♪♪
♪♪
THOMPSON: Horses and
humans have traveled through time...
as partners.
But the wild animal
we tamed long ago...
♪♪
Has now become over 400 breeds.
♪♪
And they couldn't
be more different.
♪♪
My name is Niobe Thompson.
I'm an anthropologist.
I'm amazed at the
incredible diversity of horses.
♪♪
[Neighing]
♪♪
Join me on a journey
into our history...
together.
♪♪
Discover how we've
shaped horses.
♪♪
And they've shaped us.
♪♪
[Theme plays]
♪♪
THOMPSON: In the last
episode, I traveled back in time
to the dawn of horses.
Amazing.
I've never seen such
a well-preserved fossil
from this era.
I learnt how a tiny creature
of the tropical forest...
evolved to become the great
grassland runner we know today.
♪♪
I got to know some
very fast horses...
♪♪
And discovered how
this huge animal...
practically flies.
LAMBERT: It reaches a
point where it's beyond control.
♪♪
THOMPSON: It turns out,
horses can read our emotions.
McCOMB: Horses are eavesdropping
on the human world all the time.
THOMPSON: In the
wild, their social nature
helps them survive.
And I was amazed to see
how trusting a horse can be...
when you find a common language.
ANDERSON: I wanna be hooked
up to these not through a rope.
Through their mind.
THOMPSON: From their
incredible power and speed...
to their remarkable
intelligence...
to their gentle, social nature.
It's no surprise we built
our world with horsepower.
♪♪
The bond we formed with
this aristocrat of animals...
is a perfect match.
But how did it all begin?
How did we harness
the gifts of the horse?
♪♪
For millions of years,
wild horses thrived
on endless grasslands
around the planet.
♪♪
They lived in a world
without humans.
♪♪
We came much later.
♪♪
As we entered new
lands, we met new animals.
♪♪
But no animal made
a bigger impression...
than these.
♪♪
With time, horses and
humans became best friends.
♪♪
But it's that first meeting
that fascinates me.
When our ancestors
left their African home,
and met horses
for the first time,
well, it was
love at first sight.
We were obsessed with horses.
In fact, the first piece of
art to depict a living thing,
the first figurative
art, was this...
A tiny, beautiful
figurine of a wild horse
living somewhere in
Europe 35,000 years ago.
[Birds chirping]
♪♪
Our ancestors studied
every living thing in their world.
It was a matter of survival.
To hunt we had to
understand our prey.
But horses were different.
♪♪
These majestic animals
sparked something new in us.
A spark of inspiration.
♪♪
The Ardeche Gorge
in Southern France.
Where Chauvet
Cave has been called
the "Sistine Chapel
of the Stone Age".
The original drawings
are too sensitive to visit,
but here we can
see a perfect replica
of the earliest art
humans ever created.
♪♪
When you look at
this marvelous wall,
you see all of the major animals
of the Stone Age world depicted.
You've got reindeer
and mammoths, big cats.
But the horse seems to
play the most prominent role.
Now, I thought that
was in my imagination,
but then I saw something just
down there that convinced me.
There it is.
They've saved this alcove
like an altar for a single animal.
And it's a horse.
Horses are the
stars of Ice Age art.
Our ancestors
drew them perfectly.
And more than any other animal.
DR. FLOSS: This will be
the first horses in the cave.
They depicted this
horse with their fingers.
THOMPSON: Ya.
German archaeologist Harold
Floss has studied Chauvet
since its discovery
in the 1990s.
DR. FLOSS: Horses were important
for the nutrition of these people.
They hunted horses and
they knew horses very well.
But I am sure that
nutrition is not all.
These guys had a spiritual
connection with these animals.
THOMPSON: It must have
been the case with these people
that everything has a spirit.
The features of the landscape,
the creeks and rivers,
everything carries a spirit.
DR. FLOSS: Exactly.
And animals too.
THOMPSON: Ya.
DR. FLOSS: But you
are k*lling these animals...
♪♪
And there may rise a problem,
which you have to resolve.
♪♪
And this is, in
my point of view,
one of the main reasons
Palaeolithic art is existing.
