March 2, 2023
~ FACES OF SKIJORING ~
Photographs courtesy of Mark LaRowe Photography
Michael Miller and Hayden LaPointe
are sporting the Pit Viper Sunglasses!
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SMILE!
~ YOU'RE ON CANDID CAMERA! ~
Years ago, Skijor International
started an Instagram page called
Faces of Skijoring.
For some reason, many images
were removed (gotta luv technology),
but the point is that we wanted to
emphasize how welcoming skijoring is to people of all
ages, ethnicities, sexes and social backgrounds
and, hence, what a fun, fanciful and diverse community
has emerged over the past decade.
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Photographer, Mark LaRowe,
a former board member of Skijor USA,
has been capturing images of skijoring events
for almost a decade now,
and we are thrilled to see that he has added
a category to his albums entitled,
"Candids".
Don't get us wrong, his action shots are amazing, too,
but the photographs of people warm our hearts.
We have chosen a few above,
and we encourage you to go to Mark's website
to view ALL of his photographs from the past three races:
Best of the West Showdown, Big Sky, Montana
Wood River Extreme Skijoring, Hailey, Idaho
Teton Valley Skijoring, Driggs, Idaho
Photographs are available for purchase
if you find yourself in the mix,
want to use them for promotional purposes
or wish to hold onto a memory or two.
Thank you, Mark, for capturing all of these moments
so that we can each catalogue our own personal skijoring journey.
2023 Skijoring photos can be found by
clicking on the link below.
You will see a blank grey page.
Click on the double arrows in the top bar,
then click on MORE INFO.
The galleries will appear.
https://marklarowe.photoshelter.com/index/C0000x397pc8L2LQ
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~ A RECORD SEASON ~
This past weekend's events
are testimony to the fact that skijoring
is setting all kinds of new records.
Record Participation
Record Crowds &
Record Media
Congratulations to all organizers, competitors,
volunteers and sponsors.
Well done!
Extreme Events MN
put on a race last Saturday
at Canterbury Park in an efficient 2 & 1/2-hour jaw-dropping
Skijor Sport Spectacular.
Over 10,000 spectators filled the stands
to watch 230 teams
go head to head down the perfect course
(two at a time and side by side)
thanks to two feet of snowfall only a few days before the event.
8 professional photographers
jostled for position to get the best shots
while film crews grabbed epic footage
to air on Minnesota's nightly news.
A Calcutta was held for the first time, and
much money was raised for the
High School Rodeo Scholarship Fund.
Teton Valley Skijoring
issued 21 media passes
and had a packed VIP tent on site
while 3000 spectators lined the track
over the two day period.
Saturday was a blue sky day punctuated
with a spectacular sunset on the jagged Tetons,
and Sunday it snowed, and snowed, and snowed some more.
Friends and families gathered around
teepee shaped bonfires provided by sponsor
Cowboy Cauldron Company.
Nice touch!
Skijordue, Calgary, AB
With over 100 competitors
from the US, Canada and Ireland,
wowing the crowd in novel and exciting divisions
such as Relay, Sprint and Long Jump,
Skijor Canada's premier event was at capacity.
(This is a follow up to attracting 7000 people in Banff
for the exhibition event last month!)
On site, 5,500 festival-goers enjoyed this
Skijor Extravaganza
while also experiencing a myriad of delightful
amenities like a maker’s marketplace, chalet photo booth,
sponsors lounge, wood fires, newfangled fondue, bratwurst, poutine,
food trucks, craft beers and spirits, spectator style awards,
a DJ and race commentary along with an instant replay video wall.
All of this was topped off with an acres-ski(jor) party.
Even Big Hole Valley Skijoring
in the quaint town of Wisdom, Montana
attracted the best spectator turn out in its history!
As is traditional, the event began with a team of Clydesdales
pulling a beautiful sled from which the Montana state
and United States flags are flown.
Those who competed all had a great time
at this community-oriented event.
Next year, Wisdom will be looking to attract more participants,
especially Novice.
Gillette, Wyoming and Skowhegan, Maine
had increased attendance
and local media covered the events with enthusiasm
as you will read below.
