Whitefish Skijoring Gearing Up for 2025 Comeback
In 2023, the last year the event was held, an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 people attended over the course of the weekend
By Mike Kordenbrock
After a one-year hiatus, Whitefish Skijoring is returning this February, with a multi-day competition on the west end of Kalispell.
Between poor snow cover and the inability to secure a host location (the event doesn’t have a permanent home), the competition was canceled last winter, according to Leah Mitchell, the chair of the Whitefish Skijoring Committee. But thanks to the Flathead Cycle Riders motocross group offering up the tract of land on the west end of Kalispell, excitement is building for this year’s comeback, which will take place Feb. 22 and Feb. 23 at 1530 W. Springcreek Road.
The timed competition features skiers across beginning, intermediate and advanced classes being pulled by horseback riders through a course to try and achieve the best time possible. The groomed courses typically range between 700 and 900 feet long, and organizers are expecting between 100 and 120 teams to compete this year.
In 2023, the last year the event was held, an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 people attended over the course of the weekend, according to Mitchell. In addition to skijoring, the annual event includes vendors serving food and drink, and fire pits will be on site to help keep spectators warm. The event is still accepting sponsors, according to Mitchell.
There are also plans for a Saturday night Calcutta auction at Fattboys Bar and Grille in Kalispell, where attendees will have a chance to buy a stake in teams and thus a claim to a cut of the winnings depending on how the final day of the competition plays out.
The Whitefish event traces its history back to the 1960s, with a revival in the early 2000s that has made it a consistent winter feature in the Flathead across the intervening decades. The winter sport is especially popular in the Mountain West, and the regional circuit includes upcoming competitions in Colorado, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Washington and Idaho.
“It has absolutely exploded in the last 10 years,” Mitchell said of the sport’s popularity.
Earlier this month, weekend practices kicked off in Bigfork, where horses, riders and skiers are trying to build the chemistry necessary to take home a share of the competition purse, which in 2023 awarded thousands of dollars to competitors.
“The term in the industry is … we talk about how it’s three heartbeats,” Mitchell said. “The team consists of three heartbeats — the rider, the horse and the skier.”
She noted that newcomers tend to get hooked pretty quickly once they get their first taste of skijoring.
That’s the case for Joseph Perry, a first time skijoring racer who was born and raised in Whitefish. Perry, who runs a marketing company called Big Drift Marketing and sits on the board of the Big Mountain Ski Club, said that he’s long been a spectator. This year he was looking for something fun to do with his friends, and decided to finally give it a try and come out to a practice. In the ensuing weeks, he’s become so excited about skijoring that he said he’s been talking about it to just about anyone willing to listen.
Admittedly, Perry said he had some nerves going into it given the risks that can come when you bring horses and skiing together. But his first go-round, with Mitchell taking it easy on her own horse, was one of the best adrenaline rushes Perry says he’s ever experienced. “It’s one of the most fun things I’ve ever done,” he said.
Based on his experience so far, he said the sport requires quick processing of information, balance, and, from a technical perspective, the ability to land the jumps that are part of the course. Being pulled by a rope attached to a horse generates momentum at waist-level, as opposed to the typical downward pull that comes from winding down a ski hill, so Perry said he’s readjusted to try and keep his weight more towards the front of his boots.
Registration opened up Friday at around noon and by 12:05 p.m., Perry said he was officially registered. And although he’s only a few weeks in, so far he said the welcoming atmosphere at practices has been striking.
“Everyone just loves the sport. And loves welcoming new people into the sport.”
For more information go to https://www.whitefishskijoring.org/.