SHEER DETERMINATION

March 3, 2022

Photos of Alina Gemza
and Marquise Young & Addison Dvoracek
taken by Skijor USA

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~ LATEST NEWS ~

Shotgun Skijoring
blasted into action like a bullet from a gun
in West Yellowstone, MT
this past weekend
attracting nearly 80 teams
from Montana and Alberta as well as Utah,
not to mention three brave snowmobilers,
Aaron, Dwayne and Cody,
from North Carolina and upstate New York,
who wanted to give skijoring a go!

The powder keg trio of
Brittany Delehant, Taylor Stobaugh and Colter Fretwell,
pulled together an AMAZING event.

Colter built and designed the track which challenged riders and skiers alike.
With two boomerang shaped turns close to the start and finish,
riders had to check their horses at times,
but could also allow them to speed up in the straight away in between
the turns and as they approached the run out.

Skiers, in turn, had to manage their 50' rope properly
especially on the second bank turn in order to complete the course.
It was REALLY fun to watch the teams adjust from Day 1 to Day 2.
All horses stayed safe, and so did competitors
displaying quick thinking trick rope skills.

I don't think I have ever seen
more skiers hold on to the rope with more staying power.
It seemed like the rope had been glued to their gloves!
In several cases, the skier was able to recover from being dragged,
miraculously find their balance and resume skiing
to the cheers of their fellow competitors and the crowd
(like Brett Farnsworth in his faux fur coat!)
Talk about RESOLVE!

Marquise Young and Addison Dvoracek,
who placed first at Skijoring Utah,
went from an incomplete run on Saturday
to a 1st Place finish on Sunday with the
fastest time of the weekend,
a clean run at 15 flat.

It was great to see Jennings Fraser,
Champion skier, Cam Fraser's daughter,
claim victory in the Junior Division
at the tender age of 10.
As I watched her confidently march up to the podium on awards night,
there is no doubt in my mind that Jennings will continue
to be a force to be reckoned with in years to come
just as Phoebe and Fiona Alverson are now.

Now teenaged sisters,
Phoebe and Fiona,
who began skijoring at Jennings' age,
dominate the Switch-A-Roo Division with their
combined equine and ski skills.
Then add Dad to the mix,
and the girls are consistently finishing in the top 10 in Sport,
often finding their way to the podium
in the top three!
(Just between us, one of the girls continued
competing despite a shoulder injury on Sunday.
Pretty darned tough!)

Alina Gemza
showed a similar amount of bravery
by competing despite a broken elbow.
She is the first competitor to be officially sponsored by Skijor USA.
Alina wanted to add our logo to her ski jacket,
so we provided the artwork and gave her $50.
She intends to apply the money to her entry fees in Red Lodge.

The town of West Yellowstone welcomed
our skijoring family with open arms
and
vows to support the event in years to come.
Thank you to Wild West Pizzeria for hosting
three nights of "debauchery
between registration, the Calcutta and awards.
Willie's Distillery Genuine Canadian Whisky
and Lewis & Clark Brewing's Miner's Gold
went down pretty smooth. . .
and the pallet of Montucky Cold Snaps was
consumed by competitors and
distributed to "of age" spectators
who danced to the Macarena and YMCA
at the prompting of
Sherri Holt,
announcer extraordinaire!

Grand Marshall, Stan Olsen, did a GREAT job
officiating the event and he, too,
danced with other volunteers
and spectators who were invited onto the track
between Sport and Open divisions
on Saturday.

In other words, the event was a BLAST from start to finish.

www.westyellowstoneskijoring.com

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~ UPCOMING EVENTS ~

Leadville, CO ~ March 5 & 6

The Leadville Skijoring Event
needs no introduction,
but there are a few things you should know.

This is just a warm up for next year,
the 75th anniversary!

Registration or sign up is IN PERSON only
at the Elks Lodge on Friday night.
Accommodations are scarce,
so be sure to have a plan if you are coming to compete.

