Latest News – March 4

Legendary Leadville Ski Joring Set for March 4 & 5 

By Kathy Bedell, © Leadville Today

Colorado is known around the world for its outdoor winter recreation: skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, ice skating, hockey, ice fishing. But when it comes to the boisterous sport of Ski Joring, Leadville sits tall in the saddle at 10,200 feet with a race course that is surrounded by some of the state’s most notable historic buildings, not to mention Colorado’s two highest peaks.

The action is fast, the competition is fierce. Photo: Daniel J.ODonnell

This year marks the 68th Anniversary of Leadville Ski Joring, an event that combines horses and riders with skiers in an action-packed competition that takes place on historic Harrison Avenue. Held the first weekend in March, the celebration will take place Saturday & Sunday, March 4 & 5, 2017

For those who have never witnessed this sport in person, there’ s nothing quite like seeing skiers hurtle 8 foot jumps and spear rings as they’re towed behind speeding horses with adrenaline-fueled riders at the reins.

The sport of Ski Joring continues to grow across the country with encouragement from organizations like the North American Ski Joring Association, SkiJorInternational and Skijor America. But it’s Leadville Ski Joring that stands out among the other competitions, mainly due to the course, both its build and its location. And because it’s the Granddaddy of them all!

Leadville’s Downtown Winter Celebration: Ski Joring! Photo Daniel J. O’Donnell

Separated into three classes – Open, Sport and Legends –  these winter athletes compete for the cheers from the crowds, the bragging rights that come from a good run or victory, and of course, the hard cold cash! Teams are randomly matched: horse, rider and skier.

The Sport Division is for any and all skiers and you don’t have to have a horse, they will match you up during registration. The Open Division is what the BIG jumps are for. These are the real showmen and women to watch! The Legend Division was created for those older skiers who maybe weren’t willing to take on the big jumps, but still knew how to put on a show! In fact, in the Official Leadville Ski Joring Rules obtained exclusively by Leadville Today it states that “Skiers in the Legends Division must be a minimum of 40 years of age, have competed in ski joring for at least 10 years, have no medical disabilities, have a minimum 60% mental capacity, have 50% of their natural teeth and test negative for sexually enhancing drugs.” What division are YOU signing up for?

Once the teams are selected, the bidding begins through a Calcutta which takes place at 9:30 a.m. at the Announcer’s Stand on Harrison Avenue. This is where the money for daily purses and seed funds for next year’s competition is generated. That combined with a bit of smack talk from long-time competitors and local folks knowing which team combinations have the best chance for victory. Once the Calcutta is finished, the Leadville Ski Joring spectacular begins entertaining the hordes of spectators on historic Harrison Avenue

The “Manly” with the plan. There will be a memorial tribute on Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m. at The Grand Stand for Jody Manly who has the course builder for decades. Jody passed away earlier this year. Photo: Leadville Today.

But to say that a world-class Ski Joring course just “happens” on Leadville’s main drag might be a bit of an understatement. It takes about 200 loads of snow and about five and a half hours to cover Harrison Avenue from 8th Street to 3rd Street.

Yep, that’s right, after months of plowing the snow off the highway – Harrison Avenue is also Highway 24 and regularly plowed by the Colorado Department of Transportation – the local street departments dump the snow back ONTO Harrison Avenue. But it’s this unique setting that makes the course not only fun for the crowds but also for the competitors.

There’s usually a whole herd of volunteers out there pushing the snow around and helping to set-up the course on Friday, but for decades it was the one and only Jody Manly who designed the courses. Sadly, Manly passed away earlier this year. There will be a Memorial Tribute on Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m. at The Grand Stand for Jody Manly; there should be a big crowd for this good man!

Students from Colorado Mountain College in Leadville demonstrate their learned skills by assisting in building the ski joring course. Photo: Julia Martinez

Fortunately, Manly has been passing down that course-building knowledge to the likes of Colorado Mountain College Ski Area Operations Instructor Jason Gusaas and his students for years. The course building will be in good hands, but if you feel like someone is looking over your shoulder, he probably is!

There have been a few other changes to this year’s schedule, with things trying to get started EARLIER. So be sure to #BeInTheKnow. 

One last thing: Leadville Ski Joring organizers are committed to streamlining the schedule and keeping the crowds better informed of what’s happening on the course and around town. So here’s a schedule of events, but keep in mind this is Leadville and things don’t always go according to plan. So be patient, do a little shopping, grab a bite to eat, take a load off and have a cold (or hot) drink. After all, the whole reason this event is put on, is to bring folks up to Leadville and put on a Wild West show they’re not likely to forget. Yee-Haw!

A Leadville Tradition since 1949.
Photo (1956) Leadville Ski Joring. Left to right: 1st Place skier Ed Kerrigan of Leadville with Rider Joe Gash of Gilman; 2nd Place Rider Fritz Hauser of Leadville with Skier Heiko Kuhn, A Leadville Teacher. In the Background (center): John Hren.