Skijoring races


can be found in areas including Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado and New Hampshire. Even Quebec, Canada, has joined in on the fun.


According to


the North American Skijoring Association, or NASJA, Skijoring made its way to North America in the mid 1950’s, when ranchers attached long ropes to the saddle horn of their western saddles and pulled skiers at a gallop down long straight-aways.


Competitors tackle a U-shaped course, with horse and rider racing along the in- side of the track, while a skier navi- gates his/her way through slalom gates and over jumps. Also featured in


Skijoring during Big Hole Valley’s Winterfest & Skijoring, Wisdom, Montana. Photo by Rick Landry


Skijoring was part of the Whitefish, Montana, Winter Carnival in the 1960s. But from the 1970s until 2003, skijoring had a hiatus because, due to the high volume of skijoring injuries, insurance became hard to come by. According to Whitefish’s skijoring


website, the event was held downtown in the early years — a local businessman was nearly thrown through the window of the Toggery clothing store and a crowd


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of spectators had to avoid being run over by a couple runaway horses. Skijoring made a comeback in Whitefish in 2003, when Scott Ping and Dale Duff organized a skijoring competi- tion, which has become an annual event for the community.


In 2009, the organizers re-designated


the event as the NASJA World Skijoring Championships, and it was become the largest equestrian skijoring event in the United States. The event features approx- imately $20,000 in cash and prizes. This year, the Whitefish event was


held on January 26-27, 2013, at the Whitefish Airport, just outside of town.


Whitefish is a long jump, which consists of a horse and rider towing a skier straight ahead as quickly as possible, with the


skier jumping for maximum distance. To successfully complete the long


jump, skiers must exhibit control upon landing and continue skiing. In 2011, the winning distance off of the ten-foot tall jump was 56 feet. In upcoming years, Whitefish plans to feature both curved and straight tracks, giving athletes a chance to compete on two separate courses.


As the NASJA Western Regional President, Scott Ping of Whitefish, Montana, has helped out various towns throughout the West get skijoring races


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