The Maine Spirit and the Horse: In Celebration of the Horse -- Maine Equestrian -- Skijoring in 2022 by Dr. Kelsey Hilton

A Comment about The Maine Spirit Blog

Historians and horse lovers owe a great debt of gratitude to Stephen Thompson for his thorough and fascinating survey of Maine’s tie to the magnificent beast that, in both work and sport, was a principal means of tying this vast state together in the long era before the automobile. Water Village, my history of Waterville, only touches on the horse, most particularly the astonishing creature named Nelson. Thompson’s work reveals the full tale of the impact of these beloved animals in this area, and in celebration of the horse, future generations will be grateful to know a story that otherwise might have been lost in the mists of time. -- Earl Smith, Dean of College, Emeritus, Colby College

Friday, March 4, 2022

In Celebration of the Horse -- Maine Equestrian -- Skijoring in 2022 by Dr. Kelsey Hilton

If you would like to know more about this event join the Facebook group "Skijor Maine."

The 2022/2023 Schedule will be posted to this FB Group.

The 4th annual Skijor Skowhegan competition took place this year on Feb 26, 2022, with 27 teams competing in the "Pro" Division, 12 teams competing in the Novice Division and 7 teams in the Novice Junior Division. A team is made up of a horseback rider, a horse, and a skier/ snowboarder. Each team has two opportunities to complete a course of obstacles and the team that does it in the quickest time, wins the race for their division. Pro teams are generally the fastest, and the pro skiers are expected to complete jumps and navigate around whisker gates, while novice skiers are required to complete the whisker gates and sometimes rollers. This year, we additionally provided rings which could be collected by the skier for a bonus of 0.5 seconds taken off the total time. A penalty of 5 seconds is added to the time if the skier misses a gate or a jump that is required, and skiers must cross the finish line on at least one ski to complete the course.

Winners this year of the pro division were Nate True (skier) and Josie McAllister on the horse Sam, winners of the Novice division were Maximo Varela (skier) with Colby Leighton on the horse Mikey Leighton, and the Novice jr. were Eric Nathanson (skier) with Drake Dumont on the horse Pep Ann. The event was primarily sponsored by Baxter Brewing Company and many spectators were in attendance.

Skijor Skowhegan is the first event of this type to be held in Maine, and the first event for some number of years on the east coast. The event was inspired in part by the skijoring events held out west, one of the most famous of which is the skijor event that is held in Leadville, Colorado in which horses and skiers race down the main street hitting jumps. Leadville will hold its 74th running of the event on March

5-6, 2022. The Maine skijoring community was very excited to welcome another event this year to the lineup, Topsham Skijoring which took place at the Topsham fairgrounds on February 12.

I have been involved on the planning committee for Skijor Skowhegan with the organizers, Mary Haley, and Main Street Skowhegan, since the first event in 2019. The first event was held at Eaton Mountain and was chosen in part due to the convenience of having a snowcat groomer already present at the mountain. However, we found it challenging to manage the excited crowds of spectators and create a safe environment for a suitable course, so we were very excited when the following year the Hight family, who owns and manages the Skowhegan Fairgrounds, agreed to support us in holding it there.

Holding the competitions on the standardbred racetrack allows us to utilize fencing and grandstands and parking that are already present, as well as provides a nice flat canvas on which to create a course.

Sugarloaf Mountain has been integral in producing professional quality courses and their park crew have brought a snowcat to the fairgrounds for this purpose.

Holding an event like this in the wintertime is an incredible feat, not just because of the logistics of plowing and sanding and salting the parking, but also the incredible effect that the weather can have on track conditions. The horses are required to have studded shoes or boots for traction but even so, the safety of animals and competitors comes first, and we watch the weather with trepidation in the last few days before a competition. As the veterinarian on hand for the competition, as well as a horseback rider, safety matters! Additionally, Riders, skiers, horses, volunteers, and spectators alike could be greeted with a 60-degree day or be dealing with 10-degree winds and a snowstorm as has happened in past years.

However, I think this sport appeals well to the spirit of Maine people; many of us truly enjoy the challenge and unpredictability of what the day will bring.

Those interested in getting involved in western style skijoring in Maine should consider joining the Facebook group "Skijor Maine" where many informational videos and photos and rules have been posted as well as the Skijor America or Skijor USA websites.