Imagine yourself on a pair of cross-country skis. The sun is beating down on your face; it’s a beautiful day. Oh, and you’re being dragged by a horse or a team of dogs at top speed through an obstacle course of jumps and gates. Sounds a bit less idyllic and more frightening, doesn’t it? Welcome to competitive skijoring! This sport actually originated several hundred years ago in Scandinavia. The Laplanders traveled by skis in the winter. They would hold reins attached to a reindeer to make it easier to traverse the deep snow. Over the years the desire to prove whose reindeer was fastest turned it into a timed competition. The sport evolved to include horses and dogs, although in Scandinavia you can still race competitively with a reindeer. It came to North America in the 1950s as an equestrian event. Instead of a reindeer, a horse and rider pull the skier. ...
