HAVIN’ A HOOT ‘N a HOWL
October 31, 2018
We at Skijor USA wish everyone a
Happy Halloween!
This is a great time of year to recharge,
have fun outdoors as the seasons change,
and get ramped up for the SJUSA skijoring events ahead.
We will be publishing a full description of our Points Series shortly
and inviting competitors to register their teams and declare their regions
in order to qualify to compete in our National Finals Championship
on March 9th & 10th, 2019 in West Yellowstone, Montana.
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~ YOUR FRIENDLY HAUNTED HOUSE ~
Here is how our SJUSA calendar stands currently.
January 5th & 6th ~ Helena, Montana
January 12th & 13th ~ Steamboat, Colorado
January 19th & 20th ~ Butte, Montana
January 26th & 27th ~ Jackson Hole, Wyoming
February 2nd & 3rd ~ Kremmling, Colorado
February 9th & 10th ~ Saratoga, Wyoming
February 16th & 17th ~ Columbia Falls, Montana
February 22nd & 23rd ~ Soldier Hollow, Utah
February 23rd & 24th ~ Wisdom, Montana
March 9th & 10th ~ West Yellowstone, Montana
Our Pagosa Springs, Colorado race
has just decided to postpone their event until next season.
Their new dates will be January 25th & 26th, 2020.
We fully support the organizers' decision and will continue to work
with the Skis and Saddles Pagosa Country Skijor Committee
to build and promote their event throughout 2019.
We have several races currently in the works,
but, as a practice, we do not announce events until they are official
("tentative" is not in our vocabulary)
&
We certainly do not announce races that have not
expressly
agreed to affiliate with our organization.
So stay tuned in the coming weeks!
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~ GHOULS & GOBLINS ~
The Skijor USA Corporate Council,
Loren, Mark & Levi,
continue to work to build the Alliance we envisioned,
and we are making GREAT progress!
For starters, Skijor USA has built an impressive team of organizers
who many of you will get to know in the coming months.
These individuals have been busy raising sponsorship funding,
designing cool websites, fine tuning event details
and getting in position to give it their all.
We are doing the same at a corporate level
&
are poised to announce several national sponsorships.
Our last Organizers' Summit was a great exchange
of knowledge and ideas, and the group's enthusiasm was contagious.
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~ WITCHES & WARLOCKS ~
We applaud the hard work and laudable efforts of our SJUSA Team Members!
They each have commitments and obligations beyond skijoring events
such as full-time jobs, wives or husbands, adolescent children and/or
properties and livestock for which they are directly responsible.
Most would say they have a combination of the above!
Still they are out there working for us and for you.
Brian Giordano
West Yellowstone, Montana
Brian lives in Boulder, Montana and has over 10 years experience as a professional event promoter through his own companies, Swoop Production and Three Deuces Photography, which he formed from the ground up. Before this, Brian worked nationally with the Rocky Mountain Fair Association as well as with the City of Sturgis for six years promoting the nation's biggest bike rally which pulled in 1.4 million attendees during its 75th anniversary year. Brian has his own show on The Travel Channel called Swoop in Sturgis. Due to this, he started his independent career with the Motorcycle Show Main Street and has secured major corporate sponsors for his own motorcycle team which included Western Power Sports, Harley Davidson and Fly Racing. In nine years, he successfully completed 600 events and shows. Brian and his newest company, Skijor West, see a positive future for skijoring which, from his perspective, is fresh and new and offers great family entertainment, a cool, positive image and a bright future for its athletes.
Tim Smead
Columbia Falls, Montana
Tim was born and raised in northern New Jersey where he learned the importance of volunteerism and giving back to your community at an early age. He was an active member of the Jefferson Arts Committee for 15 years where he organized and fundraised for events including one of the state's largest fireworks displays which had its roots in Tim's own living room. Tim also served as a volunteer firefighter and worked with his local band and theater.
Tim moved with his family to Montana a year ago and established two businesses, the Montana Lobster Co. and Flathead Valley Clean-Up.
He remains focused on sewing back into his newly adopted community and passing this legacy of leadership and volunteerism onto his children.
Kristin Bollinger
Soldier Hollow, Utah
Kristin has 20+ years experience in planning and executing special events. She started her hospitality career at the age of 19 working as field staff for a destination management company. Kristin lent her talents to Vail Resorts for much of her adult career as Director of Events forming valuable partnerships with numerous corporate sponsors including Coca Cola, Monster Energy, Ski Utah and Zions Bank. In 2016, Kristin partnered with some very talented visionaries to execute Utah's first ever skijoring event and it was a great success. Kristin's love for horses, her passion for skiing, skills in event planning and general quest for constant excitement in life (when she is not practicing yoga, that is!) makes her a natural to promote our sport.
Now, skijoring is in her soul.
