Locals and tourists alike gathered in downtown Salt Lake City this past Saturday for the 2025 Winter Roundup. The free event featured food, live music and the unique sport of skijoring.
What’s Skijoring?
Skijoring is a unique snow sport in which one teammate rides a horse along a snowy obstacle course while another skier or snowboarder holds an attached rope while navigating gates, rings and jumps. Scoring techniques vary, but generally reward speed and penalize missed obstacles and failed jumps.
Skijoring in Salt Lake City
Saturday’s event took place just outside Nordstrom’s on West Temple, spanning the length of the city block. The massive amounts
of snow necessary to craft the course came courtesy of Solitude Mountain Resort and was transported into the city via dump trucks the day prior. Despite recent warm temperatures, the course remained intact through Saturday’s event.
Teams like “Humpty Dumpty” and “Don’t Tell Mom” raced across three jumps, gathering rings along the way. Audience applause ultimately determined finalists. The event also featured a discrete “Big Jump” competition in which riders gained speed over an approximately 60-foot run before skiers and snowboarders hit a large jump, earning applause for airtime and showy tricks.
Something for Everyone
The 2025 Winter Roundup was heavily attended, likely meeting or surpassing last year’s reported attendance of nearly 10,000. Visitors from as far as Saudi Arabia enjoyed the competition, but the majority of the crowd appeared local. Such was the case for nine-year-old Audrey, who came from Herriman City “definitely to see the horses.”
The family-friendly atmosphere wasn’t just for spectators, either. Eight-year-old Bear competed as a skier with his father on team “Ski Around and Find Out.” While Bear said he’d been skiing “pretty much [his] whole life,” he’s been skijoring for about four years now. He plans to compete three times this season in Logan, Salt Lake City and next week in Heber City. With regards to Saturday’s performance, Bear said he was feeling “all good.”
Following the end of the competition, Salt Lake County Mayor, Jenny Wilson addressed the crowd, asking “are we doing this next year?” to loud applause. The skijoring course cleared around three p.m. with the emcee inviting the public onto the empty course for a dance party in the snow.
The energy amongst both the audience and competitors was festive and relaxed — this weekend’s competition was largely friendly. The real competition will take place next week in Heber City.
Next Week in Heber City
For those who may have missed Saturday’s skijoring or for those interested in seeing more, Heber City will host a ticketed two-day skijoring competition on Feb. 14 and 15. Unlike Salt Lake City’s applause scoring, Skijoring Utah will judge competitors on their fastest run completion time, with two-second penalties for each missed jump, gate or dropped ring. Teams will compete for cash prizes within skill categories. There will also be special groupings for snowboarders, children and ponies.