THOMPSON: Once,
we hunted horses.
♪♪
But what we left on
the wall of this cave
hinted at a new future.
A time when our bond
with this sacred animal
would be transformed.
♪♪
At the end of the Ice Age,
grasslands became forests.
♪♪
Horses evolved in the Americas.
But there, they
disappeared completely.
Only a handful survived
on the grassland
steppes of Central Asia.
And that is where humans
domesticated the wild horse
We know this because we've
discovered their ancient home.
A place called
Botai, in Kazakhstan.
♪♪
On the fragments of
pottery they left behind,
scientists discovered
the remains of milk.
Horse milk.
And you can't milk a wild horse.
[Neighing]
♪♪
We had harnessed horsepower.
♪♪
For humans who traveled by
foot, riding changed everything.
We discovered speed
and conquered distance.
Now, the horse shaped our world.
And with time, we
shaped the horse
for our needs.
New breeds helped humans
survive in new environments.
And eventually, horses took us
to some truly extreme places.
♪♪
Places like this.
♪♪
Yakutia, in Russia's Arctic.
♪♪
Here, extreme cold has
created a very special horse.
But to find it
takes a thousand-mile
journey from the nearest airport.
♪♪
THOMPSON: I've come all this
way to see a man called Alexei.
Where I come from,
we'd call him a cowboy,
and we'd call this a ranch.
But it's not cows
that Alexei is running.
It's horses.
In fact, he has one of the
biggest herds in all of Yakutia.
place that humans inhabit.
And I want to see
how he does it.
♪♪
Well, there's Alexei.
He's just bringing a
herd of yearlings in.
He's the man we've come to meet.
Alexei tells me his
people came here
eight centuries ago.
They fled violence in Mongolia,
riding north into
the Siberian forest.
They were completely
reliant on their horses
for transport and for food.
Today, little has changed.
It's so cold. It's so cold.
I mean, I knew it would be cold,
but nothing really prepares you.
Under the midday sun,
it warms to minus 40.
Overnight, it will
fall to minus 50.
Even under all this frost,
these horses seem content.
But the humans need a break.
Alex and his father
tell me their ancestors
had no intention of settling
in the coldest place on Earth.
But I'm curious.
What kind of horse
can survive that?
♪♪
[Calling]
The humans who live here
use technology to survive.
Warm clothing.
Shelter.
But not horses.
They had to evolve...
Their bodies had to change.
♪♪
In this intense cold, Yakutian
horses have gotten smaller,
their legs shorter.
♪♪
The shape Nature
chose here isn't elegant...
but it works.
During the long winter,
they reduce their metabolism.
Yet they stay on their feet.
This unique behavior is
called standing hibernation,
and no other horses do it.
It's a textbook example
of natural selection.
Without it, Yakuts may
never have survived
in this environment.
It's amazing.
An Arctic horse
that made an Arctic people.
But really, shaping a special
breed for a special place
isn't uncommon at all.
Every horse culture
creates its own horses.
♪♪
Some love the cold.
And some love the heat.
Arabia.
One of the hottest
places on Earth.
A world without water.
♪♪
But even here, you find people.
I've come to the Arabian Desert
to meet a remarkable breed.
A horse that makes
it possible to survive
where no human
could survive alone.
♪♪
This is the homeland
of the Bedouin.
Beyond the oases,
the Bedouin could only
survive by constantly moving.
So for thousands of years,
they have lived on horseback.
[Conversing in Arabic]
The endless migrations
of the Bedouin
have shaped a
special kind of horse.
♪♪
♪♪
A desert breed.
The Arab.
The Arab horse is famous for
being hardy, spirited and fast.
♪♪
No matter how hot it gets,
these horses just love to run.
♪♪
Arabs are called 'hot blood',
and most people think
that refers to their character,
their personality.
But when I think of the features
that... Oh, come over here...
The features that these
men prize in an Arab horse,
they're really about
dealing with the heat.
So these high fine ears,
this fine facial structure,
these big nostrils and
then even the high tail there.
All of these features are
the architecture of a horse
that's built to shed heat
in a hot environment.
