TRADITION! TRADITION!
March 10, 2022
Photos of Shawn Gerber & Bruce Stott,
Jerry Kissell & Jed Moore
taken by Skijor USA at Leadville Skijoring
Action photo by Mark LaRowe Photography
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~ LATEST NEWS ~
For those of you old enough to remember Fiddler On The Roof,
you may recall these lyrics from "Tradition".
"Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match
Find me a find, catch me a catch.
Matchmaker, matchmaker, look through your book.
And make me the perfect match."
This past weekend,
after two months of competing at other skijoring events
around the United States and Canada,
13 Open and 25 Sport teams entered their perfect matches
hoping to win at The Granddaddy of 'Em All,
in Leadville, Colorado.
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As thousands of wide-eyed spectators
from Denver, neighboring alpine resorts and towns,
and tourists from countries such as England
competed for oxygen at 10,152 feet,
teams of horses, riders and skiers from Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico
and of course, its native Colorado
vied for day money and coveted jackets and buckles
on a snow covered obstacle course.
The 74th annual tradition
also attracted veterans of skijoring
who organized, timed and administrated
the event. These included,
Paul & Dee Dee Copper, Barb Brink, Tony Fox,
Jerry Kissell, John Neufeld, Jim O'Neil, Will James, Mario Giarratano
and Joe Manly, Jr.,
who bore the distinction of playing our National Anthem
while those who knew him, quietly honored
Joe's father, the late, Jody Manly,
the Godfather of Skijoring.
Credit is due to
Duffy Counsell and Jason Dahl,
both veteran skiers,
who sacrifice so much in their personal lives
to ensure that this event has continued in more recent years
despite a global pandemic, adverse weather conditions,
complex logistics of moving snow and rising operational costs.
At the other end of the age spectrum,
were high school students like
Talus, who managed media,
Eli, who monitored the crossing at the run out,
and Boy Scout Troop #342 from Lakewood
who appeared from thin air with their leader on Sunday
to help with the all-important tasks of
pedestrian crossings, dog control and fence mending.
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~ LEGENDARY RACE ~
There is NOTHING like Leadville,
the Granddaddy of 'Em All,
and everyone knows it.
Yet, to Leadville's credit, organizers, race veterans and regulars
keep a surprisingly low and humble profile,
sticking with what has worked for so many years,
and claiming no special title for their event,
just plain "Leadville Skijoring" (period).
This reputation precedes itself so
Harrison Avenue was lined with spectators
four and five people deep for five blocks on both sides
on Saturday which was a brisk, but sunny day for racing.
The energy was electric both on the course and on the sidewalks.
Sunday mellowed, due mostly to colder temperatures and continuous snowfall,
which made the track faster for horses
but harder to carve for skiers.
While Match Teams intended to win decisive victories,
in the Draw, long standing Leadville riders and skiers also teamed up with
competitors who were comparatively new to Leadville.
Many traveled over 1000 miles from northern Rocky Mountain states.
In the end, nine Match Teams and three Draw Teams finished
in the top 3 over the weekend.
There were some dramatic yard sales for skiers
as they launched themselves over 6 foot (Sport) to 9 foot (Open) jumps,
then carved deep turns on a highly technical course
and tried to capture up to 7 rings on one arm.
Thankfully, no one went to the hospital, and
all horses and riders stayed safe.
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For three consecutive nights, the Elks Lodge hummed with conversation,
stuffed to the brim with both locals and skijor related visitors.
In this modest, but hallowed building,
skijoring memories are relived from year to year,
and new stories are entered into the annals of skijoring history.
The town of Leadville, and its many businesses,
welcomed our skijoring family with open arms
serving up great food and beverages,
hosting us throughout its many historic hotels, eclectic motels
and charming AirBNBs.
.
Thank you Rick and Bec at The Majestic
for continuing to host Leadville Skijoring Team Members
such as the illustrious trio from Rawlins, Wyoming,
who announce and Calcutta the event,
Cody Waldrip, J "Bird" Stratton and Travis "Mookie" Blaylock.
