Pro Skijor Frontier Tour Finals Offer $75,000, Draw 5,000 to 6,000

High Star Ranch in Kamas staged the PRO Skijor Frontier Tour Championship Finals over the Feb. 28 - Mar. 1 weekend, drawing an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 attendees and distributing $75,000 in prize money across the finals fields. Organizers presented awards in multiple divisions and handed out the custom champion buckles the series markets as signature trophies.

Organizers moved the finals from the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City to High Star Ranch to take advantage of cooler temperatures at a higher elevation; producer Lipstone said the relocation happened quickly. “I reached out to the owner of High Star Ranch. … And they said, ‘We’re game.’ And in three weeks, we put this all together,” Lipstone said. Mountain America Credit Union was listed as the presenting sponsor for the Championship Finals.

On the snow and dirt courses, Team Montana took the Pro Division title, while the women’s podium was led by rider Kylee Nielson of Lehi and skier Jackie Nadel of Salt Lake City. A competitor identified only as Francis finished third in the women’s division “just miles from her family ranch in Kamas.” The event program listed divisions as pro, sport, women’s, snowboard and all-around, with the all-around requiring competitors to both ski and ride a horse and to switch places with teammates between competitions.

Skijoring at High Star Ranch combined gate racing and big-air jumps, with skiers towed by horses through timed courses and into aerial features. Pro Skijor co-founder Brian Gardner emphasized the visual prizes as a part of the event’s draw, describing the first-place buckles as “nearly the size of dinner platters” and among the most sought-after awards. Promoters also emphasized festival elements — music, food and merch — alongside the racing as part of the finals experience.

The weekend included on-site drama beyond the podiums. Ogden racer Ian Hoaglin crashed during a practice run, flipping off a 4-foot-tall jump in what he described as a cartwheel while practicing between runs with Park City rider Chase Vance. Photographers documented the finals and podiums, with official event photography credited on some images.

The Frontier Tour footprint ran across Utah, Montana and Idaho beginning in mid-January, with a season kickoff tied to SkiJoring Utah’s 10th anniversary in Heber City Jan. 16 - 17. Pro Skijor billed the Kamas stop as a season finale and used promotional language promising “Tour Champions - and World Champions,” while also listing the $75K cash prize for competitors at the finals.

Some details from the weekend remain in need of clarification: competing accounts differ on whether champions were crowned across four or five divisions, and a separate report referenced an “unprecedented three-way tie” in a championship event without further explanation. Organizers reported the overall $75,000 finals purse and the Lehi-Salt Lake City pairing atop the women’s podium; additional confirmation of full podium lists, payout breakdowns and any tie-breaking procedures has been requested. The weekend underscored both the sport’s regional growth and the logistical work required to stage an outdoor, horse-powered racing festival in Summit County.