6/15/2025

(Auburn, Wa) Friday night was the kick-off of the 3-day Muckleshoot Gold Cup Indian Relays. 21 tribal teams competed Friday, Saturday and Sunday with $84,000 worth of purse money on the line. The teams battled through the preliminary of 3 heats each day on Friday and Saturday.

On Sunday, the top 7 teams competed for the Championship while the other 14 teams raced in the consolation heats. The teams earned their way or came up short in the 1st and 2nd consolation races and the Championship race by earnings through the two preliminary rounds on Friday and Saturday.

This is the 9th Muckleshoot Gold Cup that has been run annually since 2016, except for 2020 due to covid. There has never been a repeat winner but all 8 Champions are here this year with Poitras Relay the defending Champions.

Muckleshoot Gold Cup Champions
2024: Poitras Relay
2023: Two Medicine
2022: Omak Express
2021: Amskapi Pikunii
2020: cancelled Covid
2019: River Road Relay
2018: Abrahamson
2017: Starr School
2016: Carlson

Our coverage below begins with Championship Sunday and as you scroll down we have Saturday’s and Friday nights results. At the bottom is a large Photo Gallery.

Championship Sunday of the Muckleshoot Gold Cup

Championship Heat

Box 1: Tissidimit
Box 2: Mountain Crow
Box 3: Sp’q’n’i
Box 4: Omak Express
Box 5: Poitras Relay
Box 6: Two Medicine
Box 7: Bird In Ground

Championship Results

The Championship heat once again proved just having the fastest horses is far from enough to win a Muckleshoot Gold Cup or any Indian Relay event. The physicality of the entire team is important from the rider’s exit from one horse to  the next for a smooth transition. The catchers and muggers have to be fined tuned like a pit crew in a car race to get your rider in and back out on the track as quickly as possible.

The Omak Express team admitted they were lucky to even get into the Championship race after taking 1st place in the Saturday qualifying heat via disqualification. Had they not benefitted from the DQ they would have run in the Silver heat.

The definition of Luck is preparation waiting for opportunity. In other words it does not do you any good to get lucky but not take advantage of it. Rider, Tyler Peasley and his crew were ready for this opportunity. They knew they needed to be smooth as silk on every transition for a shot at the Gold Cup.

At the start Peasley got a great jump but defending Champs Poitras Relay was right with them through the first turn with BirdInGround a close 3rd. Down the backstretch BirdInGround the winner of their heat on Friday and finished 2nd on Saturday but also got moved up for the win by DQ, moved into the lead.

Heading into the first transition, BirdInGround with Tristan BirdInGround geared down first, with Joe Jackson and Poitras right behind into the first exchange. Omak Express dropped back but still held 3rd.

Omak and Peasley got to their box first and a quick transition was interupted when a trailing runner bumped into Peasley allowing Mountain Crow and BirdInGround to get the jump while the bump slowed Omak and Poitras struggled with their transition found them in the chase position.

Coming around for the 2nd exchange in front of the huge Emerald Downs crowd, Mountain Crow got there first but rider Weston Bird got hung up as the next horse spun around costing Bird valuable time. In fact it was a rough exchange for all the teams but one.

BirdInGround fell to the ground off his horse which caused his 3rd runner to rear up losing all the momentum they had built up. Meantime, Poitras and Jackson also had their problems when the catcher collided with their 2nd horse and fell to the ground. Jackson had to control the horse before dismounting and getting on the 3rd runner. This knocked Poitras out of their hope of repeating as Champions.

This opened the door for the veteran Peasley and despite having to deal with the traffic issues that box #4 is bound to have, Omak Express had a perfect transition and opened up a big lead.

Turning down the backstretch Omak Express led Mountain Crow and Sp’q’n’i with rider Riley Prescott and the others were far back. All Peasley had to do was nail the final transition and he knew they would be tough to catch.

In that 3rd and final transition it went smooth but Peasley had to hesitate as other runners were coming into to transition and this allowed Mountain Crow and Weston Bird to take over the lead by just a length. This is where the faster horse comes into play and Omak Express had plenty left as Peasley quickly made up the ground and drew away on the final turn to create distance between them and Mountain Crow.

Turning for home Omak Express opened up by 4 or 5 lengths. Peasly looked back a couple of times to make sure Mountain Crow didn’t have an unexpected closing kick and cruised to win the Muckleshoot Gold Cup about 10 lengths in front of a great run from Mountan Crow but clearly 2nd best. 

BirdInGround ran on for 3rd with Tissidimit and Miaus Teton finishing 4th then came Two Medicine with Jesse Carlson in 5th, Sp’q’n’i Riley Prescott were 6th and the transition game got the best of Joe Jackson and Poitras who finished 7th.