Cregan Ortner
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Cregan is a lifelong equestrian and nationally ranked competitor in hunter/jumpers. She started skijoring in 2012 helping Dana Stiles, our Advisory Committee Member, to train her new horse, Newt. Cregan raced Newt in Leadville over the next three years and captured her first Championship Jacket pulling Tony Fox, a member of our Hall of Fame Committee, in the Legends Division in 2014. She was chosen as the Coca Cola Cowgirl for the Steamboat Springs PRCA. Cregan graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Equine Science in 1999 from the University of Vermont and became a licensed veterinary technician in 2003. She has practiced ever since specializing in working for large private ranches and working directly with partnered vets to provide the best care and service to clients and their animals. Cregan started her own business in 2012, Double Diamond Services, LLC, moving from the Vail Valley to Steamboat. She manages Priest Creek Ranch and offers top level horse care to private individuals. Cregan has produced numerous successful horse shows in the Yampa Valley and in 2018 launched and produced the Snowmelt Schooling Horse Show series which offers a supportive and welcoming environment for hunter/jumper riders of all ages and levels.
Ted Slather
Canterbury Park, Minnesota
Ted was a marketing major in college and also rode bulls in high school, college and for 6 years in the PRCA. His passion has always been for rodeo, and he has put on a PRCA rodeo in Waconia, Minnesota. Ted is a born entrepreneur who now owns a real estate and property management company called Latigo Leasing and Sales, Inc. Last year was his first skijoring event, and it was a resounding success. Ted says that in putting on these events he is "constantly trying to figure our how to get more people in the stands and how to get the ones that came to come back." He feels that spectator turn out translates to a higher prize pot which in turn brings more and better contestants.
While Canterbury Park's event is not currently affiliated with Skijor USA,
we fully support their race venue and find inspiration in their innovative approach to growing and popularizing our sport.
https://www.facebook.com/ExtremeEventsMNSkijoring/
Sam Mitchell
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Sam is an elegant and talented Canadian equestrian with a passion for style, competition and "Puttin' on the Ritz" in general. She is affiliated with the Calgary Polo Club in Okotoks, just outside of Calgary, where in February of 2018, she and her husband, Graham, hosted Skijordue, a unique skijoring venue that combined five types of races: Circuit, Relay, Sprint, Long Jump and Lounge, jam packed into one amazingly fun day under clear blue Alberta skies. This past summer, Sam was instrumental in bringing the art and fashion of Sidesaddle Racing to the Calgary Stampede
While Skijor Canada is not currently affiliated with Skijor USA,
we fully support their event which sets the bar higher for all of us!
We encourage you to check out their website and attend the 2019 event!
www.skijorcanada.com
ALL of these organizers are thinking outside the box to deliver an experience to both competitors and spectators that is forward looking and above all
FUN! FUN! FUN!
We have heard your pleas to put the fun back in skijoring
and shy away from bothersome politics,
and we are determine to deliver this to your doorstep in 2019.
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~ THE LEGEND OF SOLDIER HOLLOW & JACKSON HOLE ~
Our races websites and Facebook pages are looking great!
Check them out!
Helena, Montana
https://www.facebook.com/lastchanceskijoring/
Steamboat Skijoring
www.steamboatskijoring.com
Skijor Pagosa Country
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Skis-and-Saddles-SkiJor-Pagosa-Country-1121300754675793/about/
Jackson Hole Skijoring
www.jacksonholeskijoring.org
Saratoga Skijoring
www.saratogaskijoring.com
Columbia Falls Skijoring
Soldiers Saddles and Skis: The Race for Valor
https://www.facebook.com/events/185014552410884/
Utah Skijoring
www.skijoringutah.com
Wisdom, Montana
https://www.facebook.com/events/135763657089105/
West Yellowstone Skijoring
www.skijorwest.com
(Under Construction)
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~ BOO! ~
Don't be afraid to vote!
Just a friendly reminder to go to the polls on Tuesday, November 6th,
or your decision not to vote may haunt you for the next four years!
Now THAT'S scary!
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~ SAVE THE DATES ~
Tuesday, November 6th, Corporate Council Meeting
Monday, November 12th Advisory Council Meeting
Tuesday, November 27th, Organizers' Summit
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~ OUR NUMBERS ~
We have achieved
750 Follows
Thank you for visiting our page!
Go to: https://www.facebook.com/skijorusa/
Thank you also for opening and subscribing to
our weekly newsletter.
Your input is always welcome.
Please share announcements, comments or concerns at:
info@skijorusa.com
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JOR ON!
Your Team at Skijor USA
Mark, Levi, Loren, Dana, Bruce, Clay and Jerry
&
Your SJUSA Member Race Delegates
Photos courtesy of
Mark LaRowe & Kat Licht