More than a decade ago, Joe Loveridge and Brian Gardner attended their first skijoring competitions as spectators. The energy, clanging cow bells, and excitement watching competitors weave and jump through the course were more than enough to hook the two on the winter-meets-Western sport.
“We thought, ‘This needs to come to Utah,’” Loveridge said.
Friends since high school, Loveridge and Gardner thought it would be an easy step to become business partners. It wasn’t long before they set their plan into motion. What was popular in Colorado, Montana and Wyoming, they thought, would be easily as exciting in Utah.
Gardner and Loveridge are now co-founders of Skijoring Utah. They host competitions all over the state from Logan to Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Back. Though they started hosting events at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Midway, they have since moved to Heber City.
On Feb. 14 and 15, skiers, riders and spectators are set to arrive in Heber for the next competition at the Wasatch Events Center.
While this week’s warmer weather might not lean toward snowy conditions, Loveridge said the competition will go on no matter what — rain, sun or snow. He said that they’ve already made more than enough snow with a few snowblowers for an adequate course either way.
Skijoring competitions are action-packed with a horse and rider pulling a skier at breakneck speed through a course of gates, jumps, rings, twists and turns. The sport combines wild West, rodeo-leaning roots with Utah’s ski heritage. Competitors race for cash and prizes, but only for those who mark the fastest times over the two-day event.
“We promote it to cowboys, cowgirls, skiers. … Utah is kind of easy to find all of those,” Loveridge said, adding that there are divisions for little kids with ponies, pros, snowboarders, ladies-specific and a century division in which riders can team up if their age adds up to 100.
“That’s the stuff for me,” Loveridge said.
Gardner and Loveridge are not only co-founders of Skijoring Utah, but also competitors themselves. The two take turns participating as riders and skiers. Both are former ski patrollers and lifelong horseback riders. But after breaking his elbow two weeks before the competition, Loveridge said he’ll hold off on competing this year.
Competitors and spectators run the gamut, Loveridge said, from “redneck cowboys like me to somebody with a multi-million dollar home in Park City.” Teams range from seasoned competitors to folks just testing the skijoring waters. Loveridge said that at a recent competition in Logan, he watched a team with one member’s first time on skis.
“It’s a different feeling behind a horse than it is going down a ski hill. … A horse can get going up to 30 or 35 miles per hour,” Loveridge said. “It’s kind of an adrenaline rush.”
From Skijoring Utah’s 2025 list of teams, it’s clear competitors are in it for the fun. Teams with names like Sore but Soaring, Ski Ya Later, Pink Pony Club and Barley Sober might sound less than serious, but Loveridge said there are definitely riders and skiers of the year to watch.
Loveridge threw out names like Marquise Young, who rode at a Feb. 1 race in Logan, a 2024 skijoring winner named Scott Hoover, and Clayson Hutchings, a frequent competitor. But any pair has a chance to place in the two-day competition. They just have to set the fastest time.
As someone who has experience in the skijoring competition scene, Loveridge said one of the trickiest parts of the sport isn’t the skiing or riding. It’s the rope management. As riders gallop through the course, skiers hold onto their rope and aren’t far behind.
Loveridge said that if skiers have the wrong grip on a rope and go over a jump wrong, they’ll easily lose the rope. With a course that can fit within a rodeo-style arena, ski jumps and a twisting design, it’s not hard to imagine that staying upright on skis while being pulled by a galloping horse might be a challenge.
“A lot of guys will like to pull up on that rope to try to get closer and get through the course faster,” Loveridge said. “You also sometimes need to stay further back on the rope so you can get around and over a jump or around a gate and grab a ring.”
It’s a fast-paced sport, and Loveridge expects it to be an exciting two days.
With 9,000 tickets sold, Loveridge said February’s Heber City competition will be a packed event. Tickets are best bought in advance, and all are welcome to enjoy the fun no matter if they’re sporting shoes, ski boots or spurs.