With the win, Omak Express becomes the first 2-time winner over the 9 years of the Muckleshoot Gold Cup winning it in 2022 and now 2025. Omak Express collected the $11,000 first prize check and earned $13,750 for the weekend.

With Omak Express winning the Championship that capped an all Washington Gold Cup as teams from Omak and Colville won all 3 heats on Sunday led by Omak Express in the Gold Cup, team Abrahamson in the Silver heat and Strong Horse Relay in the Bronze heat.

In the end was Omak Express lucky? Maybe, but when they did get lucky they didn’t waste their chance. Their winning ride was all skill, preparation, team work and they were simply better. Congratulations to Omak Express the first 2-time winner of the Gold Cup!

Here is the complete order of finish.

1st, Omak Express (Tyler Peasley rider), Omak, WA.

2nd, Mountain Crow (Weston Bird In Ground), Crow Agency, MT.

3rd, Bird In Ground (Tristan Bird In Ground), Crow Agency, MT.

4th, Tissidimit (Miaus Teton), Fort Hall, ID.

5th, Two Medicine (Jesse Carlson), Browning, MT.

6th, Sp’q’n’i (Riley Prescott), Spokane, WA.

7th, Poitras Relay (Joe Jackson), Meadow Lake, SK.

ESN talks with Winning Rider Tyler Peasley

Muckleshoot Gold Cup Championship Race

Silver Heat

Box 1: Dancing Warrior
Box 2: Arrow Lakes
Box 3: Abrahamson Relay
Box 4: River Road Relay
Box 5: Grizzly Mountain
Box 6: Carlson
Box 7: Teton

Silver Heat Results

Team Abrahamson was one of the former Champs, 2018, hoping to become the 1st 2-time Champions. They got off to a good start on Friday with a 2nd place finish but a 5th on Saturday knocked them down to the Silver consolation heat. Ryder Abrahamson and his team were disappointed not being in the final but they made the most of it winning the Silver heat.

The big shift for Abrahamson was a perfect transition on the second leg where Ryder Abrahamson not only shifted horse in about 2 seconds he avoided the in-coming traffic while Teton and Azeri Coby got hung up on the exchange. Abrahamson rolled out to a big lead with Chazz Racine and Carlson moving into 2nd turning down the backstretch for the 2nd time. Teton would move past Carlson slowing down for the final transition.

Out of the final relay, it was all Abrahamson with a great jump over Teton, Carlson avoided some traffic trouble but was a clear 3rd as Abrahamson cruised to the Silver heat win.

Here is the complete order of finish.

1st, Abrahamson (Ryder Abrahamson), Omak, WA, 3:32.03.

2nd, Teton (Azeri Coby), Lincoln Creek, ID.

3rd, Carlson (Chazz Racine), Browning, MT.

4th, Dancing Warrior (David Tuttle), Pine Ridge, SD.

5th, River Road (Kingston Hugs), Crow Agency, MT.

6rh, Arrow Lakes (Terrance Holford), Colville, WA.

7th, Grizzly Mountain (Tanner Hill), Omak, WA.

Silver Heat Replay

Bronze Heat

Box 1: Amskapi Pikuni
Box 2: Big Metal
Box 3: Big Tobacco
Box 4: Strong Horse Relay
Box 5: Frontline
Box 6: Cedar Ridge
Box 7: Starr School

Bronze Heat Results

The field was well bunched heading into the backstretch for the first time and a rough transition saw Amskapi Pikunii lose their rider and would finish last. Meantime the scramble was on for those who survived the chaos of the first exchange as they headed for the 2nd transition in front of the Emerald Downs stands. Strong Horse Relay and Kamius Pakootas emerged with a perfect exchange and took a big lead over Big Metal with P. G. Nomee and Big Tobacco ridden by Ian Big Tobacco.

Heading into the final exchange all Strong Horse needed to do was keep it clean and they did it perfectly and rolled to a massive win in the Bronze heat. Big Tobacco would get up for 2nd and Big Metal was 3rd.

Here is the complete order of finish.

1st, Strong Horse Relay (Kamius Pakootas), Colville, WA, 3:38.44

2nd, Big Tobacco (Ian Big Tobacco), Siksika, AB.

3rd, Big Metal (P.G. Nomee), Fort Smith, MT.

4th, Cedar Ridge (Dalion Yokoyama), Fort Hall, ID.

5th, Starr School (Tahj Little Plume), Browning, MT.

6th, Frontline (Kaliber Pickner), Fort Thompson, SD.

7th, Amskapi Pikunii (Preston Butterfly), Browning, MT.

