Big Sky Skijoring comp joins fire and ice for three-day stunt-filled event
By Carli Johnson SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR
Locals, visitors, athletes and skijoring groupies crowded into Big Sky this weekend for the seventh annual Best in the West Showdown. The event took place over the course of three days – Feb. 7, 8 and 9 – with seven different divisions, splitting competitors up between experience, age and skiing or snowboarding.
Hundreds of spectators filed in to the event wearing colored retro snowsuits, fluffy faux furs and customized cowboy hats.
“This is our Super Bowl,” said spectator Helen Grace Hutchins. “The energy is just amazing.”
In between skiers being pulled through flames and over jumps, the Big Sky Skijoring Association brought two snowmobiling athletes to perform stunts to keep the action rolling between rides. The stuntmen rode their snowmobiles up a thirty-foot ramp, performing backflips and tricks for the audience.
Blue skies and sunshine met the crowd on Saturday, where junior skijoring athletes Addalee Williams, riding Milo, and pulling Sedona Kilgore-Karp on skis, secured third place overall in the junior division with a combined time of 01:14:00.
During each race, a skier is pulled by a horse and rider along a preset course with gates. Penalties are added to the team’s time if the skier misses any gates. Most teams have two attempts at scoring the fastest time and then these times are added together. The team with the fastest combined time wins their division.
“The funnest part was switching from riding to skiing,” said Kilgore-Karp. Williams and Kilgore-Karp competed in the junior switcharoo division, where they swapped rider and skier so both athletes could participate in each activity.
Novice competitor and local school librarian Ashley Jenks competed for her second year. New to the sport, Jenks commented on how welcoming the community is.
“The sport is so inclusive and everyone is just here to have a good time,” Jenks said.
Colder temperatures and snow sprinkled in Big Sky on Sunday, but did not stop the dedicated spectators from cheering on the final races. Athletes left it all out on the course competing for the title of “Best in the West.”
The highest-skilled athletes with the fastest and most skilled horses compete in the open division; those signed up in the open division can not compete in any other division. Richard Weber, riding Juicy Fruit and pulling Jim Ryan, won first place in open with a combined result of 37.26 seconds.
In the sport division, athletes have an intermediate skill level riding horses that may not have the experience to be in the Open Class. Kimber Cook, riding Spanky and pulling Jack Plantz, won first place in sport with a combined result of 39.86 seconds.
In the switcharoo division, team members must switch spots from Saturday to Sunday – if you ski or snowboard on Saturday, then you must ride horseback on Sunday, and vice versa. The same horse must be ridden each day. First place winners in this division had a combined result of 45.71 seconds, with Dennis Alverson riding Raven, and pulling Phoebe Alverson.
All proceeds from the event go towards event costs and benefit the Big Sky Ski Education Foundation. The full results are available online.