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~ NEW EVENT ~
This weekend,
March 4th & 5th,
The Blackfeet Nation
will be hosting a skijoring event in
Browning, Montana
(100 miles east of Whitefish)
at Charging Home Stampede Park.
The Blackfeet Nation Tribal
Business Council
is sponsoring the event
in conjunction with Skijoring Magazine
and Whitefish Skijoring.
There will be three divisions of skijoring,
Open, Sport and Novice,
plus activities for children such as
Sledding
(ages 5 & Under and 6 - 12)
and
Horse Inner Tube Curling
(ages 13 - 17)
A $15,000 prize purse has been raised
&
a Calcutta will be held
at the Glacier Peaks Hotel Restaurant
on Saturday night.
There will also be a contest
for Best Dressed in the Native Tradition.
For more information call:
Gayle Skunk Cap, Jr. (406) 845-8032
Kourtney Bull Child (406) 450-3007 or
Wendy Bull Child (406) 450-1586
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Also, this coming weekend
Leadville Skijoring
will be hosting their 75th annual race!
WOW! What a milestone!
This is where Western style skijoring
down an obstacle course-like track had its beginnings.
In case you haven't heard the story,
here it is as told by Tony Fox,
a former competitor on skis and skijor historian.
1949 – Two close friends sat in a booth at the Golden Burro Café in Leadville Colorado discussing the upcoming winter festivities during the annual Crystal Carnival festival. The year was 1949, and the task at hand was to come up with something new for the carnival. Over several cups of coffee and pie, the two decided to take a trip to the Steamboat Springs winter carnival to see if they could glean any new ideas. While in Steamboat, Tom Schroeder and "Mugs" Ossman first witnessed the sport of Ski Joring, a horse-and-rider pulling a skier. Tom and Mugs were impressed by the prospect of ski joring, however, they couldn’t understand why anyone would want to go that slow! Mugs raised Quarter Horses for speed, and Tom, being the feisty Irishman skier he was, knew that there was not a horse alive fast enough to "lose" him on a pair of skis. They went out to the Ossman Ranch just north of town and tried ski joring for the first time. The snow in the pasture was deep, but the sport of Ski Joring was born and continues to this day.
Mid 1950’s – Jody Manly begins to compete in ski joring competitions in and around Leadville. Ski joring races are being held in the downtown streets of Leadville at this time.
Late 1980’s – Ski joring in Leadville ceases to exist because competitors and spectators started to lose interest. It was said that many folks didn’t like that the same “few” skiers and riders were always winning the money. That, combined with the fact that the races were moved out of town, led to an overall decrease in the event’s popularity. At this time, the only ski joring race occurring in North America was the Red Lodge race.
*Footnote – it should be pointed out that in the late 80’s and early 90’s, two competitors from Colorado, Jerry Kissell from Leadville and Kenny Hilton from Granby, went to Red Lodge and completely transformed the level of competition at this race. Prior to their arrival, finishing times at the Red Lodge race were in the 25 second range. On the exact same course in their first year, Jerry and Ken finished 1st and 2nd overall respectively with times in the 17 second range, and completely blew the minds of everyone in Red Lodge.
1993 – Tony Fox arrived in Leadville after graduating college and learns about the magical “Leadville Crystal Carnival” and the infamous 1896 Leadville Ice Palace. Tony is instructed by his employer, St. Vincent General Hospital, to position the hospital more visibly in the community. Tony wanted to bring back some of the old, long-lost Leadville traditions, and while researching the Leadville Ice Palace, he stumbled on some old ski joring photos and was immediately captivated. A hospital colleague, Betsy Baier, told Tony to see Paul Copper about ski joring, since Paul was the “Leadville Ski Joring guru”. Paul instructed Tony on all of the ins and outs of the sport and gave him a general heading for next steps, including getting Jody Manly involved, as Jody was the expert course builder from back in the day. Tony asked Paul how hard would it be to bring ski joring back to Main Street, and Paul said “just shy of impossible, but it’s worth asking about!” The first weekend of March, 1994 was the date selected, and would become a very important date in the history of Modern-day ski joring!
And as the saying goes,
"The rest is history!"