And I think that's why
this horse is having
a much better time
then I am in this climate.
Aren't you? Yeah.
Arabs are one of
the oldest breeds.
They've been carrying humans
through these scorching deserts
for at least 2,000 years.
Like Yakutians in the Arctic,
this is an extreme horse...
created by an extreme world.
♪♪
After a long day in the
saddle, we're all sore.
But the horses seem just fine.
These are tough animals.
Without them, we
wouldn't be here.
Even though we're
out of the saddle,
we're still talking
about horses.
My guides tell me
a Bedouin legend.
They call a mare Banat er
rih: "daughter of the wind."
Their horses move like a storm.
That is why they give
us the power of flight...
without wings.
♪♪
It's not hard to see
why the Bedouin believe
God made horses just for them.
♪♪
But science tells us,
this breed is simply
Nature's answer to an
extreme environment.
Bred for the desert, Arab
horses just happen to be
absolutely gorgeous.
♪♪
But in different
parts of the world,
you find completely
different horses.
Like Icelandics...
and Fjords.
Horses with a 2,000-year
history of putting up with weather
in Scandinavia.
With a shape like this, you'd
think these were little ponies.
You'd be wrong.
♪♪
Weather shaped horses.
But so did we.
Breeds were created
for some very special jobs.
The beautiful Friesian,
bred to carry 250 kilos of
armored knight into battle.
Bred today... for looks.
♪♪
Or the Drum horse.
Created...
just to carry the regimental
drums of the Queen's bodyguard.
♪♪
This one's a star.
The Quarterhorse.
With the power
to turn on a dime.
And accelerate.
♪♪
Aristocratic breeds.
Prized by nobility.
Like the Warmblood.
Once, a jumper in battle.
Now, a jumper for sport.
♪♪
But one horse above all
became the very
definition of horsepower.
♪♪
The Belgian.
A ton of pulling power.
A Belgian can
reach 7 feet in height.
And yet, they're one
of the gentlest breeds.
In the age of horsepower,
if there was a job
for the horse, there
was a horse for the job.
From giants...
to miniatures.
♪♪
Our ancestors left us with an
astonishing diversity of horses.
And we found a place for
them in every part of human life.
♪♪
It's easy to forget
how much our world
once revolved around the horse.
♪♪
But go back in time,
and horses are everywhere.
♪♪
Before humans knew
we could ride horses,
think of the impression it
made when we first saw a rider.
I mean, I think
that's the origin
of the myth of the centaur.
The body of a horse, the
torso and the head of a man.
A completely
impossible creature...
but there it was in front of us.
♪♪
Looking through the
collections at the British Museum,
it really strikes me that almost
every time you see a horse
in ancient art,
it's a horse at w*r.
And not how I expected.
Instead of riding horses,
we were behind them...
in chariots.
♪♪
Look at this.
This is the Assyrian king
Ashurbanipal standing upright
in his chariot.
To me, this doesn't
make any kind of sense,
because in a
world without roads,
how is it even possible
to stand in a chariot,
racing around the b*ttlefield?
I mean, there you
are bouncing along,
trying to sh**t
your bow and arrow
and you're a huge
target for the enemy.
But here's the proof.
Somehow the chariot
was a game changer.
We just don't really
understand how.
The only way to really know
how chariots worked then...
is to build one now.
♪♪
In this English workshop,
we're reconstructing
a perfect copy
of one of the oldest
chariots ever discovered.
The original was built over
♪♪
After months of work,
it's finally finished.
HURFORD: And there we are.
THOMPSON: It's
ready to be tested.
But that... takes someone
with some unusual skills.
Mike Loades.
Mike's spent his life
studying how horses
changed history
on the b*ttlefield.
And today, he's going to see
our chariot for the first time.
- THOMPSON: Are you ready?
- LOADES: I'm ready.
Let's have a look.
Wow.
THOMPSON: There it is.
Is this how you imagined it?
LOADES: No, it's so much
more. It announces itself.
♪♪
THOMPSON: It may be impressive,
but our experimental chariot
is missing the key ingredient.
Horsepower.
MAN: Whoa. Steady. Steady.
