Skijoring is a uniquely Western sport that one announcer described as “four hooves, three athletes, two skis and one hell of a good time.” (The horse counts as an athlete.)
To compete, a horse and rider gallop through a snowy obstacle course of slalom gates, rings and jumps while a skier is towed behind on a rope. The goal is for each team to combine speed and accuracy.
Heber City has hosted skijoring competitions for a decade, but this is the sport’s first year of professional competition.
Skier Cole Macadaeg is racing for the second year, this time as a pro athlete. The Salt Lake City resident said the sport takes some getting used to.
“It’s like getting dragged behind a truck with a fire hydrant in your face,” he said. “You’re going pretty quick, and the horse is kicking up snow and gravel at you when you’re going down, so by the end you’re just soaked – covered in ice and mud – but it’s a lot of fun.”
Last year, Macadaeg competed in three events across the West. This year, he’s hoping for a win.
His friend Max Kubisiak, of Heber, entered the competition for the first time this year, as a skier. He said he didn’t grow up around horses, so that’s been the biggest learning curve.
“It’s a brand-new experience,” he said. “But I would say it’s becoming more and more comfortable each day that goes by and I’m around them.”
Those on horseback say it’s important to have a lot of trust between horse and rider.
Shelby Henery and her horse Playboy made the journey from Pocatello, Idaho, to compete. She said although each course is different, there are ways for everyone on the team to practice.
“During the summer, you can pull a tire or a sled or really anything,” she said of her training with Playboy. “The skiers practice behind a four-wheeler in the summertime. Really anything that gets them [the horses] used to the weight, and really putting their front end and shoulders into pulling.”
Henery said Playboy loves the excitement of competition and meeting people in the crowd.
“Playboy’s favorite part is usually kids,” she said. “Last year, he was voted favorite horse of the event – so he was giving little rides around and stuff.”
Another Idahoan, Bella Brower, is one of the younger competitors, at just 10 years old.
“I’ve skied since I was four in skijoring, and this is my first time riding in it,” she said.
She says her favorite part is going fast across the snow.
Athletes roamed the grounds with skis balanced on one shoulder and coils of rope looped over the other. Cowboy hats were ubiquitous, but there were some more unusual outfits, too.
Skier Nicholas Vornle showed up in a fuzzy brown outfit with horns on the hood.
“I’m rocking the bison!” he said. “A little too warm, so I had to pop the sleeves off.”
The high temperature in Heber was 43 degrees on Friday, which left organizers scrambling.
Kenzie Bates said the team made the last-minute decision to relocate the course to the parking lot because the dirt arena was too muddy. Organizers have snowmaking equipment and tractors on site to make the course.
“That’s made for a lot of sleepless nights and making snow and creating an entire course on the parking lot of the arena,” she said.
Still, she expected a fun weekend for athletes and spectators alike.
The next stop on Pro Skijor’s Frontier Tour is in Bozeman, Montana. The circuit returns to Utah for the finals in Salt Lake City Feb. 27 and Feb. 28.
