Skijoring comes to Whitefish this weekend

Contest mixes horses, skiing

The Daily Inter Lake

A wild West mix of horses and high-speed skiing kicks off this weekend in Whitefish.

Whitefish Winter Carnival Skijoring competition will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Whitefish airstrip on the east end of Second Street.

"It's a lot of fun," said organizer and competitor Scott Ping. "It's a really good spectator sport."

Ping said competitors will be traveling - with horses in tow - from as far away as Colorado and Wyoming for the event. He expects a turnout similar to the 75 teams that competed three years ago.

Skijoring involves a horse and rider pulling a skier around an oval course with jumps and gates to negotiate.

"A skier can get going up to 50 mph on the corners," Ping said. "And you have to be a fairly decent rider, familiar with your horse … The horse has to carry a good line throughout the race. If you have a good horse that reins well and stay on track, then you've got a good chance of winning."

Registration will be Friday at the Blue Moon bar at the intersection of Montana 40 and U.S. 2.

Competitors can inspect the course during the hour before the noon start time both Saturday and Sunday.

The competition involves an Open division for the most experienced competitors; a Sport division for novices; a Women's division; and a Masters division for competitors over age 40.

Ping said there will be more than $1,200 in prizes for each division, plus cash prizes for winners based on the event's entry fee purse. Local food and beverage vendors will be set up near the course Saturday and Sunday.

After Saturday's competition, participants and spectators will go to the Great Northern Bar in Whitefish, where there will be Calcutta betting on the outcome of Sunday's competition.

At the close of Sunday's events, prizes will be awarded at the Great Northern Bar.