Horse and skier reach speeds of 40 mph on Leadville's Harrison Ave.
A skier takes to the air during the 2007 Leadville Skijoring shenanigans. This year's competition revs up March 1-2.
When it comes to skis and cowboys, skijoring is one brand of winter Western you shouldn’t miss. And you’ll never beat a setting like Leadville, which hasn’t changed much in 100 years.
Despite its 60-year history, the annual Leadville skijoring competition, which kicks up again March 1-2, hasn’t changed much either.
“It’s really the same as it was way back then,” said Mary Jo Coppers, who has been involved in the event since 1950. “They don’t use wooden skis anymore. And no, they didn’t wear helmets back then.”
The horsemen, Coppers said, looked a little more like cowboys 50 years ago. But some still cling to those roots.
For those unversed in skijoring, it involves a team of horse and rider pulling a skier at the end of a rope. The horse and rider take off at full speed down Leadville’s main street – Harrison Ave. – while the skier hangs on for dear life, hitting massive jumps and spearing a series of rings. The fastest time wins, although if the skier misses a ring, his time is penalized.
“The horse is normally doing about 40 mph,” Coppers said. “And the skier is going faster than that, because he’s at the end of the rope. The best skiers start pulling up on the rope at the end of the course to get a faster time.”
Awestruck onlookers line the street every year to take in the action, which is usually replete with jaw-dropping crashes and close calls.
“One year – many, many years ago – I saw one of my boys go off the top of the jump and land in someone’s front yard,” Coppers recalled. “Another time, they did the lip of the jump wrong. The jump they were going off of was in front of the Manhattan bar. They could look into the second story window as they went off. Every single one of them landed on their backs in the middle of the street. Nobody finished until the ninth racer.”
Anyone with skiing skills and a solid spine can sign up for the Legend (45 years and older) or sport categories. The open teams compete for a cash purse and there are also children’s categories.
Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. March 1 and 2 at the Elks Club on Fifth Ave. Competition begins around 1 p.m. on both days. For more information, call 719-486-0739.
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Skijoring combines two of Colorado's favorite pastimes: horseback riding and skiing. One of the preeminent skijoring competitions takes place annually in Leadville, about 30 miles from Vail.
hey im looking for this
hey im looking for this years results for both sport , open races. 2008
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