BOULDER — At the Jefferson County Fairgrounds you’ll find an event that combines skiing or snowboarding, as well as horse racing, Skijoring the Big Rock.
Here, the racers compete for buckles and cash prizes. They go over jumps, collect rings, and most importantly, don’t let go of the rope.
For longtime rider Kelley Mccomb, this will be her first time on the skis instead of the horse.
“I haven’t skied in 15 years. I just really wanted to feel what it feels like on the skier aspect,” she said.
Her favorite part of the sport is the camaraderie of the people that partake.
“The friendships. We go to a lot of the same races. Even if we don’t know you, we treat you like family,” she said.
The interest in Skijoring has been growing rapidly, and Sport Skier, James Rowen, can’t get enough of it.
“I love it, and the riders love it, the horses love it. The horses, they amaze me all the time because I’ve never done the rodeo stuff. It’s just amazing what they do with them at these things, it’s crazy,” Rowen said.
Rowen has been skijoring for seven years, and has won some big sport-skijoring titles of his own. But he admits that he didn’t know what skijoring was until his friends asked him to do it.
“I looked it up and thought, ‘this sport is meant for me’... they wanted to go watch it and I said ‘no let’s do it,’” he said.
Rowen enjoys the racing aspect of the sport the most. He also says he’s had his fair share of crashes in the past, but has always walked away unharmed.
If you’re into snow-sports, horses, or just seeing people crash semi-frequently, skijoring may be for you. Round two of Skijoring the Big Rock starts Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