THOMPSON: For our test, Mike
is using specialized chariot horses.
And they're tiny.
LOADES: Chariot horses
are surprisingly small.
You couldn't ride
horses like this into battle.
But two horses pulling
a wheeled vehicle
could carry a load far
in excess than the weight
they could carry on their backs.
Whoa. Easy.
♪♪
They had to have
tremendous stamina for running
all over the b*ttlefield,
and going on campaign.
They had to have strength to
pull those men on the chariot.
They had to have spirit.
THOMPSON: These ponies
also have to run in unison...
One stumble, and the
whole chariot goes down.
Mike makes it look easy,
but I have a feeling it isn't.
I'll give this a try.
- LOADES: Yeah, up you come.
- THOMPSON: Ok.
- LOADES: That's it.
THOMPSON: Now
what are you doing?
One foot ahead of the axle,
one foot behind the axle?
LOADES: Yeah. You've
obviously got that pole
in an emergency to grab onto.
Walk on, lads. Giddyup.
There you go.
There you go. You all right?
Yeah, you're doing
pretty well, I think.
THOMPSON: I cannot imagine
handling weapons
in this situation.
All I'm doing is
standing in one place.
LOADES: Going around a corner.
THOMPSON: I'm going to
try to let go with my hands.
LOADES: Stand up.
Yay, surfing. Going
around to the right.
THOMPSON: I was
right — Standing is hard.
But maybe that's not
what you're supposed to do.
♪♪
LOADES: Whoa.
THOMPSON: How's that going?
LOADES: Well, that
was very interesting.
I mean, there's
no doubt about it,
it's a lot of fun to stand up.
It's the glamorous Hollywood
idea of what you do in chariots.
And it's perfectly doable.
But then I was thinking
well, why the low rail?
So, I thought well, it's,
it's, it's inviting me to kneel.
So can I drive kneeling?
Yeah, actually, that's
really quite comfortable.
The light bulbs go off.
This... this just fits.
I'm completely secure.
Can I sh**t from
here? I'm sure I can.
We've got to test that.
But that's what's so exciting.
The chariot speaks to you.
It tells you how it
wants you to use it.
♪♪
If you took
squadrons of chariots
against an infantry army,
you could have run
circles round them,
you could've pinned them
down, and they can't get you.
♪♪
THOMPSON: Mike's convinced me.
If you know what you're
doing, chariots can be deadly.
♪♪
Chariots ruled the
b*ttlefield for a very long time.
But then, a new way of
harnessing horsepower emerged
and a new kind of horse
warrior replaced the chariot team.
Horse archery.
A man on a horse
with a bow and arrow.
You put thousands
of those in the field
and no chariot army can compete.
LOADES: You can spin a
horse so much more easily
than you can a chariot.
You know, I can come
around and do this.
I can run around you and then...
The speed of the horse and
the speed of the sh**ting.
It's absolutely a teamwork.
I mean you actually
do become a centaur.
From the waist
down, you're a horse.
From the waist up,
you're an archer.
You become the mythical centaur.
There was a key change
that had to happen with horses
to enable the horse archer.
Horses had to get bigger.
They had been selectively
bred with more bone.
With more muscle.
That became the riding horse.
Once the ridden horse
comes onto the b*ttlefield
and you have the horse archer,
then you've really got an
extremely versatile warrior.
A single horse can go
places that a chariot can't.
Once the horse archer
entered the b*ttlefield,
then the days of the
chariot were numbered.
And that is the beginning
of a long and tragic story
for the horse.
The carnage, the loss of life,
the tragedy of horses in
the service of man's wars.
♪♪
THOMPSON: For
thousands of years,
horses were invaluable
on the b*ttlefield.
Not anymore.
Today we cherish horses
for different reasons.
♪♪
This newborn foal
is a Thoroughbred.
And it's carrying a huge weight
of expectations on
its little shoulders.
♪♪
Among the breeds,
Thoroughbreds are specialists.
♪♪
We created them for one purpose:
to run faster than
any other horse alive.
♪♪
All Thoroughbreds belong
to one tiny family of horses.