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~ UPCOMING EVENTS ~
In addition to Red Lodge, Montana
over the weekend of
March 11th & 12th
https://www.redlodgeskijoring.com/
3 events will be held
on Saturday, March 11th
in Alberta, Canada.
MS Ain't Purdy Skijoring
in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada
This is personal journey for the Purdy family.
All funds from this event support the Lakeland branch of
the MS Society of Canada
to help those living LOCALLY with MS!
To donate, click on the link below.
The goal is $25,000 and $17,025 has already been raised!
https://msspwalk.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.event&eventID=975
For more information, call
780-207-7389
or go to the event's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089847481412
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The Pole and Spur / Crowsnest Skijoring
in Blairmore, Alberta, Canada
at 11:00 AM
https://www.facebook.com/thepoleandspur/
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Thunder In The Pines
in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
at 5:00 PM
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdfR7uE8Kydwe3avAZ5Guqb93_IVmNkIWCwt8_vA2rHjFhLGQ/viewform?fbclid=IwAR1DQWLh6jVilN4reDQCNLEbzrYhevRiWnh_drHJFV0Dq9D9kryCtJKA6qk
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~ GIRL POWER ~
As a follow up to last week's newsletter,
we would like to congratulate
and acknowledge some female athletes
at this past weekend's events.
Hedy Seeber
placed 2nd and 4th
in the Sport Division
in Driggs, Idaho at Teton Valley Skijoring.
Brooke Adams
&
Jenna McKillup,
her rider, won the Snowboard Division
in Driggs, Idaho at Teton Valley Skijoring.
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We thought we were seeing double,
but we weren't!
Brittany Leafe and Jacy Todd
took first place in the Powder Puff Division in
BOTH Sundance & Gillette Wyoming!
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In Canterbury Park,
at Extreme Events MN Skijoring
the team of
Allison Kline and Kelsey Sievert
placed 3rd in the Open Division!
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Names like
Claire Perks, Kamilia Grabinski
and Sophie Coutur
appeared in the top three of several divisions
at Skijor Canada's Skijordue
&
Team Girl Power:
Tiffany Hiller and Jessica Horne
took third in the Sprint Division.
&
Organizer, Sam Mitchell,
placed first in the Alpine Lounge Race.
If you don't know what this is, a team of horses
pulls a couch on which two people sit.
Yep! It is quite a spectacle!
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At Big Hole Valley Skijoring
4 out of 5 divisions had female buckle winners!
Riders
Aza Sechtem in Sport
Julia Carrasco in Novice and Womens
Shellby Martinell in Beginner / Snowboard
&
Michelle Garnett place 2nd in Open as a skier
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~ IN THE NEWS ~
We Have Liftoff!
History was made in Driggs, Idaho this weekend
when an astronaut skied behind a horse,
and not just any astronaut.
John Herrington,
is the first Native American to fly in space.
He was pulled by Michael Miller,
not once, not twice, but four times!
Course Marshal, Stan Olsen, jokingly offered to punch
his frequent flyer card as he sped past!
Watch for the story on GOUSA TV
in the Trail Blazers series!
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Ah! The Luck O' The Irish!
An Irish couple is making local news at home
and in Alberta, Canada.
Here is an excerpt from the article in breakingnews.ie
by Louise Walsh
"Susan Oakes and her best friend Barry O'Brien Lynch failed to retain their sprint title at the Skijordue Festival in Calgary, but did win the Alpine Lounge race on Saturday. They also came second in the long jump event.
Skijoring is North America's fastest growing winter sport and consists of a horse pulling a skier over obstacles through the snow at speeds up to 65km per hour.
Their new accolade involved the pals both sitting on a couch, complete with table and a lamp, and being pulled across the snow at breakneck speed by two horses and riders.
Susan and Barry were the only team from Europe among up to 200 competitors from all over Canada and the US who took part.
Barry (43) was even dubbed the 'Tractor guy' by competitors who marvelled at how the duo had trained without any snow with a tractor pulling Barry in a sledge along a roll of carpet. This time their no snow training technique consisted of Susan on horseback pulling Barry along on skis tied to skateboards.