There will be a draw as is customary.
If you do not have a teammate for your first "match" run,
your opportunity to find one is on Friday night.

There will be a Calcutta on the track prior to each day's event,
and racing will begin at noon.
The Open will be run first this year,
followed by Sport.
Dogs and drones are not allowed.
A snowmobile (BOTH days if there are teams)
and kids division (Saturday ONLY)
will follow the skier races.

Looks like cold temperatures Saturday
and snow on Sunday so bundle up!

The press is already talking up the event with a lengthy story
on TheDenverChannel.com
(Denver's ABC Channel 7)
‘Wild West stunt show that's like no other’
notes that the event will be live streamed
on The Wrangler Network.

Here is an excerpt:

"Leadville typically rounds out the season at the end,” Counsell said. “I think based on the history, just because we're at 10,200 feet, we had the snow for the longest. And so back in the pioneer days when you had events in places like Kremmling and Frisco and Dillon, Leadville always volunteered to go last because again, we had the best snow for the longest.”

“It is an iconic Wild West stunt show that's like no other,” he said.

To read the full article, click below:

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/wild-west-stunt-show-thats-like-no-other-ski-jorers-ready-to-race-down-leadvilles-historic-street?fbclid=IwAR01X143-nzszdg6NZFZBl0jrKd3-UdeYma93j-MCzF-KIndiNy5NzyeIC8

For more information, go to:
http://www.leadvilleskijoring.com

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~ FINAL RACES OF THE SEASON ~

Thunder in the Pines

Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
Friday, March 11th
7:30 PM
under the big lights
on the JDA Raceway at Evergreen Park

This is their second event.

Event Information
-$40/person or $80/team
-CASH ONLY DAY OF THE EVENT.
No Shows will not be permitted to participate in future events.
Please remember this is a FUNDRAISER put on by VOLUNTEERS.
-Friday, March 11th, 2022.
Registration 6:00 to 7:00pm at the Gordon Badger Stadium.
All participants must attend to sign waiver, pay fees and receive any updates.
-Course Walk through 7:00 pm on the course in front of the Grand Stand (where Stompede takes place).
-Event to start with O'Canada at 7:30 pm.
-Awards will be presented at conclusion of the event.
Must be in attendance or prize will roll to the next team.
-If you do not have a partner, submit your entry with "NEED ONE" in whatever position you require.
We will do our best to find you a partner.

Prizes include Most Authentic Wester Attire (get out those 10 Gallon hats and wooly chaps!), Most Epic Crash, etc.

Any questions can be directed to pcchorseprogram@gmail.com

To enter and for Rules and Regs
click on this Google Doc link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdfR7uE8Kydwe3avAZ5Guqb93_IVmNkIWCwt8_vA2rHjFhLGQ/viewform?fbclid=IwAR1DQWLh6jVilN4reDQCNLEbzrYhevRiWnh_drHJFV0Dq9D9kryCtJKA6qk

and watch this amusing video with
Drew Rogers, reigning champion,
to see what you are getting into!

https://www.facebook.com/S3BOARDSHOP.CA/videos/5189819534408181

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Pole and Spur

Blairmore, Alberta, Canada
Saturday, March 12th

Join them for their fifth skijoring event!

Crowsnest Pass, Alberta is hosting an event - horse, rider, and skier teams will race against the clock through an obstacle course with gates, rings, and jumps in an effort to claim glory as the fastest team - all of it on snow.

https://poleandspur.com

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Red Lodge, MT ~ March 12 & 13

As part of the Red Lodge Winter Fest,
the tradition of skijoring continues since 1980.
Wrangler Network will be live streaming this event as well.

https://redlodgeskijoring.com

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~ IN THE NEWS ~

Condé Nast Traveler
ran a story from the perspective of competitor, Colin Clancy, entitled
Part Ski Racing, Part Rodeo, Skijoring Might Be the Wildest Snow Sport Out There

Here is an excerpt:

"This sport is skijoring. Part rodeo, part ski racing, it’s a fastest-time-wins, Wild-West spectacle of horse-rider-skier teams navigating an obstacle course at breakneck speeds. Distinguishing themselves from the rest of the pack, competitors appear to balance on a razor’s edge of total disaster. Many teams fly over that edge, skiers colliding with snow in spectacular cold smoke crashes to raucous cheers from the crowd.

