‘TIS THE SEASON TO SKIJOR! ! !
First and foremost, Skijor USA & Skijor International
wishes each of you
A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS
&
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
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~ NEW YEAR'S EVE & DAY ~
Start your 2023 skijoring season in
Meeker, Colorado
There has been lots of snow in this region
so conditions should be great for racing!
The theme for Day 1 is Mardi Gras
&
the theme for Day 2 is Vikings
The divisions are Open, Sport & Novice.
For spectators and participants,
there will be a Biergarten and Brewfest
both days of the event
&
music by
The Tucker Rose Band
'til midnight New Year's Eve!
For more info visit
https://www.meekerskijor.com/
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~ NEW DATES & NEW EVENTS ~
There are now 30 events planned for 2023!
Skijoring Utah
has announced their dates to be
January 27 & 28
(Friday & Saturday)
in Heber City, Utah
https://www.skijoringutah.com/
Skijor Canada
has announced their date to be
January 28
(Saturday Only)
in Banff, Alberta
https://www.skijorcanada.com/
Sundance, Wyoming
has moved their date to
February 18
(Saturday Only)
https://www.sundancewinterfestival.com/
A new race in
Craig, Colorado
is now scheduled for
February 11 & 12
at the Moffat County Fairgrounds
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087744381354&mibextid=LQQJ4d
And a FINAL race in
Bondurant, Wyoming
is now scheduled for
March 18 & 19
at the Little Jennie Ranch
More information will be available shortly on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/littlejennieranch
The only races on which we are still waiting on dates
are Rice Lake, WI and Grande Prairie, Alberta
better known as Thunder In The Pines.
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Coal Mountain Skijoring
in
Craig, CO
This new event has everything going for it!
Organizer, Kaley McLean,
has been competing in skijoring as a rider for three years.
She also comes from a rodeo background.
Noting how some venues struggle with snow conditions,
Kaley decided to take advantage of the snowfall that
her hometown promises every winter
and apply all that she has learned about skijoring
and rodeo events to create a strong race.
She is also consulting with experienced race organizers
to ensure she is set up for success.
The town of Craig offers the perfect infrastructure
for hosting a skijoring event
at the Moffat County Fairgrounds.
The course will be built on the track's straight away
with the help of Richard Weber and Tyler Smedsrud of San Juan Skijoring.
Horses will have a solid footing, safety fencing is already built and
spectators can watch from the comfort of bleachers.
The fairground's pavilion will allow the Calcutta and awards
ceremonies to be held on site.
There is ample trailer parking and stalls for horses,
heated bathrooms and running water,
and the town has plenty of restaurants and hotel rooms.
Kaley decided to schedule her event
on the same weekend as Steamboat's Winter Carnival
where skijoring is a tradition on Saturday
and adults pull children down Lincoln Avenue for fun.
She feels the events will naturally compliment each other,
since Coal Mountain Skijoring is more of a competitive event,
and we agree!
Also, the second week of February has traditionally
been when Craig held their cutter races.
So, like other western towns such as Jackson or Saratoga, WY,
Craig is simply replacing one tradition with another.
Kaley already has a Facebook Page up and running
and is currently building a website.
Registration for the event will begin shortly after
the first of the year.
Kaley plans on providing details
regarding rules, divisions and payout structure
as soon as possible, since, as a competitor, she believes in transparency
and understands that people have choices to make given the
increase in races.
She has already blocked out rooms for the event and
lined up entertainment for Saturday night!
Wordan Jilson,
(a play on his real name, Jordan Wilson)
is a local musician with a strong following and
will entertain the skijoring crowds at this inaugural event.