Bronze Heat Replay

_____________________________

Saturday Day 2 (2nd Round Prelims)  of the Muckleshoot Gold Cup

Heat 1

Box 1: Dancing Warrior
Box 2: Starr School
Box 3: River Road
Box 4: Sp’q’n’i
Box 5: Big Metal
Box 6: Strong Horse Relay
Box 7: Carlson

Heat 1 Results

Team Sp’q’n’i went from a last place finish on Friday to  the winner’s circle on Saturday with a strong ride from Riley Prescott and great teamwork from his crew. Clean exchanges were the key to their turnaround from Friday to Saturday. Sp’q’n’i’s 1st place run qualified them to run in the Championship on Sunday.

Team River Road and Kingston Hugs just missed trailing by about 1 second behind for a strong runner-up finish but after a 6th place finish on Friday they did not get in the Gold Cup race.

Chazz Racine one of the veterans of the Gold Cup as team Carlson are the 1st Gold Cup Champions from 2016 ran a solid 3rd but they will compete in the 1st consolation race on Sunday.

Here is the complete order of finish with times thanks to Emerald Downs’ Vince Bruun.
Heat 1: 1st Sp’q’n’i (Riley Prescott rider), Spokane, Wash.; 3:36.65; 2nd River Road (Kingston Hugs), Crow Agency, Mont.; 3:37.22; 3rd Carlson (Chazz Racine), Browning, Mont.; 3:38.50; 4th Dancing Warrior (David Tuttle), Pine Ridge, SD.; 3:39.72; 5th Strong Horse (Kamius Pakootas), Colville, Wash.; 3:41.58; 6th Big Metal (PG Nomee), Fort Smith, Mont.; 3:45.83; 7th Starr School (Tahj Little Plume), Browning, Mont.; 3:57.97

Race Replay

Heat 2

Box 1: Mountain Crow
Box 2: Grizzley Mountain
Box 3: Two Medicine
Box 4: Tissidimit
Box 5: Cedar Ridge
Box 6: Omak Express
Box 7: Abrahamson

Heat 2 Results

Heat 2 is where things got a little crazy as Grizzley Mountain crossed the finish line 1st nosing out Omak Express. However, after the judges conferred Grizzly Mountain was disqualified for an illegal exchange giving the win to Omak Express led by rider Tyler Peasley. Grizzly Mountain and rider Tanner Hill were placed 2nd. This was a nose to nose finish with about a 1/10th of a second between the top 2 finishers.

The DQ also pushed Grizzly Mountain out of the Championship race on Sunday while Omak Express is in.

Two Medicine backed up their 2nd place run on Friday with a solid 3rd on Saturday giving Two Medicine and rider Tony Carlson a chance to become the first 2-time Gold Cup Champion.

Mountain Crow and rider Weston BirdInGround did enough with a 4th place finish on Saturday and a 2nd on Friday to get into the Championship race on Sunday.

Team Tissidimit did not finish but their win on Friday was enough to get them in the Championship on Sunday.

Here is the complete order of finish with times thanks to Emerald Downs’ Vince Bruun.
Heat 2: 1st Grizzly Mountain* (Tanner Hill), Omak, Wash.; 3:33.73; 2nd Omak Express** (Tyler Peasley), Omak, Wash.; 3:33.84; 3rd Two Medicine (Jesse Carlson), Browning, Mont.; 3:42.38; 4th Mountain Crow (Weston Bird In Ground), Crow Agency, Mont.; 3:42.54; 5th Abrahamson (Ryder Abrahamson), Omak, Wash., 3:42.68; 6th Cedar Ridge (Dalion Yokoyama), Fort Hall, Ida.; 3:47.73; DNF-Tissidimit Note*: Grizzly Mountain disqualified illegal exchange **Omak Express declared official winner.

Race Replay

Heat 3

Box 1: Arrow Lake
Box 2: BirdInGround
Box 3: Poitras
Box 4: Frontline
Box 5: Amskapi Pikuni
Box 6: Teton
Box 7: Big Tobacco

Heat 3 Results

The craziness did not stop in Heat 2 as Friday and defending Champs Poitras Relay winner of heat 2 on Friday showed down with the winner of Heat 1 from Friday, BirdInGround. Poitras had a good sized lead turning for home but had to hold off a strong close from BirdInGround pulling out the win by a little more than a length.

But as we say in thoroughbred racing, the Inquiry sign went up and for the 2nd straight race there was a disqualification placing BirdInGround 1st and Poitras back to 2nd. This sets-up a rematch in the Gold Cup adding to an already packed field for all the marbles.

Here is the complete order of finish with times thanks to Emerald Downs’ Vince Bruun.
Heat 3: 1st Poitras Relay* (Joe Jackson), Meadow Lake, Sask., 3:26.26; 2nd Bird In Ground** (Tristan Bird In Ground rider), Crow Agency, Mont.; 3:26.73; 3rd Arrow Lakes (Terrance Holford), Colville, Wash.; 3:34.16; 4th Teton (Azeri Coby), Lincoln Creek, Ida; 3:35.66; 5th Frontline (Kaliber Pickner), Fort Thompson, SD; 3:41.13; 6th Big Tobacco (Ian Big Tobacco), Siksika, Alb.; 3:41.56; 7th Amskapi Pikunii (Preston Butterfly), Browning, Mont.; 4:04.56. Note*: Poitras Relay disqualified and place 6th. **Bird In Ground declared official winner.