Modern-day skijoring blends cultures as it blends sports—even from the starting line, a racer can look to the rails and identify spectators who channel ski town chic and others embodying rural rancher grit. With every snow-exploding crash, near-miss, or speedy run, though, they all cheer in unison. Like the floor-length furs, shiny metallic ski suits, and gemstone-studded cowboy hats in the crowd, the sport’s meant to grab attention. Skijoring is pure Western romanticism set against a backdrop of purple mountain majesty."

For the full article and accompanying photographs click below:

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/part-ski-racing-part-rodeo-skijoring-might-be-the-wildest-snow-sport-out-there

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~ WINNERS CIRCLE ~

West Yellowstone, MT

Junior
1st: Madison Perdue/Jade & Jennings Fraser
29.8
2nd: Fiona Alverson/Raven & Jennings Fraser
31.9

Snowboard
1st: Monica Plecker/Z & Cam Fraser
47.7
2nd: Melissa Ostrander/Freya & Aaron Gaddy
1:06.3
3rd: Jenna McKillop/Jade & Jackson Barbor
1:31.8

Switch-A-Roo
1st: Fiona Alverson & Phoebe Alverson/Raven
46.4
2nd: Tayler Stobaugh & Josh Morrison/Bo
51.9
3rd: Melissa Ostrander & David Engle/Freya
1:51.4

Novice
1st: Cal Douglas/Buck & Gus Baer
38.6
2nd: Karli Lloyd/Trace & Tyler Boody
40.5
3rd: Cal Douglas/Buck & Sam Shelton
42.0

Sport
1st: Dennis Alverson/Scooter & Nick Becker
35.1
2nd: Dennis Alverson/Scooter & Phoebe Alverson
37.5
3rd: Melissa Ostrander/Itchy & Nick Bentley
37.8

Open/Pro
1st: Melissa Ostrander/War Pony & Cam Fraser
31.0
2nd: Nick Bentley/Sammy & Foster Kennedy
31.2
3rd: Jen Butler/Fast & Foster Kennedy
31.3

Jackpot
1stJeremy Knutson & Cam Fraser
16.5
2nd Phoebe Alverson & Sean Boylan
17.8
3rd Alex Kitchen & Foster Kennedy
18.1
Alex was a volunteer who helped manage the rope at the start.
Great to see her win after all her hard work!
&
A shout out to Arley Douglas, a rider, who had never skied before!

For full results go to:
https://www.facebook.com/WestYellowstoneSkijorAssociation/photos/a.410841364137974/443118130910297/

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We will bring you news and results
from the Skowhegan, Maine event
as soon as we have it!

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~ FACES OF SKIJORING ~

Check out some photos taken by Skijor USA at West Yellowstone Skijoring

https://www.facebook.com/skijorusa/photos/?ref=page_internal

PLEASE LIKE OUR PAGE & TAG AWAY ! ! !

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~ PHOTOS FROM EVENTS ~

The photo featured at the top of the newsletter
was taken by Ryszard Kulaga
at an event in Poland.
The series of frames is even more impressive!
It seems the horse fared better than
either the rider or the skier!

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Additional photos from Silverton, CO
were posted by Denise E. Jones
To view go to:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=denise.e.jones.3&set=a.10160198240194703

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For photos by Justin Treptow from West Yellowstone, MT
go to:
https://www.infocusphotoco.com/skijor?fbclid=IwAR2gO722jz4qO_970ddsyAEBwZLRQA85mefnmO2hqXphbm1Que2eb6lklxU

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JOR ON! and Stay safe and healthy!

Loren Zhimanskova,
President, Skijor USA, Inc. & Skijor International, LLC