♪♪
Incredibly, every living one
is a descendant of
one of three stallions,
who lived 200 years ago.
The Stud Book is closed.
DR. HILL: The Thoroughbred
has been a closed Stud Book
since the early 1800s,
when it was determined
that no further input
from exotic gene pools
would improve the breed.
And so it was said that this
breed is now 'thoroughly bred'.
And that's where the term
"Thoroughbred" comes from.
THOMPSON: Emmeline
Hill is an Irish geneticist.
Several years ago,
working with the DNA of
Thoroughbred racehorses,
Emmeline had a breakthrough.
She discovered a kind of
genetic recipe for speed.
She calls it the "Speed Gene".
DR. HILL: For hundreds
of years, I suppose,
people have used
pedigrees to try to figure out
if it's a sprint type pedigree or
a pedigree with more stamina.
We can now take the
guesswork out of that.
We're able to actually
look inside the DNA
and identify those genes
that are contributing
to an elite athlete.
THOMPSON: Jim Bolger raises
some of Ireland's fastest horses.
♪♪
When Emmeline
discovered the Speed Gene...
Jim took the leap.
He let her use the test
on his elite Thoroughbreds,
hoping to spot a special horse.
DR. HILL: We'll send
you the results in advance.
They're ready now.
BOLGER: We're not going to
have a top horse every year.
It's a game of chance,
and it's very high risk,
but we only need one.
THOMPSON: With Emmeline's
help, he found the one.
A stallion called Dawn Approach.
At two years old, he emerged
on the European scene
as an unbeatable racehorse.
After just one season, Jim
sold his champion for a fortune.
♪♪
Today, Dawn Approach
has run his last race.
His new owner sells his sperm.
Each insemination
is worth $50,000.
♪♪
In his lifetime, he will
father thousands of foals.
♪♪
Emmeline's discoveries
are helping us squeeze
every last ounce of
speed from Thoroughbreds.
But with only a tiny few
allowed to pass on their genes,
the genetic diversity of this
breed is getting even smaller.
DR. HILL: Limited genetic diversity
could potentially be a problem.
You have a very
high-level of inbreeding,
particularly when you
have a stallion of high value,
and therefore has very
large numbers of progeny.
The genetic health of the
population could be in jeopardy.
It's the unknowns that
are always the problem.
THOMPSON: As we take
breeding to incredible extremes,
we're getting
incredible results.
But there's a fine line
between breeding...
and inbreeding.
♪♪
The Thoroughbred
is a human invention.
Such a delicate animal
wouldn't survive in the wild.
Leave it to nature,
and you get a very
completely different horse.
They say there are
no truly wild horses.
♪♪
Except for these.
♪♪
A mythical horse, hanging
on in an impossible place.
♪♪
The horses of Sable Island.
♪♪
Their ancestors were
left on this sliver of sand
off Canada's East Coast
at least 40 generations ago.
How they got here, no one knows.
Settlers?
Shipwrecks?
Whatever their story,
today, they belong to no one.
♪♪
Few get permission to visit.
I'm very lucky to
be on this plane
with biologist Phil McLaughlin.
PILOT: Estimating landing
on the beach in seven minutes.
♪♪
THOMPSON: Phil and I
share the same question.
What happens to horses
when they return to the wild?
THOMPSON: So this is a
situation where you have horses
who we used to shape,
now being shaped by
this natural environment.
I mean, at what point do we
start calling them wild horses?
McLAUGHLlN: I
call them wild horses.
There's not been any
interactions with humans
other than what... What
we're doing right now.
Looking at them.
It actually still amazes
me how well they do.
♪♪
THOMPSON: Phil can go right
up to some of the adult horses
and they really aren't
bothered at all by his presence.
They're more curious
of him than anything.
As far as these horses are
concerned, human don't exist.
Now, they live in partnership
with a different animal: seals.
♪♪
Every winter, half a
million grey seals crowd
onto the sands to give birth.
And this huge gathering of sea
mammals keeps the horses alive.
McLAUGHLlN: So we have
seals coming onto the island
for weeks where they're
pupping, they're mating...
and while they're here,
they're fertilizing the grasses.
