As the second-ever rendition of the Winter Olympics arrived in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in 1928, eght sports were contested for medals — figure skating, hockey, bobsled, skeleton, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating. The Games that year also featured two demonstration sports — "military patrol" and "skijoring".
Military patrol, a team event that combined cross-country skiing and rifle shooting, evolved into modern-day biathlon. But skijoring? Skijoring remains a lost art. The "sport" can take multiple forms, but the general format requires a skier being towed (usually by horse although potentially by another animal or motor vehicle) through a course (either a straight shot or an oval) with varying obstacles. Originating in Scandinavia, the name is derived from the Norwegian word skikjøring, meaning "ski driving".
In 1928 in Saint Moritz, Switzerland, skiers trailed horses on long reins and raced on a full oval track. The race was held on Day 2 of the Games that year and a large crowd was reported to have been on site to witness a clean podium sweep by Switzerland.
These days, skijoring does not often make an appearance in the public eye in the United States, but the sport with deep Olympic roots is still celebrated in earnest every year in a little Colorado mountain town.
Established as a mining city in the late 1800s, Leadville, CO, houses a population under 3,000 and features the unique distinction of being the highest incorporated city in the United States at 10,119 feet. Located in an Alpine valley surrounded by 14,000-foot peaks, there could be no better locale for the bosom of American skijoring to nestle.
And nestle it has. Every March — at high noon on the first Saturday — hoards gather and hooves fly for the foremost demonstration of skijoring in North America. Costumes are commonplace and it's a lively scene.
The longstanding spring tradition, which was established in 1949 and is colloquially known as "The Granddaddy of 'em All," features a wild sprint down main street. Clinging to a rope behind horse and rider, skiers are timed and required to navigate through gates and collect rings, with penalties allocated for misses.
It's come a long way since the demonstration in 1928.
"The military patrol and skijoring events generated a great deal of interest," according to the IOC's official report, published two months after the 1928 Games.
Safe to say they the sport is still poised to generate a great deal of interest. The not-quite-lost art of skijoring is prime for a resurgence.