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~ MOST NOTABLE TEAMS ~
In Open,
Savannah McCarthy, Leadville Champion rider, and her sister, Jade Neves,
teamed up with Leadville Champion skier, Bruce Stott,
(age 50!) and legendary horses Tank and Monster.
Their combined teams claimed first place, clean finishes on BOTH Saturday and Sunday.
Tank clocked in at 15.47 (Saturday) and Monster 15.64 (Sunday).
Unfortunately, the same teams could not compete
both days, so a potential overall Championship was out of reach.
Proud parents, Tim and Andrea, cheered the girls on.
Josh Abbott, Jeff Dahl and TJ Simmons (Riders)
&
Colin Cook and Greg Dahl (Skiers)
were names that also recurred with regularity in the top 5
with horses Elvis, Reb, Cash, Rocket and Hawaii.
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In Sport,
former bull rider, Jed Moore, of Rangely, Wyoming,
rode his horses Pete and YoYo to 1st and 2nd place clean finishes on Sunday,
pulling skiers Kevin Wilder (17.17) and Gaspar Perricone (17.97),
while
Jenna McKillop, a Montana cowgirl, rode her horse Jade,
pulling local skier, Hayden LaPointe, to victory on Saturday (18.71).
Dennis Alverson, Carissa Dahl and Janelle Urista (Riders)
&
Cody Ehlenfeldt, Jason Decker, Ozzy Hay, AJ Pestello and Craig Kopasz(Skiers)
with horses Scooter, Rage and Hooey
made appearances in the top 5 over the weekend of competition.
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It was great to see Jerry Kissell,
Champion skier, competing in Sport this year
since a Century Division was not an option.
Jerry has been competing for over 30 years in Leadville and
despite a recent knee replacement, has yet to relinquish his race bib.
Henry Vancil and Robin Bradford,
brought draft horses to Leadville.
They thundered down the avenue leaving a powdery wake.
Henry skijored for the first time as both rider and skier!
His horse, Cocoa, a Percheron, is a powerful French war horse,
and
Robin's horse, Tegan, a Fresian, is a breed that goes back to 1000 B.C.
and originated on an island off the Netherlands coast.
Ben Southworth led an enthusiastic group of skiers and snowboarders
who competed in the Snowmobile Division
(none of them had horses with which to compete,
or had never skijored before, a criteria for entry at Leadville).
This group, cheering on their friend, Denali, who finished in second place,
was by far the most animated and adrenaline fueled
on Harrison Avenue during the day and at The Elks Saturday night.
Ben, after proving himself with a first place, clean finish,
let it be known at awards that he is looking for a horse in 2023.
Yes, he's planning a full year in advance!
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THANK YOU LEADVILLE, COLORADO!
For follow up news articles, photographs and videos
go to:
https://www.facebook.com/LeadvlleSkiJoring
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~ UPCOMING EVENTS ~
Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
THUNDER IN THE PINES
returns on
Friday, March 11th
at 7:30 PM
under the big lights
on the JDA Raceway at Evergreen Park.
While we do not have any detailed information about this event,
we are CERTAINLY intrigued!
We wish Mike and Drew,
organizers extraordinaire, the best of luck with their second skijoring event.
We would love to share the full story with our readers
so please post results and photos.
Any last minute questions can be directed to pcchorseprogram@gmail.com
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Blairmore, Alberta, Canada
POLE AND SPUR
returns on
Saturday, March 12th
Join them for their fifth skijoring event!
They will be racing 50 teams plus 10 Novice
beginning at 11:00 am on Sunday.
Blairmore has a population of just over 5000 inhabitants
and the area offers hiking, fishing and mountain-biking in the summer,
and in winter, snowmobiling, a downhill ski hill (Pass PowderKeg),
and a groomed cross-country ski area,.
It is about 70 kilometres (43 mi) from major ski hills at both
Fernie Alpine Resort and Castle Mountain Resort.
Crowsnest Pass has dozens of local sponsors supporting this event.
https://poleandspur.com
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Red Lodge, MT
As part of the Red Lodge Winter Fest,
the tradition of skijoring continues since 1980.
