Utah athletes launch first-ever professional skijoring circuit

Photo: SkiJoring Utah.

PARK CITY, Utah — A pair of Utah friends who helped introduce the high-octane sport of skijoring to the state nearly a decade ago are taking it to the next level — launching North America’s first professional skijoring league.

The new series, called PRO Skijor, debuts in January with six stops across the Mountain West and a $250,000 prize pool. The tour will culminate with a championship weekend in Salt Lake City, where the nation’s top riders, skiers, and horses will compete for the title in a sport that fuses rodeo grit with alpine adrenaline.

Skijoring — derived from the Norwegian word for “ski driving” — features a skier towed behind a galloping horse through a snow-packed obstacle course, flying over jumps and around gates at full speed. Once considered a fringe winter novelty, it’s now gaining traction in ski towns and ranching communities alike.

The new PRO Skijor Frontier Tour will bring the sport to larger venues and national audiences for the first time. Founders Joe Loveridge and Brian Gardner, who organized Utah’s first major skijoring event eight years ago, say the professional league will blend competition with entertainment, offering live music, local food vendors, and family-friendly activities at every stop.

“Skijoring has always been about the energy — the horses, the snow, and the crowd,” Loveridge said. “We want to create an experience that captures that spirit on a bigger stage.”

The 2026 tour will hit six Western cities before wrapping up with the championship finals in Utah’s capital:

• Heber City, Utah – Wasatch Events Center, Jan. 16–17

• Bozeman, Montana – Gallatin County Fairgrounds, Jan. 24–25

• Logan, Utah – Cache County Fairgrounds, Jan. 30–31

• Boise, Idaho – Ford Idaho Center, Feb. 6–7

• Driggs, Idaho – Teton County Fairgrounds, Feb. 21–22

• Salt Lake City, Utah – Utah State Fairpark, Feb. 27–March 1

The organizers say the event aims to elevate the sport’s profile while celebrating the Western roots that have kept it alive. “This is about creating a future for skijoring that honors its heritage,” Gardner said.