For questions and contact information go to:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087744381354
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~ UPDATED 2023 CALENDAR ~
MEEKER, CO ~ DEC 31 & JAN 1
RIDGWAY, CO ~ JAN 14 & 15
PAGOSA SPRINGS, CO ~ JAN 21 & 22
HEBER CITY, UTAH ~ JAN 27 & 28
BANFF, ALBERTA, CANADA ~ JAN 28
DRIGGS, ID ~ JAN 28 & 29
LEWISTOWN, MT ~ JAN 28 & 29
WHITEFISH, MT ~ JAN 28 & 29
BIG SKY, MT ~ FEB 4 & 5
SARATOGA, WY ~ FEB 4 & 5
BUFFALO, WY ~ FEB 11
TOPSHAM, ME ~ FEB 11
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO ~ FEB 11*
PINEDALE, WY ~ FEB 11 & 12
BOULDER, MT ~ FEB 11 & 12
CRAIG, CO ~ FEB 11 & 12
SUNDANCE, WY ~ FEB 18
SHERIDAN, WY ~ FEB 18 & 19
SILVERTON, CO ~ FEB 18 & 19
BELLEVUE, ID ~ FEB 18 & 19
BEAR LAKE, UT ~ FEB 18, 19 & 20
GILLETTE, WY ~ FEB 25
CANTERBURY PARK, MN ~ FEB 25
SKOWHEGAN, ME ~ FEB 25
WISDOM, MT ~ FEB 25 & 26
LEADVILLE, CO ~ MAR 4 & 5
POLE AND SPUR, BLAIRMORE, ALBERTA, CANADA ~ MAR 11
RED LODGE, MT ~ MAR 11 & 12
BONDURANT, WY ~ MAR 18 & 19
*Steamboat’s event is during Winter Carnival and only children
ages 6-14 are pulled down Lincoln Avenue by horses
To view this calendar go to:
https://www.skijorusa.com/
and click on each event for a direct link.
Please contact loren@skijorusa.com with any
changes or additional dates/events!
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~ IN THE NEWS ~
Town Lift
Park City's Community News Stream
ran an article about the upcoming Skijoring Utah event.
The article touches upon the event's rapid growth since 2017,
discusses the numerous divisions:
Pro, Sport, Novice, Women's, Snowboarding,
Century and All-Around
&
announces that Friday's event
will start at 2 PM and continue under the lights
and Saturday's event will begin at 9 AM.
Registration is open and spectator tickets are on sale.
Last year this event SOLD OUT
for both participants and spectators.
To register or buy tickets go to:
https://www.skijoringutah.com/
To read the full article, click below:
https://townlift.com/2022/12/skijoring-utah-returns-jan-27-28-the-sport-booms-in-recent-years/
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Telluride Magazine
ran a story on December 5th
highlighting the experience of San Juan Skijoring
at the Ouray County Fairgrounds
with quotes from competitors such as
Lang Schuler and his wife, Kelly, Kevin Wilder,
Noah Gregory, Joshua Butson
and Sarah McConnell.
The last line says it all:
"Beyond anticipating the thrill of the run,
they can’t wait to reconnect with what they call their “skijoring family.” says Kelly,
“What we love most is the community of all the racers and their horses.”
To read the full article, click below:
https://telluridemagazine.com/a-skiers-rodeo/?fbclid=IwAR2S2EXIb_-cj0OPjlF6IYuBqZHLWENnQCObmT5vYTaTBTQQYCoCEuBuu8s
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~ SNL "SKIJOR" STYLE ~
Saturday Nights come ALIVE at Skijoring Events
and more bands have been announced!
Float Like A Buffalo
will perform Saturday night, January 21st at 7 PM
at Skis and Saddles Skijoring
in Pagosa Springs, CO
Wordan Jilson
will perform Saturday night, February 11th
at Coal Mountain Skijoring
in Craig, CO
Little Jennie Ranch Skijor
in Bondurant, WY
is also planning to have music!
Stay tuned for more upcoming musical attractions!
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~ SKIJOR USA GOES TO THE NFR ~
While we are still trying to wrangle more NFR cowboys
and cowgirls to participate in skijoring events,
a few top 2022 NFR competitors
have connections to our skijoring community.
Loren Zhimanskova of Skijor USA
was in Las Vegas to cheer on these athletes
and spread the word about our sport.
