This past weekend I had the opportunity to get involved in a sport call Ski Joring during the New London Winter Carnival. Prior to this I had only done a few practice “pulls” behind the horse so this was my first big race.
If you’ve never heard of it before, Ski Joring involves a horse towing a skier on a 30 to 50 foot rope through a course of gates (right on red, left on blue) that the skier has to navigate around. In between gates are some decent sized jumps that you have to ski off of and then there are various sets of rings that you have to stick your hand through to collect. If you drop or miss a ring you lose points (2 second penalty) and if you miss a gate you get hit with a 5 second penalty!
Needless to say this is a fast and fun event. The course in New London involved a decent corner with gates and rings which slowed the horses down a bit. The next race is February 13th and 14th in Newport at Parlin Airfield. It is a straight course so it will be super fast with lots of gates and rings. This is during the Newport Winter Carnival which has a ton of different events that kick off on February 9th – Click Here or visit the Newport Rec website http://www.newportrec.com/
Below is a video from a Helmet Camera I borrowed from Will Hurley at Outspokin Bicycle and Sport as well as some pictures that were taken by a good friend Jeff Estella of Southborough MA. I also want to thank Rob Thorp for getting me involved in this exciting sport and his horse “Big Ben” for a great pull (Big Ben is the 2nd horse in the video). Another big thank you to Heather Gorawaski and her wicked fast horse Daisy.
Heather Gorawaski-Rider of Daisy Pulling Dan O'Halloran
Heather Gorawaski-Rider of Daisy Pulling Dan O'Halloran
Heather Gorawaski-Rider of Daisy Pulling Dan O'Halloran
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Unbelievable.
We watched, with open mouths.
Are you sure you’re a realtor, rather than a professional skier?