Growing Leaders, One Horse at a Time: SGU's Tiwahe Glu Kini Pi Hosts Horse Handler Training and Olympics

Photo Credit: Kalion Knox | SGU Media Tech

By: Gabriella Kenny

SGU Tiwahe Glu Kini Pi, Bringing the Family Back to Life, annually hosts a Teen Horse

Handler Training Camp. This 4-day training is for teenagers ages 14-18 who want to

learn or are passionate about riding and working with horses; along with learning ranch

maintenance and Lakota teachings.

Day One: In the morning the teen horse handlers learned about horse anatomy, how to

properly tack up a horse – followed by putting away tack, and how to groom them. The

group was given time to ride horses to get to know them better! After lunch, Carmelita

Sully shared an informational presentation about gardening and how to become selfsufficient. They finished the day off with Fred Fast Horse and Sadie Emery talking about

bees and how they work with them to help the garden. Fred also shared his microgreen

and mushroom and garden produce business.

Day Two: The morning started with a Lakota value teaching about Wačáŋtognaka,

Generosity, by Justin Baker. The horse handlers then split into two groups, half went to

Horse Creek and the others went to Parmelee to do firsthand community garden work!

The afternoon consisted of a financial literacy talk with Natasha Eagle Star where they

learned about building good credit, savings, taxes, etc. so in the future they can qualify

for loans and grants to start a ranch, farm or business. The day ended with a fun visit to

the Webber ranch towards Valentine, NE. Missy Webber shared her story about how her

ranch came to be, along with introducing all her fascinating animals, including horses.

Day Three: The day started bright and early at the RST Tribal Ranch in Rosebud. From

9am until noon, the horse handlers got a hands-on learning experience on branding cattle.

They were each rewarded with $100 and a yummy meal!

Day Four: The final morning, Duane Hollow Horn Bear shared his knowledge on the

land and did some Lakota storytelling. Afterwards, Vida Red Bird talked about timpsila

harvesting; where you can find them, how you harvest them, and how you may preserve

and eat them. Families joined at noon for a cookout and to celebrate the horse handlers

completing camp with certificates. Following that was the exciting Horse Handler

Olympics! The horse handlers competed in their race against time on the ultimate

cowgirl/cowboy course. The winners of the 2026 Horse Handler Olympics are:

Girls: 1st place – Lahayla Antoine; 2nd place – Rezelle Tucker; 3rd place – Gabi Kenny.

Boys: 1st place – Chayce Knife; 2nd place – Jacob Unruh; 3rd place – Arik Amiotte.

Overall, it is a fun and educational experience. Teenagers who completed this camp were

hired to work part-time for 8 weeks as a TGKP Horse Handler to assist with 4 more horse

camps, community activities with horses and gardens and ranch maintenance. For more

information about SGU Tiwahe Glu Kini Pi and/or their upcoming camps, please visit

our website www.tiwahe.org or call our office at (605)856-8163.