The Wasatch Back is known for hosting world championships for mainstream winter sports. But skijoring, a lesser-known sport showcased in an annual event in the area, is on the rise and has a reputation for wild, western fun.
On Friday and Saturday, skiers and snowboarders rode behind horses around an obstacle course in time trials. The course at the rodeo grounds in Heber City featured windy tracks, chest-high ramps and rings that riders had to grab as they whizzed by.
Last weekend, Nick Fine of Park City competed against dozens of other teams in the sport division. He said skijoring is very different from downhill skiing but “exhilarating.”
“You're holding onto a rope,” Fine said, “and you're going on straight snow, and there's snow clumps flying in your face, and it's fast. It's fun. You land flat off the big jumps.”
Besides Heber, competitions happen across the west in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. There are also sanctioned competitions in the northeast and Canada.
Skijoring was even featured once in the Winter Olympics in 1928 in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Autumn Kay of Mona brought her mule, Bishop, to tow a skier. She said she rode as fast as she could and was there for a fun experience in front of hundreds of fans.
“There's just no better feeling, being on that horse and just kind of feeling the air group run past you,” Kay said. “Just the energy of the crowd, everyone's cheering, no better feeling, I guess.”
Horses and their skiers charged through the course at full gallop. There were many crashes and even a few injuries that required EMT help.
As if it wasn’t a fast enough course for the skiers, snowboarders like Jim Crowder rode it sideways.
“When you're on a snowboard, you're going sideways, which makes it a little bit more difficult, but still a lot more fun,” Crowder said. “The snowboarders are the craziest people out here.”
Events lasted from early Friday afternoon through Saturday evening with divisions for youngsters, beginners, women only and pros. The more experienced the division, the windier the tracks and the bigger the jumps.
In Saturday’s big air event, competitors launched off a ramp nearly as tall as some of the skiers of the weekend.
Spectators and competitors said one of their favorite parts of the event was that it brought together Utah’s skiing and cowboy communities.
Crowder said the people and the Heber Valley itself were two of his main reasons to make the trip from Texas every year.
“I mean, you can't get any better than this group of people getting together,” he said. “It's a great competition, and how beautiful is it out here?”
Spectators hooted and hollered for hours on end. The freezing temperatures and steady snowfall didn’t deter the tailgaters, vendors, media members and fans, who sat among deep piles of snow in the bleachers late into evening hours.
