World's largest tee-pee city

For four days each August, the hills of Montana are transformed into the spectacular "Tee-Pee Capital of the World."

Started in 1904, the Crow Fair and Rodeo is one of the largest gatherings of Native Americans in the country, with over a thousand tee-pees springing up for the festival.

Horses are a huge part of the carnival, appearing in the traditional morning parade, rodeo, and adrenalin-fueled Indian Relay racing event.

Each morning, the children are the first to rise from their tee-pees, taking the horses down to Little Big Horn River to drink.

"You could call it the Wild West. But this is what we call it: The 'Tee-pee Capital of the World,'" said 78-year-old Crow Nation tribe member Robert Old Horn. "It's one of the largest Indian rodeos within the Unites States of America."

"Rodeo basically developed from the range riders of old, that would come together and ride wild horses -- and by 'wild' I mean they were born wild, they were not used to humans handling them, so you have to tame them," said Old Horn. "How do you ride a horse that had never been rode before? That developed into rodeo today."

"What you will see is a collage of colors, many rainbows put together," said Old Horn. "At one time they used the earth's dyes to color their clothing."

As a child, Jim Real Bird eagerly looked forward to Crow Fair every year. "Real early in the morning we'd wake up in those tee-pees, and we were pretty happy to slip the bridles off the horses and ride bareback to the river," said the 58-year-old today.

"It started when people from Crow Nation put together an event for harvesting products -- that is wheat, corn, what people were taught to raise on their home land. They were taught to can, to preserve vegetables. In the Fall they had the Crow Fair to display what they grew in the summer," explained Old Horn.

"Since I was old enough to remember, I remember being in camp and being around all those people, and all those horses, and from that age I look forward to it for the rest of my life," said Real Bird.

"American Indians have a special relationship with horses because it was a way of life," said Old Horn. "My family were known for their ability to ride bucking horses. There was a mastery to how they could ride a horse -- it involved timing, balance."

• Over 1,000 teepees, hundreds of horses at Crow Fair Rodeo


• Annual festival one of largest gatherings of Native Americans


• Vibrant traditional costumes, singing, dancing in Montana hills


• Includes adrenalin-fueled feats of horsemanship

(CNN) -- A mini metropolis of teepees sprawls across the parched plains, and in the early hours of the morning the first to rise are the children.

They have an important job to do.

"We'd wake up in those teepees, and we were pretty happy to slip the bridles off the horses and ride bareback to the river," remembers Jim Real Bird, today a man of 58.

"We'd take the horses to the river to drink water -- that was our first job as young boys."

Each August, the rolling hills surrounding Little Big Horn River in Montana are transformed into the "teepee capital of the world," with over a thousand tents and hundreds of horses converging for the Crow Fair and Rodeo.

Started over a century ago in 1904, the four-day festival is one of the largest gatherings of Native Americans in the country, with spectacular traditional costumes casting a luminous kaleidoscope of color beneath a brilliant blue sky.

It's also an important training ground for the next generation of rodeo stars.

Youngsters learn to handle the ropes early, at the Crow Fair and Rodeo.

Montana Office of Tourism

"It's one of the largest Indian rodeos within the United States of America," explained Real Bird, who today teaches youngsters how to hold on for dear life in the arena.

"We've had quite a few young Indian men that have ridden here, gone into professional rodeo, and become world champions."

Real-life horse whisperers

Indeed, if you thought the world of rodeo was simply that of the white cowboy, think again.

There is another master of the saddle, one who has honed their horsemanship over hundreds of years.

American Indians have a special relationship with horses because it was a way of life

Robert Old Horn

"American Indians have a special relationship with horses because it was a way of life," said Jim's uncle, 78-year-old Robert Old Horn, also of the Crow Nation tribe.

"My family were known for their ability to ride bucking horses. There was a mastery to how they could ride a horse -- it involved timing, balance," said Old Horn, each word tumbling out slow and deep.

Outside the rodeo ring however, there's another sport taking place at Crow Fair -- and it's as fast and furious as they come.

Indian Relay

In the world of Indian Relay fearless jockeys race bareback around an oval track three times, leaping from horse to horse while still in motion.

At the end of each lap the rider jumps from their first horse, hits the ground running, then climbs onto the back of their next horse for the following lap.

Indian Relay bareback riding is not for the faint-hearted.

"It's more or less carried on from the warrior days of old, when they would go and invade enemy camps and make off with their horses," said Old Horn, who took part in his first relay when he was just 16.

"Today, white people might call it stealing. But back at the time it was a mark of bravery and courage to enter the camps, knowing you could meet your end."

The adrenalin-fuelled relay takes place without helmets, saddles, or goggles, and Old Horn is philosophical about the risks.

"There's a lot of danger in anything you do," he says evenly. "But there's the courage of the participants and the determination to master whatever it is they do."

Colorful Crow

As the sun sets, the evening pow wow begins, the sounds of traditional singing and dancing flowing through the campsite.

Riders don't just pack their horse saddles for the annual fair -- they include their dancing outfits and drums too.

They'd talk their own language, and they knew the Native American songs

Jim Real Bird

"During the day they'd do the races and rodeos, and then in the evenings they took part in a pow wow," said Real Bird, about a tradition stretching back 100 years.

"They'd talk their own language, and they knew the Native American songs."

And once the boisterous nightly celebrations have given way to sleep, the children will be the first to stir in their teepees come the dawn.

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