National Finals Ski-Joring Races

By: © Nelson Taylor 2008

Festival Location: Red Lodge, MT, USA

Festival State: Montana Festivals

Festival Type(s): Winter Sports Events, Bizarre Sports Events, Snow Festivals | Snow Events

Ski-Joring, a winter event, is a mountain town tradition. It's a hybrid sport, where a horse and rider pull a skier through a course consisting of about fifteen gates and four jumps. Needless to say, skiers must be pretty brainy on their boards. Wipeouts and collisions are inevitable. The national finals, which are held every March in red Lodge, consists of four divisions: the Open (teams), the Women, the Junior, and the Longest Jump. The total purse for the weekend is $15,000 and registration fees range from $25 for the Junior and $100 for the Open.