Skijoring championships planned for Lakeside

A new skijoring event has been added to the Flathead Valley’s winter outdoor itinerary and will take place Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 on a private airstrip at The Lakeside Club in Lakeside.

The Flathead Lake Skijoring Championships will offer $25,000 in prize money, the biggest combined purse of any skijoring event in the country, according to Skijoring America.

“With that large of a purse, the Flathead Lake Skijoring Championships have made a statement about attracting the best competitors in the world to this season kickoff event,” said Laurie Sigillito of Durango, Colorado, president of Skijoring America.

The new venue is the first competition of Skijoring America’s 2017 winter schedule, which includes Western competitions in several states.

Skijoring, which combines horsemanship and skiing into one sport, is not a new event in the Flathead Valley.

The Whitefish World Invitational Skijoring competition — also affiliated with Skijoring America — has been a Whitefish Winter Carnival mainstay for more than a decade and is scheduled to return in late January 2017 as part of the carnival. The location for this year’s Whitefish competition is being finalized this week, spokesman Scott Ping said.

Flathead Lake Skijoring Championships’ competition includes a novice class, sport class, colorful costume class and an open class.

The race venue of The Lakeside Club is self-contained, with paved parking for thousands of cars, organizers said. A Saturday afternoon calcutta is planned immediately following the competition at the heated Airplane Hangar Bar adjacent to the race course.

Sunday’s competition will be immediately followed by an awards party in the same venue, both emceed by popular Pro Rodeo announcer Joe Warner.

During the calcutta, gamblers bid for participating teams in an auction following the first day of competition, allowing non-competitors to share in a large, separate cash purse.

David Fetveit, spokesman for the West Shore Visitors Bureau, said the venue facilities and scheduling both the calcutta and awards party on-site and immediately following competition allows spectators to enjoy both extended events alongside the competitors, “while keeping their evenings open for other family or holiday activities.”

Paved parking will be free, and admission to the family-friendly event is $5 per person with children ages 12 and younger admitted free. Food and bar concessions will be available on-site.

Start time for the competition is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Access to The Lakeside Club race site is directly off U.S. 93, approximately one mile south of Lakeside.

For more information, go to www.flatheadlakeskijoring.com, www.skijoringamerica.com, or follow Flathead Lake Skijoring Championships on Facebook.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.