Local couple introduces sport with centuries-old roots to eastern Idaho

ARIMO – A married couple introduced an eastern Idaho community to an adrenaline-fueled sport with roots that date back hundreds of years.

Sage and Shailee Lish, a married couple near Arimo, held an event where skiers and snowboarders are timed while they complete a snow course. The sport is called “Skijoring” and participants are pulled by a horse to maintain forward momentum.

In an interview with EastIdahoNews.com, the couple describe the experience as “an adrenaline rush.”

“It’s fast. There’s not much time to think,” Sage said. “It’s a team effort. Your rider has to know how to adjust the horse’s speed to the skier’s ability.”

“One wrong move and you’re sliding over a jump,” Shailee said.

Skijoring originated from a mode of travel used for hundreds of years by the Sámi people, primarily from the Nordic region of northern Europe. It emerged as a sport in the beginning of the 20th century, first in Europe and then made its way to North America.

The Lish’s were recently introduced to it when they got a call from some friends who live in Wyoming.

“They just called one day and said, ‘Hey, can you come help with this?’ And we were like, what is this? And then they explained to us that it involves horses, it’s skiing, and it’s a timed event, so it’s fast,” Shailee recalled.

This immediately interested the couple, who were no strangers to high intensity sports. Previously, Sage competed as a saddle bronc rider.

Sage, Shailee and their two children went to help their friends hold a Skijoring event in Pinedale, Wyoming and they were hooked.

Afterward, they started to think of ways they could bring the community together for a similar event.

“The was (our) goal out of this, to get families out and doing things in the wintertime when we’re usually stuck inside the house and not a lot is going on,” Shailee said.

In order to keep the participants safe, Sage and Shailee took necessary safety precautions. They used a snowcat to break up ice on the track and make it safer for the animals and some of the horses also used ice nails with their horseshoes to give them extra traction.

The event was held over the weekend of February 7, 8 and 9 on their land out in Robin not farm from Arimo. They were able to bring out local food trucks so that spectators could grab something to eat while watching the competitors speed through the 660 foot long track.

“The Marsh Valley Skijoring event” had 64 teams register to compete across different divisions separated by age and skill level, and Shailee guessed there were around 200 spectators. The majority of the people who participated were doing it for the first time, she said.

“The number one thing I got from a lot of people that came and watched or participated was, ‘I am bringing the whole family next time and we’re all going to do this,’” Shailee said.

Sage and Shailee plan to make this an annual event.

“We just want everybody to come out, grab a bite to eat. If you’re addicted to adrenaline rushes, sign up, give it a try,” Shailee said.

Visit their Facebook page for more information.