On March 12th & 13th,
Red Lodge will run 120 teams across 8 Divisions
&
will be offering some unique prizes this season.
Best Wreck:
A bottle of Pendleton with a Pendleton Montana Silversmiths
buckle, KINCO leather gloves and Pit Viper sunglasses.
&
Best Dressed:
A bottle of Jim Beam, Pit Viper sunglasses and KINCO leather gloves.
https://redlodgeskijoring.com
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~ IN THE NEWS ~
The Colorado Sun
sent photographer, Hugh Carey, to Silverton and
reporter, Olivia Prentzel, to Leadville.
Together, they released an in depth article,
featuring 13 outstanding photographs, entitled,
"Can skijoring, one of Colorado's favorite extreme sports, go mainstream?"
Here is an excerpt:
"The Wild West spectacle called skijoring challenges even the most experienced skiers as they must manage the slack of the rope — pulling it taut and then letting go — as they swerve past gates, jam their arms through dangling orange rings and soar over gaps nearly 13-feet wide."
“I’ll never forget the first time the rope went tight. My favorite thing about this is the relinquish of that control.” Counsell said. “You’re at the mercy of that horse, and how fast he or she is gonna go.”
.For the full article, click below:
https://coloradosun.com/2022/03/04/meet-colorados-next-extreme-sport-skijoring/
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Elli Pospischil
shared a blog article with Skijor USA
that is absolutely unique and worth reading!
Dashing Through the Snow: Skijoring
describes Elli's personal experience with skijoring
and offers insight into the Swiss style of the sport since she
is friends with competitor, Valeria Holinger, at the White Turf event in St. Moritz.
Click here to read Elli's story:
https://www.soulutionsbyelli.com/dashing-through-the-snow-skijoring/
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~ WINNERS CIRCLE ~
Leadville, CO
Saturday Sport
1st: Jenna McKillop/Jade & Hayden LaPointe (Match)
18.71
2nd: Dennis Alverson/Scooter & Cody Ehlenfeldt (Match)
19.11
3rd: Carissa Dahl/Rage & Jason Decker (Match)
19.60
Saturday Open
1st: Savannah McCarthy/Tank & Bruce Stott (Draw)
15.47
2nd: Josh Abbott/Reb & Colin Cook (Match)
15.87
3rd: Jeff Dahl/Rocket & Colin Cook (Draw)
16.14
Sunday Sport
1st: Jed Moore/Pete & Kevin Wilder (Match)
17.17
2nd: Jed Moore/YoYo & Gaspar Perricone (Match)
17.97
3rd: Cody Stickler/Fancy Like & Craig Kopasz (Draw)
18.07
Sunday Open
1st: Jade Neves/Monster & Bruce Stott (Match)
15.64
2nd: Josh Abbott/Elvis & Colin Cook (Match)
15.78
3rd: Jeff Dahl/Cash & Greg Dahl (Match)
15.82
Weekend Overall*
Sport
Horse: Tarzan
Rider: Lauren Urista
Skier: AJ Pestello
Open
Horse: Kitty Kitty
Rider: Richard Weber
Skier: Greg Dahl
*based on a formula unique to Leadville
which does not necessarily take into account clean runs/penalties
or reflect average or combined team times for the weekend.
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~ FACES OF SKIJORING ~
Check out photos taken by Skijor USA at Leadville Skijoring
https://www.facebook.com/skijorusa/photos/?ref=page_internal
PLEASE LIKE OUR PAGE & TAG AWAY ! ! !
Click below for Mark LaRowe's gallery of action shots as well.
https://marklarowe.photoshelter.com/gallery-collection/74th-Leadville-Championship-Skijoring/C0000UdutzqxQIIo?fbclid=IwAR1HqzveM48JNKKRIAxIEY-zpllbV6_Nyvw-I7qFgdN-B_kYt1I_Tg_tplU
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JOR ON! and Stay safe and healthy!
Loren Zhimanskova,
President, Skijor USA, Inc. & Skijor International, LLC