Pine Ridge Lakota Horsemen Experience First Ever Surf Session with Joel Tudor (Video)

It was an unfortunate turn of events that led to an unlikely scenario where five young Lakota men learned to surf with Joel Tudor and Ewe Long. The backstory involves Joel’s good friend Nate Bressler, who founded a program called Sage to Saddle with legendary Lakota horseman, Stan Brewer.

Based on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, the program works with young Oglala Lakota who are the descendants of Crazy Horse, one of the fiercest Native American leaders of the 19th century. Despite their warrior history and ancestral connection to the land, life on the reservation is marked by extreme poverty and opportunities to ride are scarce.  

Two years ago they were in San Diego for the Indian Relay  Petco Rodeo when one of the horses died and the Indian Relay event was called off. The next day Nate called Joel to see if he could help save the day. Joel agreed and rang up Surf Ride for soft tops and wetsuits—it wasn’t long before they were all meeting at La Jolla Shores. 

Joel says he’s not one for surf lessons, “I taught my kids and my nephews, but I don’t normally teach people. Nate is an old friend though and what he is doing with those kids is incredible, I was happy to help them out.” It was their first time west of Wyoming and their first time in the ocean. Surfing with Uncle Joel was surely cool but it was Ewe who really blew their minds when she spoke to them in Hawaiian and asked them about their Lakota language.

Pine Ridge Reservation

When I spoke to Nate about the story, he was at his camper, finally putting his feet up after a long day’s work. For those that don’t know what winter is like in South Dakota, it’s long, dark and frigid—brutal, really—a long cry from the shores of Florida and California, both of which he once called home. Before he moved here, he lived in Venice Beach, surfed regularly, threw lots of parties and worked as a professional photographer—not a bad life. 

Now, he lives in one of the poorest counties in the country where the average housing situation consists of 17 people living in a two-bedroom trailer. Unemployment rates are upwards of 80% and further statistics around crime, life expectancy, alcoholism, and suicide make Pine Ridge feel a lot closer to a war zone than a part of the United States. Nate is not here for kicks, he is here because they need help and not many others are willing or able to do the work. He says, “When it floods, people are rescued on horseback. It’s the Wild West out here.”

He met Brewer while on a photo assignment for Outside Magazine, covering a story on Indian Relay in a feature titled “America’s Original Extreme Sport.” Brewer, in addition to his riding talent—a three-time World Indian Relay Championship winner—was a rare light to the community and never had a drink in his life.

Nate, who was originally raised between Kansas and Florida, grew up riding horses and went straight into archaeology work after high school. He explained, “My first job with Natives was when I was around 18 but I had known them ever since I was pretty young, that connection was always there. Once I got to Pine Ridge, it went to another level.”

A Thunderstorm and the Sundance Tree

Two weeks into the assignment on the res, Nate was camped out under the Sundance Tree, a sacred place for the Lakota, when a wild thunderstorm raged throughout the night and he had a massive dream. It was August 6th, 2018. 

In vivid detail he saw a sprawling ranch with an indoor arena, dozens of horses and a place where the young Lakota could ride free. Overnight his life changed. In the morning he talked to Stan and asked if he trusted him to be his partner and make it a reality. Like so, Sage to Saddle was born. 

It wasn’t long before he moved to Pine Ridge full-time, at first living in his camper on Stan’s family’s land while they searched for a ranch and began organizing rides for the kids. It was in 2023, five years after the dream, that the perfect place came through. 

Nate says, “All my life, I’ve been a horse guy. All my life, I was also a wave guy. Before starting Sage, I had worked closely with the Paskowitz family, Therasurf in Malibu, and Selema’s STOKED foundation. It’s in that work that you see surfing can be like church. Riding is church for these kids, that’s what we wanted to create.”

Sage to Saddle

The Lakota are a horse nation, they were the only people to beat General Custer on the battlefield and they were the last to be tamed. The fight today remains only instead of soldiers and battlefields, it’s alcohol and suicide—especially in the winter “suicide season,” when the rate on the res is four times the national average. 

Stan says, “Horses for Native American people are therapeutic. It’s just a natural connection we have with them that can do so much for a person.” 

The goal with Sage was simply to restore that connection and give the kids something to do—to give them a break from a chaotic living situation. In the winter months, after school they would otherwise have nothing to do. Those who participate in the program get shuttled by Nate and Stan to and from school and the arena several days a week. A couple times a year they even leave the res and check out Indian Relay races and rodeos.

Their innate ability to ride is quickly evident in the summer programs where they work with over 100 kids and young adults. In addition to weekly opportunities to learn Indian Relay, each summer there are three weeklong rides where they gather with groups from other reservations and tribal nations. In the winter is when they offer more beginner lessons and mentoring about horsemanship and life in a setting that they trust. 

Riding may not solve all their problems but it’s a rare chance for positive reinforcement and identity building. The arena provides a safe place to escape the cold, learn, ride and be with friends—a crucial lifeline. Its been growing in popularity too, like surfing, both were once rather obscure and overlooked by popular cultural, today they enjoy cultural capital. Being a good rider is like being a good surfer, it’s fun—and it’s cool. 

Finding Their Voice

A core part of the work is helping them find their voice and a sense of belonging. Mounting a horse is much like paddling out, going for a gallop is like catching a big wave—all other thoughts fade away. When you surf you can understand how important it is to have that access to something that frees you from everything else. 

Like surfing, riding builds character and community. With a bit of luck and a lot of dedication, it can even provide a life path. To see them riding bareback at 40 mph is a thing a beauty, an act of courage, and an incredible display of grace. 

Whether or not they become professionals isn’t the point, it’s that riding gives them something no one can take away from them.

To learn more about Sage to Saddle please check out their website and follow them on Instagram.