The influx of nutrients
is... Is quite impressive.
And the horses are
responding to this.
♪♪
THOMPSON: It's a remarkable
connection between two mammals
who couldn't be less alike.
The seals bring nutrients
to these barren dunes,
and the horses
feast on the grass.
A food cycle that nourishes
over 500 horses on Sable today.
But within that population,
a new horse is emerging.
A tougher animal that
has to fight to survive.
Phil takes me to
the far eastern end,
where there is
no standing water.
♪♪
The horses here are
forced to dig for a drink.
McLAUGHLlN: Every
horse here has to dig down,
paw, get the water
back up, drink.
They're going to take
Whereas, you go to the
other side of the island,
a whole band will come
in to the freshwater pond.
They'll be gone in 7-8 minutes.
- THOMPSON: Wow.
McLAUGHLlN: And
these horses here,
I always think of
them as being subject
to much more strife
and competition.
So they're always on the watch.
You'll see bands
line up over in the hills
there waiting for their chance.
And the hierarchies that
you see in the social groups,
it's much more clear out here.
♪♪
THOMPSON: There was
a little bit of a competition.
One of the stallions
was... was kind of pawing
at the other male,
as if to say "Get away
from my water hole".
McLAUGHLlN: Exactly. That's it.
It's an uneasy lifestyle here,
and these horses don't even
know what it's like on the west side.
They've never been there.
They've lived their
whole life here.
THOMPSON: On
Sable, it's Darwin's world.
Natural selection is shaping
the horse once again.
This island shows us
horses can return to the wild.
They don't need us to survive.
But even today, some people
can't imagine life
without horses.
The prairies of
Southern Alberta.
♪♪
Home of the Blackfeet.
Hundreds of years ago,
the Blackfeet became
a great horse nation.
That hasn't changed.
Allison Red Crow
is the great-grandson
of a legendary
chief and warrior.
Red Crow fought his
enemies on horseback.
Allison is still passing
the warrior tradition on.
In a modern way.
[Indistinct talking]
With horse racing.
RED CROW: We are
modern-day warriors.
We are still on our horses,
just like our forefathers were.
They were on the back
of a horse every day.
♪♪
BIG TOBACCO: It's a part of
the tradition, the hair anyway.
They say it gives us strength.
THOMPSON: Cody Big
Tobacco is on the team.
His little brother Ian
dreams of joining.
RED CROW: Keep—
Keep your body to the side.
Don't be walking right here,
because he'll
run right over you.
Okay? So always remember that.
He's going to be
hot after the race.
Look what they're
doing right now.
They're busy, eh?
They're busy,
they're having fun.
I tell the boys staying at home,
they'll be sitting around,
getting into trouble.
That's the main thing, boys.
If we can stay out of
trouble, we'll be all right.
These horses they'll
keep us out of trouble.
THOMPSON: These aren't
the compact Spanish horses
the Blackfeet once rode.
They're Thoroughbreds.
RACE ORGANIZER: You've
got about ten minutes to go.
THOMPSON: These horses are fast.
RED CROW: Come on, Tyler.
THOMPSON: In Blackfeet country,
they call this Indian Relay.
A race is three bareback
gallops around the track.
Speed is important.
But the race is won
or lost at the exchange.
Jumping off one horse
and onto another.
RED CROW: Go on. Go on!
Go on!
[Indistinct shouting]
Horses are what
makes us warriors today.
You work hard enough with them
and you're willing
to work with them,
you're gonna feed off them,
you're gonna feel that strength.
You want to try him first?
BIG TOBACCO: I'll try him first.
- RED CROW: Yeah.
- BIG TOBACCO: For now.
Let's try a couple jumps.
THOMPSON: Allison and Cody
are working with a new horse,
who's just learning the ropes.
RED CROW: Ready boys?
BIG TOBACCO:
Ok, I'll try this one.
Even if he flinches. Oh.
RED CROW: Yeah,
he's never had nobody running
up and jumping to him eh?
But that's alright. He's
going to have to learn it.
He's going to have
to get used to it.
BIG TOBACCO: You
see how he kind of...
he's put his feet in the proper
stance to take my weight.
