Watch now (2 min) | “On course!” A race official shouts. A buzzer sounds. Far up the course, hooves thunder across the snow on Harrison Avenue. The skier comes off the final jump, cutting a tight turn to make the narrow finish line gate. He misses, skids out in his deep carve and plows into a race official just feet away from me.
I considered training our horses for skijoring, because it’s such a cool team sport, and worked hard to get them to pull a log as preparation. Ultimately I decided not to try it, however, because of the risk of slipping on the ice. This risk can be mitigated by putting special traction on their metal shoes, but this carries a different albeit reduced risk for injury, and during winter months I prefer to keep the horses barefoot to reduce the chances of ice slipping. Ultimately I decided it wasn’t worth the possibility, however slight, of injuring their legs. I mention this all just to add context to what goes into the training and the risk/reward.
Thank you for sharing your perspective! Some of the riders I spoke with explained a little about the special shoes. Luckily conditions last weekend seemed perfect -- not slick or icy. But I do know a few years ago there was a horse that slipped and fell. Luckily he was okay.
There's definitely a risk-reward to consider here.
The faces of the onlookers in your pictures make me want to visit next year’s event...pure excitement. You captured the event well for all of us. Well-done!
Question for you though...if you were a participant, would you ride on or behind the horse?
I'd want to be riding on the horse to be perfectly honest. Jumps that big aren't normally landed on a flat surface, which means all of that momentum is going straight into your legs!
plus, to my knowledge, there isn't a snowboarder's version of this... so I may be out of luck until someone comes along and creates it!
I considered training our horses for skijoring, because it’s such a cool team sport, and worked hard to get them to pull a log as preparation. Ultimately I decided not to try it, however, because of the risk of slipping on the ice. This risk can be mitigated by putting special traction on their metal shoes, but this carries a different albeit reduced risk for injury, and during winter months I prefer to keep the horses barefoot to reduce the chances of ice slipping. Ultimately I decided it wasn’t worth the possibility, however slight, of injuring their legs. I mention this all just to add context to what goes into the training and the risk/reward.
Thank you for sharing your perspective! Some of the riders I spoke with explained a little about the special shoes. Luckily conditions last weekend seemed perfect -- not slick or icy. But I do know a few years ago there was a horse that slipped and fell. Luckily he was okay.
There's definitely a risk-reward to consider here.
Great stuff, Cole. Loved the visuals. They've really added to your story. -- Jim
Thank you for reading. I was happy to finally have a chance to break out my good camera for a story. This was an absolute blast to shoot!
The faces of the onlookers in your pictures make me want to visit next year’s event...pure excitement. You captured the event well for all of us. Well-done!
Question for you though...if you were a participant, would you ride on or behind the horse?
I'd want to be riding on the horse to be perfectly honest. Jumps that big aren't normally landed on a flat surface, which means all of that momentum is going straight into your legs!
plus, to my knowledge, there isn't a snowboarder's version of this... so I may be out of luck until someone comes along and creates it!
Epic! Miss the mountains and stuck in the hills near Nashville. Imagine Outlaw Country is pretty popular up there?