Distinctly Montana Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.distinctlymontana.com/i/20776
MERV COLEMAN Winners also get their names inscribed on the Steve Wold memorial trophy. Stevens herself competed for a number of years; her name is on the women’s trophy. Last year 70 teams competed in the weekend extrava- ganza. The 2011 event, happening March 12 and 13, is expected to draw at least that many competitors. Whitefish also has a long and colorful ski joring tradi- tion. “Basically what happened was back in the 1960s there were two guys arguing about who had the fastest horse, and who was a better skier, and they decided they’d pull a guy behind a horse,” said Vernon Kiser, a local real- estate agent and longtime ski joring aficionado. “Originally it was done on Main Street in Whitefish,” Kiser said. “I remember watching it when I was a little kid. Then one year a guy just about went through a window, so they decided to move it elsewhere.” Races were held until the mid 1970s at the nearby Saddle Club, when skyrocketing insurance rates made the event prohibitively expensive. But, thanks to a group of die-hard fans including local builder Scott Ping, the races made a big comeback about six years ago, Kiser said. The event, part of Whitefish’s own annual winter carni- val, is now held every year at the Whitefish City Airport on the edge of town—a great venue that provides plenty of room for races, spectators and parking, Kiser said. By all accounts, the Whitefish event is a smashing suc- cess, drawing, Kiser said, 1,500 people each day over the two-day carnival. The 2011 events are scheduled for Janu- ary 29 and 30. The Whitefish ski joring events are sanctioned by the North American Ski Joring Association, formed in 1999 as a way to focus ski joring fever into regulated, standard- ized, nationwide competitions under one umbrella. More than $30,000 in cash and prizes are divided up among the top four placers in each of three classes, with a professional rodeo-style giant belt buckle for the number one team, Kiser said. Teams from as far away as Wyoming and Colorado show up to compete, and the competition is fierce—from members of the U.S National Ski Team to hardened rodeo champs. “The money and prizes make it more interesting, but a lot of us would race without it,” Kiser said. “You know, it’s the bragging rights, but the belt buckle doesn’t hurt.” RICK SHEREMETA SKI JORING WITH DOGS Ski joring with dogs is much the same as the equestrian version, but minus the dramatic jumps and just a bit slower and noisier. Cross- country skis for the human, a sled-dog harness for the dogs, and a springy cord in between, and you’ve got a version of the sport that’s just as competitive, and barking-good-time recreation as well. Heck, even mules and snowmobiles will do the trick if you’re desperate. www.distinctlymontana.com 17