February 17, 2025
SKIJORING WORLD CUP STYLE
Photos by Mark LaRowe & Cayuse Photo
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Once again,
record numbers of teams
and record numbers of spectators
swarmed to skijoring events in multiple quadrants of the USA.
Skijoring is living up to the designation as the
"fastest growing winter sport in North America"!
Whitefish Skijoring
had a record attendance
on Saturday with over 3000 fans
cheering on over 100 teams,
many of the competitors, new to the sport.
Extreme Events MN
at Canterbury Park
packed its bleachers with 10,000
fans cheering on over 360 competitors
who raced side by side down the track
in their 2 hour and 40 minute performances
Saturday and Sunday.
This event also included a super popular
Freestyle Division
a photo of which you see above.
Skijor USA
was on site in Driggs, Idaho
at Teton Valley Skijoring
which also broke records for attendance,
hosted 151 teams,
and doubled their sponsorship
support from last year.
Smaller, grass roots races in Wisdom, MT,
Bear Lake, UT and Skowhegan, ME
posted positive comments and photos online.
All race organizers and athletes
reported great morale and camaraderie
offering each other support
and making FUN the main ingredient
of the weekend.
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~ SUN VALLEY INVITATIONAL ~
This wondrous snowball effect
we are now experiencing will culminate
on March 24, 2025
in Sun Valley, Idaho at the
Audi FIS Ski World Cup Finals
where an invitational skijoring event will be held.
Sun Valley Resort and The City of Sun Valley
are co-sponsoring and hosting the event,
which is strictly an invitational.
A committee of organizers from Bellevue, Idaho
are planning and overseeing the race
which will take place from noon to 3 PM.
The venue is currently called
Festival Meadows,
which is a 10-acre area used for
activities throughout the year.
During the event there will be fire pits
to keep spectators warm and vendors to
offer onlookers plenty of choices for food and souvenirs.
On the day of the skijoring race, the area will be
rededicated as Champions Meadow
since it holds statues of Olympians.
A statue of Picabo Street will be unveiled on March 24th.
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There will be three divisions in the race,
Open, Sport and Womens,
in a Match/Draw format.
Each rider and skier will compete only twice.
There is a 20K purse,
and 5 places will be awarded
with a combination of buckles, jackets and cash
distributed depending on placement.
Competitors and spectators are encouraged to dress
in their best SKIJOR style!
This event celebrates the essence of winter sport,
dedication, talent and determination,
but is also meant to be a fun competition showcasing
teamwork, camaraderie and sportsmanship.
The skijoring community is honored
to be invited to represent a sport that has a long
history throughout many countries around the world
and has been exhibited during other elite events
such as the Nordic Games in Stockholm
in 1901, 1906 and 1909
and the Winter Olympic Games
in 1924 in Chamonix and 1928 in St. Moritz.
We are happy to be back in the limelight.
sitting tall in the saddle and buckled into our boots
for the ride of a lifetime in Sun Valley!
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~ A BLAST FROM THE PAST ~
Back in 2015,
RMX Skijoring organized an event
in Minturn, Colorado
during the Vail/Beaver Creek
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.
The event was scheduled on a Thursday
with the intention of attracting media
from around the world,
and it succeeded!
In fact, Swiss TV did a story
comparing the two styles of skijoring
in the Western US and in Europe.
By the way,
The RMX logo may look familiar. . .
As Oscar Wilde said,
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ THEN & NOW ~
How cool is it that we have
come so far in 10 years!
The same message is being broadcast,
but there is NO DOUBT
that skijoring is BIGGER and BETTER!
If you build it, they will come!
Check out this article in the Vail Daily!
The article opens with;
"Skijoring is one of those “hold-my-beer-and-watch-this” events
that would explain why women live longer than men,
except women do it, too.
Skijoring is not complicated.
Follow your horse and don’t fall down."
https://www.vaildaily.com/news/skijoring-in-minturn-is-part-of-thursdays-world-championships-lineup/
Then,
Watch this flash back video
featuring riders like
Dana Stiles riding Merlin
&
Jeff Dahl riding Rage and Red Lodge
and skiers
Shawn Gerber, Bruce Stott,
Darin Anderson and the Dahl brothers,
Jason and Greg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYfKRdulAdQ
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~ NEW RACE IN THE NORTHWEST ~
The skijoring fever
has spread to the Sierra Nevadas!
A group of 10 riders and their skiers planned
a fun event this weekend
in Truckee, California
which we hope will still happen.
If not this year, then certainly, in 2026.
Check out
Sierra Nevada Skijoring
on Facebook and Instagram
https://www.facebook.com/groups/921750296570094/
and contact Stephanie Randall at
(530) 608-7425
stephanie.randall77@gmail.com
to support the new race and get involved.
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~ UPCOMING EVENTS ~
Leadville, Colorado
will host its 77th annual race
on March 1 & 2.
For anyone not familiar with the story. . .
"Two close friends sat in a booth at the Golden Burro Café discussing the upcoming winter festivities in Leadville, Colorado. The year was 1949, and the task at hand was to come up with something new to add to the event list for the festivities. Over several cups of coffee and pie, the two decided to take a trip and see if they could bring back any ideas from the Steamboat Springs winter carnival. Steamboat was where Tom Schroeder and "Mugs" Ossman first witnessed the sport of Ski Joring, a horse-and-rider pulling a skier. The sport they saw in Steamboat, however, was the basis of what they decided to do, only they could not understand why anyone would want to go that slow! Mugs raised Quarter Horses for speed, and of course 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 first tried it in the pasture in the deep snow, and the sport of Ski Joring as we know it today was born." as told to Paul Copper by Tom Schroeder
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Leadville's race begins at high noon
and is run down Harrison Avenue,
Leadville's main thoroughfare.