Tristan Hutchings
of Blackfoot, Idaho competed in bull riding
This was his first NFR and, at 22 years old, he finished 3rd overall
and captured first place 4 of the 10 days of competition!
On Day 10 he was the only cowboy with an 8 second ride.
He is the son of Lane Hutchings,
a former skijor rider champion from Jackson, Wyoming,
and step-son of Erica Dube Hutchings,
a former skijor rider champion from Leadville, Colorado.
Congratulations to Tristan and the Dube and Hutchings families!
To follow Tristan on Facebook go to:
https://www.facebook.com/tristen.hutchings
Ty Erickson
of Helena, Montana, competed in steer wrestling.
He had qualified for the NFR six times (2014-2019) prior
to returning for a 2022 appearance.
This year, Ty achieved a first place win
in both the first and second halves of the 10-day competition.
He is the son-in-law of Ebbie Hansen, a Skijor Open Rider Champion.
Ty and Ebbie's daughter, Cierra, welcomed a new baby into the world recently.
Congratulations to the whole family and on Ty's success!
To follow Ty on Facebook go to:
https://www.facebook.com/tyericksonsteerwrestling
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~ SKIJOR USA ADVISORY COMMITTEE ~
During the NFR, Advisory Committee members,
Josh Abbott and Jerry Kissel,
joined in on a conference call to discuss the
SKIJOR USA INVITATIONAL 2023
as described in the previous newsletter.
We are pleased to announce that
Dennis Alverson
will be joining the Advisory Committee
and participating in future meetings.
His input and experience will be very valuable.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Here are some take aways from the meeting:
While we are not ready to release an official structure,
we discussed several important guidelines.
Eligible riders, horses and skiers
will be determined by the last two years results.
Skijor USA has all of this data compiled.
In the event that some of these athletes choose not to compete in 2023,
spaces will be open for new competitors.
The same will be true for horses.
How many entries per division is still to be determined.
Only Open and Sport will be included.
We agreed that results from a competitor's top 3 races
should be used to determine points,
and this will be based on daily results, not an average or overall
since means of determining this often vary from race to race.
Furthermore, there will not be a requirement to compete
in two races in a competitor's home state.
A combination of any three races can be used.
The competitor's residency will only be used to determine
a competitor's state affiliation
much like rodeo competitors hail from various towns and states.
If a team is a combination of two states, this is fine.
Perhaps we will get to the point where teams
form according to state affiliations
which would lead to a bona fide national final
at season's end in which state teams vie for a title.
Should there be a tie, the Advisory Committee
will determine how that tie will be broken.
This may be based on clean runs or fastest times.
We may also "scale" or "rate" races according to degree of difficulty
so that competitors can earn more points at races
that are deemed more challenging
as to course design.
This method may also be used to break a tie
if course "rating" is not yet in place.
The Advisory Committee will determine
how many horses each rider can enter in each division
and also how many horses a skier can ski behind.
This is still open to discussion.
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~ A HYBRID OF SORTS ~
Skijor USA introduced the 3D format
in an attempt to resolve underlying issues
with the traditional Open, Sport and Novice Division format.
In the experimental stages, this has proven to have some
advantages, but also some drawbacks.
Some races are considering a hybrid of the
traditional format in combination with the 2D or 3D,
and we think this is worth a discussion!
For instance, a race may choose to have an Open Division.
This would be exclusive to the most experienced/fastest teams.
They would have their own entry, prize pot and awards,
and compete on their own course.
That same race may also have a Sport Division.
The track would be different from the Open course.
This Sport division, which typically includes many more teams,
might consider running this division as a 2D or 3D
with incremental time splits.
This would allow more competitors to place
and earn money in the Sport division.
Novice Divisions as well as others such as
Snowboard, Women's, Century, Youth and All-Around
would be run as divisions unto themselves
and would not fall under this structure.
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JOR ON!
Loren Zhimanskova,
President, Skijor USA, Inc. & Skijor International, LLC