Just a Happy post...

My love affair with the high mountain town of Leadville, Colorado goes back to the early 1970's after my family moved to the State. Back then Leadville was a small mining town struggling to survive. Still, for those who looked, you could catch glimpses of its more illustrious past. Founded in 1877 during the Colorado Silver Boom, Leadville was once one of the wealthiest cities in the United States. Today, Leadville is a tourist destination that still maintains its own individuality, uniqueness, and charm all at an elevation of 10,000 feet above sea level. What's not to love?

Back in 1949 two locals were trying to come up with something new for the town's winter festivities. They visited the winter carnival at Steamboat Springs where they saw horses pulling skiers, apparently at a pace that was a little too sedate for the two from Leadville. Coming home they decided

to give it a try, Leadville style, which meant racing the horse and skier at breakneck speeds down Harrison Avenue. I can only imagine what that first attempt must have looked like to the spectators along Leadville's main thoroughfare but I can attest to the thousands of people who turned out to watch this year's incarnation under bright sunny skies and temps more akin to spring than winter. For those who have never attended a Leadville Skijoring event here's a short video to get you acquainted. So saddle up your bronco, dust off your cowboy hat and polish up them spurs, and perhaps next year you can test your mettle along with the brave lads and lasses who put butts to saddle and boots to skis in this High Country adventure!