids, brothers - it's a big family circle and they all just work at it," Francis said.

He acknowledged that his own family, which includes certified horse trainers and jockeys, "try to step up to that bar and even pass it."

"That's hard to do, especially with the work and effort that this family puts into it," Francis said.

He noted that people think he's the one behind Dash for Cash because he's so visible.

"It's not just me," he said. "It's a family effort. We put our hearts into it to (have it) come out the way it is."

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