Skier Barry O'Brien Lynch said: 'There's a massive following for this sport over here and it's a great spectacle with the high risk, high speed nature of the events – and it looks like this sport will continue to grow exponentially.'"
To read the full article, click below:
https://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/meath-pair-win-unusual-winter-sport-event-pulled-by-horses-on-a-sofa-built-on-skis-1439018.html
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The Gillette News Record
ran a story with the title:
Second annual Gillette Skijor Derby proves success.
"The 14 inches of snow and frigid temperatures last week kept many at home and closed down most of Gillette, but it also allowed for the second annual skijor derby to make a wicked comeback. Thanks to the influx of flakes and temps that halted any fresh moisture from melting, the derby came back on track within a week’s time after uncertainty due to a lack of snow the week before."
https://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/news/local/article_e84735c8-1492-5100-a4e8-be1d5a78441a.html?fbclid=IwAR1pCiqlJlUM9ZAo0z93DXMwv7aQnSCalxLhaLfZwAglYSSr5YCZlAY807s
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News Center Maine
continued the theme emphasizing the cold conditions
but still reported that
"Hundreds gathered in Skowhegan on Saturday to watch the Somerset Snowfest skijoring competition, with crowds fighting off cold temperatures to watch as competitors riding horses or being pulled behind on skis and snowboards navigated a tricky racecourse."
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In case you missed it!
The Saturday Evening Post article:
https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2023/02/discover-skijoring-and-maybe-even-give-it-a-try-at-these-winter-races/
The Well + Good article:
https://www.wellandgood.com/skijoring/
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~ RESULTS ~
Congratulations to everyone who entered each division.
We LOVE seeing new names on the rosters
and
we hope you keep coming back for more skijoring fun!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Teton Valley Skijoring
(Combined Times)
Open
1st: 90 Years Young 35.43
Jed Moore on Zombie with Cam Fraser
2nd: Fast Gas 35.46
Richard Weber on Frank & Beans with Tyler Smedsrud
3rd: Need A Win 35.66
Trae McInroe on Charlie with Tyler Smedsrud
Sport
1st: Arley Douglas on Dragon with Oliver Van Everen 36.93
2nd: Kevin Derzaph on Neato with Hedy Seeber 37.35
3rd: Kevin Derzaph on Neato with Cole Bailey 37.57
Novice
1st: Alex and Jess 38.60
Jessica Jorgensen on Levy with Alex Strangeland
2nd: Too Cool For School 41.96
Rosie Rogers on Billy with Tyler Boody
3rd: Faster 'N Dave 46.98
Whitney Jount on Clover with Ian Nelson
Switch-A-Roo
1st: Rodeo Bums 34.99
Jed Moore and Colin Wolfe on Peaches
2nd: Ride To Ski 36.06
Ozzie Hay and Tyler Smedsrud on Three
3rd: Big Sky Ballers 44.94
Taylor McVay and Haley Hodge on Spartan
Snowboard
1st: Jenna McKillop on Bucky with Brooke Adams 39.49
2nd: Tyler Smedsrud on Three with Jakobe Chacon 39.82
3rd: Richard Weber on Dirty with Jakobe Chacon 41.03
Junior
1st: North End Shredders 39.85
Tristan Montesandeter on Jeter with Will Kaiser
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Skijordue
(Single Times)
Circuit
1st: Little Monkey Metal 35.23
Harvey Bushman, Claire Perks, Mack McCue
2nd: Rum Runners 36.64
Gorgeous George, Erin Thompson, Nick Baggley
