Christina
Hyke:
Are there horse/rider teams that have done the entire ride
start to finish, or is this more of a relay picking up riders
in each new day
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Gloria Hazell Derby:
The horses do get 'swapped out' every so many miles. I don't
think we have ever had any that do the whole 330 miles. Yes
more riders and horses do join in along the way especially
at Flandreau and Morton areas. By the time they go through
Mankato for the Ceremonies you will notice there are a lot
of horses and riders. Also the runners from Fort Snelling
join the Riders there.
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Curtis
Griesel:
how many people participate in the ride each day?
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Gloria Hazell Derby:
Curtis Griesel, It depends. What you don't see is the caravan
of support people who drive the horses and riders around when
they are not actually riding. I have no idea how many there
are this year but I have heard there is quite a lot! The ones
you see are usually Keith, and Josette who run the Chuck wagon
and deal with all sorts of things that happen along the route,
they are joined by various people each day every year, Clayton
Mann and Ruth Matzke Anderson and I believe Nina Fox are all
helping this year.
The riders change every few miles and have a rest as do the
horses, More will be joining the Ride from now until Mankato
so the numbers change again. In the towns they go to, the
townsfolk work on getting the food together for the People
and making sure the horses are bedded down properly. They
are all volunteers, as are we working on this group, there
are 10 of us this year, all doing our own job to keep the
group working, Then there are the photographers who keep the
Ride alive in photos and videos. I think we get about 100
different people sending them in each year, then there is
Ron making up the collages of photos each day for you all
to enjoy.. If I have forgotten anyone please forgive me...
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Curtis
Griesel:
Gloria Hazell Derby thank you. Do you know if there is a public
event planned on the 26th when the group arrives in Mankato?
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Gloria Hazell Derby:
They all meet up at Reconciliation Park in Mankato, the
riders and the runners from Fort Snelling, and then Ceremonies
are done there.
The First Unitarian
Society of Minneapolis then lays on lunch at 1 pm for them
at the New Creation Church.
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Juliette
Wica Ke Sa:
Where are they heading now??
I seen a post where I thought they was coming to Wounded Knee?
Maybe I read it wrong.. OK.
Thanks for the info.
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Gloria Hazell Derby:
They will go to Pipestone in Minnesota tomorrow. No that is
the Big Foot Ride that is going on in SD at the same time
as ours. The Big Foot Ride goes west, ours goes east.
You're welcome!
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A
few people asked this question:
When
the Ride goes past me what should I do?
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Gloria Hazell Derby:
The most important thing to do is be Respectful. Wait and
see if the Riders wave at you , they may be praying quietly
at the moment they pass you, and so won't probably even know
that you are there. Don't take it as an insult. To most of
the Riders, prayer is very special, and they actually carry
a pouch with names of people in it that people want prayers
said for. These can be for various reasons. Only the Rider
knows when he or she is going to pray.
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Again
this question is asked a lot:
What
time does the World wide prayer session start?
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Gloria Hazell Derby:
It starts
at 4 pm Central time, that would equate to 10 pm Grenwich
mean Time. You can stay in the prayer time for a few minutes
or longer if you wish to. I am sure people come to it later,
and so if you stay then you will be joining up with more
as some leave and others join you. You can pray in whichever
way you want to, regular prayer, meditation, thought, Pipe,
nothing is wrong as long as it is respectful
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This
is a big one...
What time do the ceremonies start at Reconciliation Park?
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Gloria Hazell Derby:
Well the time of the hangings was 10 am, and so the Riders
like to be there for then. Sometimes the runners from Fort
Snelling arrive late, and so as a mark of respect to the runners,
(who have run from Fort Snelling during the night), the Ceremonies
are held off until everyone is there. But get there for 10
am.
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Again
this has been asked by a number of people
What is
the Riderless horse all about?
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Gloria Hazell Derby:
The horse that is usually
in the front, being led by the Front rider, is known as the
Spirit Horse. It is riderless because it is offering the saddle
to the Spirits. We have been told by a Spiritual Leader in
the early days of the Ride that both Crazy Horse and Sitting
Bull rode along with the Ride in South Dakota using the Spirit
Horse. It often carries Tobacco ties, the Prayer Pouch and
anything else that is deemed Spiritual. It is not always the
same horse, they take it in turns. The horse at the time of
doing this role is very sacred, prayers should always be said
around it, and it should always be respected. It is an honor
to lead the Spirit Horse.
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We were
asked why only 2 Horses and Riders sometimes.
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This is because often
only a couple of Rider's go out, especially in bad weather,
between stopping points, which are around a couple of miles
each. It is not good for the horse to travel too far in
the bad weather and certainly the Rider has to be experienced
and weather worn to do it as well.
At each stopping point
the horses can be switched out so another one can have a
go, and often the Rider is switched as well. The past few
years the weather has not been too bad and so that is why
people are used to seeing a lot of Riders going out. This
year so far it has been fridgid and windy, Wilfred, as the
leader and staff carrier, would not let inexperienced horses
or riders go out in such bad weather. They always have an
escort vehicle driving next to them for safety reasons.
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