Idaho

Pro Skijor debuts new tour, and this extreme winter sport will stop in the Treasure Valley

Published

2 months ago

November 9, 2025

Pro Skijor debuts new tour, and this extreme winter sport will stop in the Treasure Valley

Skijor Boise will be one of the stops on a new professional skijoring tour. The action-packed event will happen at the Ford Idaho Center on Feb. 6th and 7th.

The Nampa event will be one of seven stops for the new Frontier Tour in the Rocky Mountain region, with another being in eastern Idaho in Driggs. Local competitors McKinley Keener and Caroline Potter look forward to competing.

WATCH: See skijoring in action and more from McKinley and Caroline

Pro Skijor debuts new tour and this extreme winter sport will stop in the Treasure Valley

“We are really excited to have a hometown race,” said Keener. “I think it was smart to bring a race to the Treasure Valley with the horse culture and the ski culture. I think it is a win-win idea.”

Skijoring is a unique sport that is gaining traction in the West. During the event, a horseback rider pulls a skier on a rope, and that skier has to navigate gates, jumps and grab rings. The horseback rider also has to grab a ring, depending on the venue.

RELATED | Extreme skijoring brings two different cultures together in the Wood River Valley

We first met McKinley and Caroline last winter during the Wood River Valley skijoring competition. They won the couple’s division and finished second and third in the novice division.

“We won this buckle and the vest I’m wearing at the Wood River race,” said Potter. “It’s a fantastic race, the people who put it on are wonderful. That race will always be special to McKinley and I because we met there.”

The couple met two years ago at the competition, and this past summer, they got engaged.

“I’ve been riding since I was in grade school, and he’s been skiing since he was really young,” said Potter. “We both let each other do our thing, and as a team we really do well.”

Their story showcases how unique skijoring is, bringing together both the equine and skiing communities.

“Skijoring is the craziest and funnest sport in my opinion,” said Keener. “I just love it, it is a rush. The people are fantastic, and it is like nothing else I have ever done,” said Potter.

In skijouring a horse pulls a skier through a course

This duo looks forward to competing in their own backyard, as it will allow friends and family to watch them in action. Skijor Boise will happen at the beginning of February, and the Wood River event will follow it in mid-February.

Skijouring brings two different cultures together.

“We hope everyone can come out and watch,” said Potter. “It is a wonderful time, there is never a dull moment at a skijor race. I highly recommend it to come out and maybe even try it.”

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Idaho

Looking forward to another year of East Idaho Sports – East Idaho News

Published

12 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Looking forward to another year of East Idaho Sports – East Idaho News

Note: As a bonus to our readers who have followed us into Year 2, the East Idaho Sports staff will post a special story on Sundays – Could be a column, opinion, feature, or just something fun and goofy. Hope you enjoy, and thanks again for coming along on this journey.

EASTERN IDAHO — Dec. 31 marked the end of the first full calendar year of East Idaho Sports. It has been a pleasure to bring our readers coverage of local youth, high school, college and semi-pro sports.

Over the last 12 months, we have covered state champions, national champions, junior hockey league champions, record-breaking performances and so much more. Those of you who have followed along since we launched in August 2024 have seen how we have expanded our coverage to include some interactive features like this Sunday Special series, Game Balls and the Photo of the Week voting.

We look forward to the completion of the winter sports seasons — including some Winter Olympics stories — spring sports, the summer sports schedule and returning next fall to start it all over again.

But we also hope to continue adding to our coverage, and shine spotlights on even more of the great athletes and sports programs in eastern Idaho.

In order to do that, we would like some help.

With just two full-time reporters and one freelance photographer we will regrettably miss things. And while we try to fill those gaps ourselves, we are always open to tips.

If there was a sporting event or sports story that deserved coverage it didn’t receive, please email us at sports@eastidahonews.com. If there is an upcoming event that should be spotlighted, please email us.

Also, our Photo of the Week stories will continue to be posted midday every Monday. If you have photos from a local sporting event that you want to enter in the running, email those to us by Sunday morning. For those who follow the voting — on our public Facebook group East Idaho News – Sports — a reader-contributed photo was recently selected our Photo of the YEAR, and we would love to continue adding those on the weekly ballot.

This photo of West Jefferson’s Justus Burtenshaw during the first round of the state tournament, taken by reader Julie Hall, was selected out East Idaho Sports Photo of the Year.

Finally, we recently added a regular feature we are calling the “Whip-around”: A quick rundown of local high school sports action. In order to expand these stories to include more teams, we would love for coaches, players or parents to send us photos of game scorebooks. If you are linked to a local team and would like your team to be added to these stories, please email us, and we can let you know how to do so.

It has been a pleasure to highlight the many local athletes for their successes and hard work, and we look forward to another year of precisely that.

We will see you at a field, court, course, pool, etc., near you in 2026.