Mystic Warrior

A very long time ago there was a plains Indian who learned the ways of Mother Earth from his father as his brothers before him had but he was an exceptional study and became known as the best of the tribe. He was the greatest hunter and the most fierce Warrior his tribe had known in all of the stories passed down about the ancestors. Because of this fame many of the young warriors of the tribe followed his every step to learn the ways of this Master.

On a fateful day in the midst of a hunt the son of a Chief was among the young men in the hunting party. It was a Buffalo hunt and very dangerous. The first strike against the vast herd caused them to begin to move and when the second party of hunters swept down off the hill the herd turned and sped up to a full blown stampede. The Mystic warrior and his followers were directly in the path of the charging buffalo.

All the brave young hunters turned their horses to go with the flow and attempt to get one more shot. One more kill, but the son of the chief wound up in harms way and his horse stumbled and he was lost in a sea of buffalo. There was great sorrow in the camp and the Chief was full of hatred that his son had been lost because he was with the mystic warrior. He called the council of chief's and had the Great hunter Banished from the tribe. So that no more sons would be lost because they followed this mystic.

The Law of the tribe was final. The warrior took his many horses and many wives and set out to the lonely life of the outcast. Their travels were northward and eastward and in the end they settled mostly in the land of the hut dwellers who were fishermen and basket weavers. In this new society he again became known as a great provider superior hunter and warrior and before long there were many young men following him on the hunt and on the war path. When it came time for him to be the story teller and prepare himself for the happy hunting ground his legacy grew and the young men were charged with watching for a new Mystic Warrior.

As legend has it were you a candidate for Mystic standing the other young braves would paint your horse so the master would watch over you and your comings and goings on the trail of life, with the hunt and on the war path. When the Mystic passed away because he had been an outcast his spirit remained with the hut dwellers and is thought to roam the woods of what we know as MICHIGAN looking for bright new horsemen to fill the ranks of the hunting parties and the ranks of the warriors. He will mark the horse of the new young warrior suitable for inclusion in the party of the Great Hunter, the Mystic Warrior. I have heard tales of many such markings showing up on the trail of the MTRA.

Should you be a new rider upon completion of your first trophy ride do not be alarmed if you wake to find your horse Marked. It is indeed an honor to be marked as a follower of the mystic warrior. By “DOC” Bend