There are only two divisions,
Open and Sport,
and thus, two sets of jumps
which are built tall with sheer drop offs.
Skiers are also asked to collect
up to six rings.
It is one of the only races with a
Match/Draw format,
which adds to the excitement.
The Sun Valley event is using this, too.
The horses run at top speeds
on a snowy course built on asphalt.
Thousands of spectators, many from nearby mountain towns
or from the front range including Denver,
line both sides of the street
and cheer the teams on to victory.
The colorful collection of restaurants,
bars and shops
are full of nibblers, imbibers and patrons.
The Elks Club is packed with
competitors, volunteers and those who have
been involved with Leadville Skijoring for decades.
Leadville has been dubbed
The Daddy of 'Em All
when it comes to skijoring,
and like the rodeo in Cheyenne from which it takes
this name, it is not for the faint of heart.
Best of luck to all participating.
Skijor USA will be seeing you in the 'Ville!
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For more information on any of these events or for
a continuous up-to-date calendar
and links to events March 8th & 9th
Steele Ranch Skijoring, Wyoming
Red Lodge Skijoring, Montana
Grand Lake Skijoring, Colorado
Pole & Spur, Alberta, Canada
Thunder In The Pines, Alberta, Canada
go to
SKIJOR USA
https://www.skijorusa.com/
Click on each event to get more information.
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~ IN THE NEWS ~
Organizer,
Ted Slathar,
of Extreme Events MN
was interviewed by ABC Eyewitness News
and speaks about what it takes to build a course
with the help of sponsor Piston Bully.
He also touches on how waterskiing experience
can help with training skiers to race.
Ted includes other events during the skijoring race
such as Weiner dog, Corgi and Bernese Mountain
dog races, a true crowd pleaser!
https://kstp.com/kstp-news/local-news/interview-extreme-horse-skijoring-at-canterbury-park/
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The headline from CentralMaine.com boasts,
"Biggest ever Skijor Skowhegan meshes
Scandinavian sport with economic impact.
Thousands braved the cold and wind at the Skowhegan Fairgrounds
to watch horses pull people on skis and snowboards."
We hope the sport keeps growing in the Northeastern States!
We love you, Maine!
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~ RESULTS ~
Congratulations to all who participated
in this past weekend's races.
In the Open Division,
Richard Weber took 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th
at Teton Valley Skijoring
pulling Jim Ryan and Ty Free
Josh Abbott, Elvis and Colin Cook placed 2nd.
At Whitefish Skijoring
Kristin Macasek and Cody Smith
finished 1st and 2nd with only .03 seconds
between their winning times.
David Rizzolo finished 3rd and 4th
skiing behind Kristen Macasek
and his Mom, Jennifer Butler.
At Big Hole Valley Skijoring in Wisdom, Montana
in the Class A Division
Derrick Pawlikowski rode Kaiser
to victory pulling Kellan Stevenson with a
2 second lead over 2nd place in the average.
At Skijoring the Bear,
Elisha Burgener pulled Liam Shanahan
to a 1st place victory
breaking the 19 second barrier on Saturday and
Yale Johnson pulled Troy Houston
placed 2nd with
Fallon Johnson and Troy Houston in 3rd.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In the Sport Division,
Dylanne Free rode Snowman
pulling Jack Dale to a 1st place victory
breaking the 19 second barrier on Saturday
in Teton Valley
and pulled Dayne Free to a 2nd place victory.
In Whitefish,
Bailey McCanna rode Ned
to a 1st place win pulling Weston Helle,
then she rode Badger to a 2nd place win pulling
Josh Morrison!
Morgan Owens rode Jet pulling Michelle Garrett
to win the Class B division in Wisdom.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We would like to congratulate the winners
of additional divisions such as
Novice, Womens, Snowboard,
Junior and Freestyle.
Of special note are:
Snowboard Division
Jacobe Chacon
swept the Teton Valley race
placing 1st, 2nd and 3rd
behind Kat Licht, Dylanne Free and Cortney Anderson
with horses CVC Wild Look, Snowman and Shea A Shiny Benz
or ("Moon") respectively.
In Whitefish,
Cheyne Shoultz placed 1st and 2nd
behind Shane McCaffree and Adam Sneed riding Spook.
Mom and son team, Jennifer Butler and David Rizzolo
came in 3rd with Junior.
At Skijoring the Bear,
Trevor Howard and Luke Sperry
won the Snowboard Division.
Womens Division
Teton Valley had a Womens Division on Saturday only.
Vanessa Heileson rode Black Shawn to finish 1st
pulling Dena Horstkotte
and
Gina Weymiller rode Pepper to finish 2nd
pulling Tara Bell.
Jackpot
Teton Valley had a Jackpot Race on Sunday only.
Hailey Walker and Bryson Threatt
captured 1st place by .02 seconds
edging out Carly Lloyd and Dayne Free.
It was an exciting finish to a wonderful weekend
and
perhaps the most fun had by the competitors!
We hope more races include a Jackpot going forward
since it allows teams to mix and explore new combinations.
It is also just PLAIN FUN! ! !
For complete results for Teton Valley click here:
https://my.raceresult.com/328109/#0_F9057A
For Whitefish click here:
https://my.raceresult.com/327563/results?
Big Hole Skijoring
posted their results on Facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/BigHoleValleySkiJoring
We are waiting for Extreme Events MN and Skowhegan to post results.
Go to
www.skijorusa.com
for easy access to websites/Facebook pages.
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JOR ON!
Loren Zhimanskova,
President, Skijor USA, Inc. & Skijor International, LLC