Graham and Stott post fastest skijoring times

The team of Sherry Graham, riding her horse Duke “Dashing Jose,” and skier Bruce Stott narrowly won the open division at the 2009 Whitefish Winter Carnival skijoring event at City Airport last weekend.

Their combined time was 39.27, a mere 0.65 of a second faster than the second-place team of Tim Guest riding Cougar and skier Jason Russell.

Third place in the open division was won by Heidi Eichentopf riding Quincy and skier Mitch Eddy, with a combined time of 40.3 seconds.

Eighteen teams competed in the open division, which posted the fastest times. Times from Saturday’s and Sunday’s races are combined for a total result.

Graham, Duke and Stott also posted the fastest individual race time, at 19.51 seconds on Sunday, and the second fastest individual race time, at 19.76 seconds on Saturday.

The softer snow on the track on Saturday accounted for generally slower times that day.

The weather was great on both days with good snow conditions for horses and skiers alike, organizer Dale Duff said. There were a lot of wrecks, but Duff reported only one injury.

Seventy-one teams competed in three categories, including open, sport and novice. In some cases, the same rider and horse pulled more than one skier in separate races. This is the second year for a novice division.

Duff said the Whitefish event is the premier skijoring venue in the nation. Teams arrived from across the West, including Red Lodge, Vail and Leadville, Colo., Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Spokane, Wash.

In the sport division, with 41 teams competing, Zack Joiner riding Lazy Joe pulled skier Tyler Smedsrud to a winning combined time of 41.95. Jamie Tripp riding Playboy and pulling skier Chris Wambeke took second in 42.09, and Luke Cummings riding Fish and pulling Cody McCarthy took third in 43.17.

In the novice division, with 12 teams competing, Roisin O’Neill riding Selene pulled skier Connor Brown to a first-place finish with a combined time of 47.57. Chelsea Hetzel riding Dylan pulled skier Luke Cummings to second place in 47.83, and Christian Tranel riding Tipper pulled skier Mike Rosengren to a third-place finish in 49.14.

Cummings, of Whitefish, who skied and rode, also took fifth place in the sport division riding Fish and pulling skier Mike Bestwick, of Whitefish, who was wearing a Spiderman costume.

Whitefish residents Scott Ruta and Erica Connors, who will marry in April, each skied in three sport division races. Ruta’s best combined finish was 16th, and Connors’ was 21st.