Race Replay

______________________________

Friday Opening Night (1st Round Prelims) of the Muckleshoot Gold Cup

Heat 1

Box 1: Big Tobacco
Box 2: Cedar Ridge
Box 3: BirdInGround
Box 4: Carlson
Box 5: Omak Express
Box 6: Strong Horse Relay
Box 7: Mountain Crow

Heat 1 Results

A great beginning to the Gold Cup as BirdInGround with Tristan BirdInGround riding showed great patience until they needed the perfect transition on the 3rd exchange on the backstretch. BirdInGround had to run down Carlson and hold off a fast closing Mountain Crow team.

Mountain Crow made up a ton of ground in the last half mile to catch Carlson for 2nd place. Carlson settled for 3rd while a clear 4th was Omak Express.

Here is the complete order of finish with times thanks to Emerald Downs’ Vince Bruun.
Heat 1: 1st Bird In Ground (Tristan Bird In Ground rider), Crow Agency, Mont.; 3:27.56; 2nd Mountain Crow (Weston Bird In Ground),Crow Agency, Mont.; 3:30.13; 3rd Carlson (Chazz Racine), Browning, Mont.; 3:30.66; 4th Omak Express (Tyler Peasley), Omak, Wash.; 3:35.53; 5th Cedar Ridge (Dalion Yokoyama), Fort Hall, Ida.; 3:38.09; 6th Big Tobacco (Ian Big Tobacco), Siksika, Alb.; 3:42.95; 7th Strong Horse (Kamius Pakootas), Colville, Wash.; 3:50.80.

Race Replay

Heat 2

Box 1: River Road
Box 2: Dancing Warrior
Box 3: Sp’q’n’i
Box 4: Amskapi Pikuni
Box 5: Abrhamson
Box 6: Poitras
Box 7: Arrow Lakes

Heat 2 Results

The defending Champions team Poitras flexed their muscles and showing they were ready to defend their title with a dazzling ride from 19-year-old Joe Jackson taking control after the 2nd exchange.

Another former Champ from 2018 team Abrahamson took 2nd with a solid opening effort with Jonathan Abrahamson riding, Dancing Warrior and rider David Tuttle finsihed 3rd with team Arrow Lakes and rider Terrance Holford were 4th.

Here is the complete order of finish with times thanks to Emerald Downs’ Vince Bruun.
Heat 2: 1st Poitras Relay (Joe Jackson), Meadow Lake, Sask., 3:33.41; 2nd Abrahamson (Ryder Abrahamson), Omak, Wash., 3:38.81; 3rd Dancing Warrior (David Tuttle), Pine Ridge, SD, 3:41.02; 4th Arrow Lakes (Terrance Holford); Colville, Wash.; 3:42.19; 5th Amskapi Pikunii (Preston Butterfly), Browning, Mont.; 3:42.66; 6th River Road (Kingston Hugs), Crow Agency, Mont.; 3:43.13; 7th Sp’q’n’i (Riley Prescott), Browning, Mont.; 3:53.84.

Race Replay

Heat 3

Box 1: Big Metal
Box 2: Grizzley Mountain
Box 3: Tissidimit
Box 4: Two Medicine
Box 5: Starr School
Box 6: Frontline
Box 7: Teton

Heat 3 Results

In the final Friday night heat, team Tissidimit with a strong ride from Lance Tissidimit put them in a great spot to get to the Championship race on Sunday. Tissidimit with BirdInGround both are seeking their 1st Gold Cup Championship and set themselves up with wins on opening night.

Running 2nd in the final heat was 2023 Champs Two Medicine with Tony Carlson riding also serving notice they will need to be dealt with in 2025. Taking 3rd were Grizzly Mountain and Tanner Hill with a strong opening night performance.

Here is the complete order of finish with times thanks to Emerald Downs’ Vince Bruun.
Heat 3: 1st Tissidimit (Miaus Teton), Fort Hall, Ida; 3:38.87; 2nd Two Medicine (Jesse Carlson), Browning, Mont.; 3:39.66; 3rd Grizzly Mountain (Tanner Hill), Omak, Wash.; 3:42.05; 4th Big Metal (PG Nomee), Fort Smith, Mont.; 3:48.19; 5th Starr School (Tahj Little Plume), Browning, Mont.; 3:55.67; 6th Frontline (Kaliber Pickner), Fort Thompson, SD; 3:56.97; DNF-Teton

Race Replay

Photo Gallery

www.elisportsnetwork.com