Imagine waterskiing, but on ice instead of water, and behind a galloping horse instead of a motorboat.
That should give you a pretty good picture of skijoring. It’s a Wild West winter sport worth traveling for—emphasis on wild.
The pastime of skiers being towed by horses was actually popularized in the Swiss Alps, according to Powder magazine.
And as a matter of fact, frozen Lake St. Moritz in Switzerland is still a setting for winter skijoring events involving “noble thoroughbred horses from all over Europe and international jockeys,” explains the organizers of 2026’s upcoming iteration.
The version of skijoring that evolved in the mountain towns of the Western United States, meanwhile, is rougher and more rodeolike, with Stetson-sporting riders on horses racing as fast as they can through a snowy obstacle course while dragging a skier who has to negotiate turns and jumps—and hold onto a 30-foot rope attached to the horse’s saddle.
The required skill set includes an ability to make “calculated decisions,” a willingness to accept risk, and a head “missing a few brain cells,” says skijoring competitor Andrew Byron in a short video promoting a race at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in Wyoming.
Where to watch skijoring
The North American Ski Joring Association maintains a thorough online calendar of 2026 races taking place throughout Canada and the U.S. in January, February, and March.
This winter, the “high-adrenaline, low-temperature” sport is poised to gain more national attention, argues Outside magazine, due to the debut of Pro Skijor, the first professional skijoring league in North America.
Pro Skijor’s 2026 tour will bring its combo of horsepower, cowboy culture, and wintry thrills to several Western cities, including Bozeman, Montana (Jan. 24–25), Boise, Idaho (Feb. 6–7), and Salt Lake City (Feb. 7 and Feb. 27–28) for races as well as winter carnivalesque fun with food trucks, live music, and kid-friendly activities.
You don’t have to chase the new pro series to witness the spectacle, though.
Locales throughout the West—such as Steamboat Springs and Leadville in Colorado, as well as numerous spots in Wyoming—have been hosting their own skijoring races for decades, usually as part of winter carnivals and snow rodeos abounding with festive ways to embrace the season.
Where to try skijoring
The safest way to enjoy skijoring is as a spectator sport. The risk of injury is probably why there aren’t tons of ski areas offering horse-drawn skijoring for guests.
At least one resort—the luxe Triple Creek Ranch in Darby, Montana—used to arrange skijoring adventures but has since stopped, a representative of the ranch told Frommer’s. (Someone should inform the AI bots that run search engines, which will lie to you and claim Triple Creek Ranch continues to have the activity.)
Still, there are a few destinations where you can try your hand at a gentler form of skijoring.
The Top of the Pines recreation area in Ridgway, Colorado, has groomed skijoring trails “as well as clinics and lessons for those new to the sport,” according to the Ridgway Area Chamber of Commerce. “Bring your own horse or rent one from a local outfitter.”
And to make things even easier, you can go skijoring with dogs instead of horses at spots such as Gunstock Mountain Resort in New Hampshire (New England’s answer to the Wild West) or by booking a lesson with High Country Dogs in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