3rd: Western Horse Review 36.80
ABBA, Kenny Miller, Kamilia Grabinski
Sprint
1st: Old West Cowboys 18.55
Miley, Sophie Coutur, Grant Belbin
2nd: Apres Skijor 19.44
Jaco, Rob Foster, Jenn Foster
3rd: Girl Power 19.52
Finnick, Tiffany Hiller, Jessica Horne
Relay
1st: Old West Cowboys 25.50
Miley, Sophie Coutur, Grant Belbin, Patrick Ward
2nd: Little Monkey Metal 27.81
Harvey Mushman, Claire Perks, Mack McCue, Nick Baggley
3rd: Western Horse Review 41.80
ABBA, Kenny Miller, Pete Bernier, Kamilia Grabinski
Long Jump
1st: Branded Peak Bandits
Vanessa Mannix, Philip Hudec
2nd: Team Ireland
Susan Oakes, Philip Hudec
3rd: Bar XP Photo
Gongshow Prescott, Kamilia Grabinski
Alpine Lounge
1st: O'Brian's Bar & Restaurant
Sam Mitchell & Ryan Kennedy
Susan Oakes & Barry O'Brian Lynch
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Extreme Events MN Skijoring
Canterbury Park
(Single Times)
Open
1st: Stacy Nelson & Jon Rausch 15.78
2nd: Matt Pojanowski & DJ Sagendorf
3rd: Allison Kline & Kelsey Sievert 16.50
Novice
1st: Samantha Behrends & Cory Berhendt 17.91
2nd: Dylan Thomas & John Stutzman 18.50
3rd: Anders Lillemo & Ashlyn Simpson 18.56
Snowboard
1st: Amber Mielke & Jacob Sterling 21.31
2nd: Katrina Kelley & Matthew Kelley 22.03
3rd: Kristin Peterson & Mike Liddle 22.22
Freestyle
1st: Amber Mielke & Tyler Anderson
2nd: Matt Pojanowsk & Sam Kulberg
3rd: Sadie Krabbenhoft & DJ Sagendorf
Youth
1st: Kenzie Hartwig & Raiden Slathar 24.51
2nd: William Husfeldt & Kaden Alders 25.0
3rd: William Husfeldt & Jaden Bixby 28.12
PeeWee
1st: Larry Rydeen & Josh Shipe 41.47
2nd: Vienna Vetter & Harleigh Schwartz 57.59
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Gillette Skijor Derby
(Average Times)
Open 1D
1st: Carson Long and Jake Underwood 32.06
2nd: Carson Long and Tommy Ford 35.04
Open 2D
1st: Zach Pautz and Jake Fosheim 37.93
2nd: Pete Buswell and Jake Underwood 38.40
3rd: Ryan Knievel and Jared Schaefer 39.53
Powder Puff
1st: Brittany Leafe and Jacy Todd 31.84
2nd: Alisa Roll and Kelley Jessen 40.91
3rd: Alisa Roll and Heidi Gustafson 42.00
Young Guns
1st: Grace Wilson and Kale Roswadovski 36.90
2nd: Grace Wilson and Randy Greer 43.41
3rd: Wyatt Wilson and Kale Roswadovski 45.58
Snowboard
1st: Andrew Averill and Austin Idler 17.76
2nd: Gabe Randall and Austin Idler 22.06
Classic
1st: Kevin Wilson and Randy Greer 26.69
2nd: Kevin Wilson and Jake Foshiem 27.58
3rd: Zach Pautz and Jake Foshiem 29.16
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Big Hole Skijoring
(Combined Times)
Open
1st: Derrick Pawlokowski on Kaiser with Kellen Stevenson 43.16
2nd: CC French on Rebel with Michelle Garnett 50.65
Sport
1st: Aza Sechtem on Arti with Holden Largay 45.9
2nd: Sarah Baker on Tupelo Honey with Kellen Stevenson 48.64
3rd: Alyssa Sylvia on Malt with Morgan Bills 50.43
Novice
(Sunday Only)
1st: Julia Carrasco on Dino with Dave Boulter 25.27
2nd: Derrick Pawlokowski on Kaiser with Conner Blednis 26.15
3rd: CC French on Rebel with Ross Tulloch 27.34
Womens
Julia Carrasco on Dyno with Delaney Lockhart 46.89
Beginner & Snowboard
(Saturday Only)
1st: Shellby Martinell on Ray with Justin Martinell
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Skijor Skowhegan
TBD
For complete results go to
SkijorUSA's Facebook Page
where links from each event's results were shared.
https://www.facebook.com/skijorusa
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JOR ON!
Loren Zhimanskova,
President, Skijor USA, Inc. & Skijor International, LLC