NATURE'S PLAYBOOK

This was the first year Telluride hosted skijoring! Since it was an exposition, the weekend was a bit of an abbreviated version with a shorter track and fewer obstacles. Skijoring is the act of being pulled behind an animal or vehicle on skis (usually a horse). The rider pulls a skier behind them from a rope attached to the horse’s saddle. The course is a combination of skier cross, a slalom course, and obstacle course with turns and jumps. The goal is to get through the course as fast as possible without missing gates, jumps, or missing or dropping the baton or any of the rings. Miss any of these and you’ll get a 5 second penalty added to your time. Races can use whatever divisions they choose but typically there is Open/Pro, Sport, Novice, Youth, Century, Snowboard, Women’s and Switcheroo.