Giddyap! It’s Skijoring Time

What do you get when you have a skier hang onto a rope pulled by a cowboy on a horse that’s running around a snow covered course?  Skijoring of course.

And they’re off!

It’s Whitefish Carnival time and last Sunday’s skijoring championship brought out lots of rugged Montanans of all ages to watch the annual event.  It was snowing, but the temps were mild as we all stood around the 800 ft long horseshoe shaped course. The crowd cheered as galloping horses pulled skiers through gates and over jumps.

Doesn’t this look like fun?

Anyone could sign up for the novice division and I could understand the desire to be a part of the action.  When the pros came out, it was obvious they knew their stuff. The horses were zipping around the slippery course and  took some of the turns so fast they slid in the snow and lost their riders.

Faster, faster!

And when it was over, competitors and spectators were invited to a bar to watch results of the days events on video and have a chance to bet in the Calcutta, with payout based on the outcome of the competition.  The cash prize was $10,000 and if anyone knows how a Calcutta works, please let me know.

This was a long jump, which was held as the last event of the day.
It’s a dog, it’s a dalmation, no it’s a really weird spotted horse!  Pretty isn’t it?  I’ve never seen another quite like it.

Until next time,

Marlene

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