Teaming up in skijoring is not unlike your typical dating scene especially when you consider that skijoring is completely integrated from a gender standpoint and teams are often “co-ed”. Competitors find each other through personal introductions, online through social media, at bars before and after events or through sporting groups. They can even be family members. The key is that skijoring attracts riders and “sliders” (snowboarders often compete, too), who tend to think outside the box so the attraction is generally immediate and mutual. If a team clicks, do sparks fly? You bet cha!
The Learning Curve
So what do people look for in a partner? Abilities need to match: the speed and talent of the horse, the ability of the rider, the strength and agility of the skier and the level of experience. These combine for a winning team, but team members don’t always start out “perfect for each other”. Wrecks can occur if the horse is too fast for the slider, or sliders may out pace the horse if our equine friend is new to the sport only to skate by them and gently coax them on. Once a team matches up, they may not progress at the same pace so members can end up “playing the field”. The top skijoring teams have been together for many years and “go steady”.
Here are some ways skijoring teams can “hook up”
The Introduction: The most common way for riders and skiers to connect is through word of mouth. Often competitors already have another common association like a rodeo or barrel racing circuit or are members of a local ski patrol. One group in Montana plays Polocrosse in the summer months and another fox hunts from spring through fall.
Swipe Right, Swipe Left: As in the modern dating scene, social media is also a powerful tool. Sometimes, partners don’t physically meet until the night before the race or even the day of. “Profiles” are shared and teammates trade off until they find a good fit. Call it speed dating “skijor style”. If you click as a team, you “swipe right”. If you don’t have chemistry, you “swipe left”. No hard feelings. Next?
Blind Dates: Some skijoring races like Leadville, Colorado include a Draw meaning right up to the last minute you don’t know who your partner will be.
Matches Made in Heaven: In skijoring it is not uncommon for people in relationships to pair up: parents and their children, boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives. Often these teams go on to be champions like Jeff Dahl of Durango, Colorado and his two sons, Greg and Jason, or Jennifer Butler of Bozeman, Montana and her son, David Rizzolo. Some organize events like Sam and Graham Mitchell of Okotoks, Alberta, Canada or form “Wild Bunch” skijoring clubs like Anna and Petey Jessen of Belgrade, Montana.
Swapping: Some competitors like Cam Fraser joke that on the course Corie Downey, whom he routinely skis behind, is his “race wife”. Of course, Corie is good friends with Cam’s real wife off the course, and Corie’s husband takes the joke in stride. In Sundance, Wyoming couples share partners and good-natured rivalries ensue.
On a date, two’s company and three’s a crowd, right? Not in skijoring! The horse, the driving force, is an equally important teammate. It can also be one of the most difficult team members to gauge. But practice makes perfect, and horses make wonderful chaperones. The better the rider and skier work together and the more they acknowledge their equine counterpart’s place in securing a win, the happier the “couple” will be. Horses can be the measure of many things; hearts in the right place are one.
For riders, controlling your horse’s speed can mean the difference between a clean run for your skier or a time fraught with penalties. Skiers need to be able to manage slack in the rope and recover quickly from its whipping motion. Also, landing jumps on a flat track and learning to ski with snow (and manure!) flying up in your face are factors.
Horses need to be sure-footed in snow and highly responsive. This is why Quarter Horses that enjoy loving and trusting relationships with their riders and are trained to rope and barrel race often end up in the winner’s circle. Speed is important in the home stretch, but if unchecked, spells trouble while navigating through the meat of the course.
The ratio of male to female riders is about 50:50 in Canada and America, where both genders share the winner’s circle. Skiers are more likely to be male in America, but in Canada the ratio is more even. In Switzerland, where the competitor skis behind the horse while reining it from behind, the ratio is 3:1 men to women with both genders being champions in recent years. In the US or Canada, typically both male and female athletes ride OR ski. On only a few rare occasions does an athlete do both. Lenny Hay of Eden, Wyoming is one example. The optimal age to skijor is between 25 and 50 since the sport can be tough on one’s body and experience plays a significant role in success. Some races offer Youth and Legends Divisions, however, to expand the field.
All’s Fair in Love and Skijoring
By Loren Zhimanskova
Photography by Nina Galicheva
but the questions Nina Galicheva raises in her prior article, “How do team members decide to work together?”, “How do they find each other?” and “How do they pick a partner?” raise a topic much more complex.
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One of skijoring’s most intriguing features is that it brings together two completely disparate cultures, “equestrian” and “ski”. The practical logistics of this unconventional marriage are fairly simple once you observe the sport, but the questions Nina Galicheva raises in her prior article, “How do team members decide to work together?”, “How do they find each other?” and “How do they pick a partner?” raise a topic much more complex.