COLD LAKE – Anyone who enjoys horse riding, skiing, snowboarding and a good time will want to mark their calendar and head to the Exhibition Park in Cold Lake this Saturday for the first Skijoring for MS, Riding to the Cure event.
The extreme sporting event that runs from noon until 4:30 p.m., will also include a small farmers market, sleigh rides, concession and a beer garden, outlines James Purdy, the organizer of the skijoring event, and numerous other MS community fundraisers.
Admission into the event will be free, but locations will be set up where people can donate online or by cash or cheque to the MS society.
The event's organizers originally set the goal for raising $15,000 and as of Thursday had already raised $5,375 for the MS Society of Canada.
Purdy says if they could double that initial fundraising goal “It would be amazing to see.”
Race day
Saturday’s event will feature two categories for the timed runs, youth and adult, and a separate jump competition later in the day.
The Youth Division will include participants 12 and under, while the Adult Division includes anyone 13 and older.
All 50 available team spots have already been filled and registration is now closed.
Each team consists of a rider, a horse, and a slider – the person behind the horse who completes the obstacle course on skis or a snowboard, while also collecting rings along the route.
Any obstacle or feature that the glider misses, translates into a time penalty. All teams will have two turns to run the course and their total combined run times will determine how they place in the competition.
Making new friends
Participants are typically required to register as a complete team - somebody who has a horse and who can ride then partners up with a friend who can ski, however, in the last few weeks Purdy has been matching competitors who were unable to form a complete team.
Although uncommon, Purdy has helped find horses and riders for gliders and gliders for riders.
“You match them up and they're all there to win. All they care about is going fast,” he laughs. “It’s a great community event with some real crazy people who are putting their life in danger for fun.”
Growing in the Lakeland
The winter sport, involving real horse power, originated in Norway and made its first Olympic appearance back in 1928. It has been slowly growing in popularity ever since.
And while skijoring events have a strong and active community in the United States and in Southern Alberta, those trying it out in the Lakeland are still quite new to the sport, Purdy says.
However, the winter sport is becoming better known in the region and many amateurs are getting more involved from the “old time cowboys and cowgirls” to “punk skiers and snowboarders.”
Purdy first attended and competed in a skijoring event in St. Paul with his son and some friends just over two years ago. He thought “What could make it even better?”
Combining the Purdy family’s top priorities was the answer – horses, skiing and raising funds for the MS Society.
About 14 years ago, Purdy was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a disease that occurs when the immune system attacks nerve fibers and other related cells.
Fully enthralled with the sport, Purdy continues to participate in skijoring both as a rider and a snowboarding slider.
While Purdy has spent the last decade in relatively good health, maintained with the assistance of medication, he says “It's a very unpredictable disease, which makes it difficult.”
About 90,000 Canadians live with MS. And while there are many Lakeland residents who also live with the disease, there is no data that shows exactly how many in the region are affected.
“One of our stances, as a family, has been as long as I'm able – which I am right now – I'm going to do everything I can to raise funds for those who can’t,” expressed Purdy.
The event is designed to be both entertaining and fun for the public, he says, “But in the big picture, it's an MS fundraiser. We're putting together a really cool way to raise money... The MS society does a lot to try increasing the quality of life (for those with MS).”
Building steam
Skijoring for MS, Riding to the Cure, was originally set to take place on March 22, 2020 – but was cancelled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We tried to organize this in 2020 and it was just one of the many events that was kiboshed,” he recalls. “We were set to put on a good show and then a couple days before, we had to cancel just because of where the world was at that time. It was devastating but whatever, it was first world problems.”
Now with the recent easing of provincial health measures, the steam started building again to host a skijoring event in the Bonnyville-Cold Lake area.
“The Cold Lake Ag society approached us this year and asked if we'd be willing to do it. And it's just been a pretty amazing partnership with the Cold Lake Ag Society and the community,” Purdy says.
“The Cold Lake Ag society is throwing everything at this. They are all in and so are the volunteers. It is amazing how many people are supporting this event.”
Despite the short notice and roughly just three weeks to plan, Purdy notes that once the event got the green light to move forward, the City of Cold Lake, MD of Bonnyville and numerous groups in between jumped on board to support the event.