RED CROW: Yeah.
BIG TOBACCO: And his
head's coming a lot lower.
For sure.
Hey, boy, hey, boy, hey, boy.
From the first one to that
one is pretty good, eh?
♪♪
For us horse racing has
always been a part of our culture.
We just do it because
we love it, you know?
We love horses.
♪♪
THOMPSON: A new season
of racing will soon begin.
It's time for little Ian
to learn the exchange.
RED CROW: You're
training right now.
The main thing is just getting
on the horse, doing it right.
IAN: Ok.
- RED CROW: We'll take it slow.
- IAN: How's that sorrel?
- RED CROW: He's good.
It won't be... Don't
worry about none of them.
They're just big pups.
IAN: I wanna race,
but I still can't jump up.
RED CROW: Jump,
Ian jump. That's ok.
IAN: It means a lot to me.
But I'll be up there some day.
RED CROW: Jump.
Kick, kick, kick, kick, kick.
Attaboy. Attaboy.
That's the way to be.
Good. That's a
good exercise, boys.
THOMPSON: Ian still
has some growing to do
before he can ride for the team.
But that time will come.
♪♪
Outside their world, the Horse
Relay is virtually unknown.
But that is about to change.
RED CROW: Oh, boy, I couldn't
wait to spread the news to the boys.
THOMPSON: How
did the boys take it?
RED CROW: Hooo, they
were just laughing and smiling
and like "Yeah.
We're going to Calgary."
THOMPSON: Alison's
been invited to compete
at the Calgary Stampede.
Just four teams, all Blackfeet.
The first time ever
for the Indian Relay.
RED CROW: Not in
my wildest imaginations
did I think I'd be running
at the Calgary Stampede.
It is the event of the season.
It's like Christmastime.
THOMPSON: They call
the Calgary Stampede
the "The Greatest
Outdoor Show on Earth".
But it's the same
ritual as always:
stretch, paint, dress.
But this is no small town race.
There are 50,000
people in the stands.
Allison's biggest worry is
how to keep the horses calm.
You guys are gonna do good.
TYLER: Have some fun brudda.
[Cheers and applause]
Let's meet our Canadian
team, the O'kan Warriors.
THOMPSON: Allison and
his boys get just three laps
to remind us, no one
rides like the Blackfeet.
♪♪
A good start.
Tyler's behind, but not by much.
♪♪
From one horse to the next.
A good exchange.
♪♪
The experience of the
Montana teams is showing.
But the final exchange
could decide the race.
♪♪
Tyler's horse is spooked.
It's the roaring crowd.
[Horse neighing,
indistinct shouting]
Too late.
This time, the team
from Browning, Montana,
takes the honor.
RED CROW: That's it, boys.
STAMPEDE ANNOUNCER:
Did you enjoy the first ever edition
of our Relay Races
here in Calgary?
[Cheers and applause]
RED CROW: You did your job.
Ran with your heart, man.
You ran with your heart.
Proud of you.
A lot of emotion here.
Proud. Very proud.
The horses, my guys,
my people in the stands.
That's why we're here, eh?
Show the world how proud we are.
THOMPSON: The
Warriors didn't win today,
but Allison was always
running a different race.
RED CROW: Did
you like that, huh?
- IAN: Yeah. I liked it.
- RED CROW: Hell, yeah.
One of these days, one of these
days, it's going to be you guys.
Eh?
- IAN: Yeah for sure.
THOMPSON: He's using horses...
to catch the next generation.
♪♪
And he's winning that race.
♪♪
For the Blackfeet,
horses make the person.
Despite everything,
that hasn't changed.
They are just one of
countless human cultures
this animal has transformed.
♪♪
Our obsession that began
the moment we met
the horse hasn't dimmed.
Since we saved wild
horses from extinction,
they've repaid us a
thousand times over...
with horsepower.
♪♪
But also with a bond
unlike any other.
♪♪
We've always known ours
is the perfect partnership.
The human story...
is a horse story.
♪♪
♪♪
♪♪
To learn more about what you've
seen on this "Nature" program,
visit pbs.org.
♪♪
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