The Whitefish version of skijoring involves a horse and rider pulling a skier around a horseshoe shaped 800 foot long course at high speeds over jumps and around gates. The sport of skijoring began several hundred years ago in Scandinavian countries as a way to travel during the long winters. Skijoring found its way to North America, where ranchers attached a long rope to the saddle horn of a horse that was ridden at high speeds down a long straight-away. Currently, the sport of equestrian skijoring has become a highly specialized competitive sport, where competitors must navigate a course of jumps, gates and sometime spear rings. (NASJA Website, 2007) http://nasja.com/

This year’s competition will have three divisions: Open division for the most experienced competitors; a Sport division for those who have entered the event more than three times or have won in a previous event, and new this year is the Novice Division which will be for anyone who is entering for the 1st-3rd time and has not won in any division. There will be prizes for each division including cash awards for winners based on the event’s entry fee purse. Registration will be January 29th, from 5:30 - 8:30 pm at the Great Northern Brewing Company in Whitefish.

The event will take place, once again, at the Whitefish Airport on Saturday and Sunday, January 30th and 31st from 12-4 pm on both days. Several local restaurants will be offering a wide variety of food and beverage selections throughout the event. There is a $5.00 parking fee and entry to the event is FREE (so walk on over)!

After Saturday’s competition, participants and spectators are invited to the Great Northern Bar in Whitefish to see the results of the day’s event on video and have the chance to bet in the Calcutta, with payout based on the outcome of Sunday’s competition.

At the close of Sunday’s events, this year’s champions will be announced prizes and Calcutta money will be awarded at the Craggy Range.