- [Aislinn] It's a snowy, frigid day at Hyl-Tun Farm in Starks.

A classic central Maine winter scene, frozen in time.

(gentle music) - [Kelsey] Come on.

I am the eighth generation to live on the farm here.

Come on, Coco.

- [Aislinn] Large animal veterinarian, Kelsey Hilton, grew up here riding horses.

And she still has horses, three of them.

And she says taking care of them is one of the best parts of owning horses.

Her painted horse, Gracie, has been with her for about three years now.

(gentle music) Hilton says Gracie is spunky and confident and always game to try something new.

And that's good, because in just a couple of days, Kelsey and Gracie will leave this peaceful place for something very different.

A thrilling competition called Skijoring.

(crowd cheers) (cowbells clatter) The event takes place in front of a rowdy crowd at the Skowhegan State Fairgrounds.

- 157 on deck we got Noelle and Doug Wyman.

(upbeat rock music) - [Aislinn] Equestrian skijoring is kind of like water skiing, but it's behind a horse, not a boat, and on snow with jumps and obstacles.

Race director, Mary Haley, got the idea after seeing equestrian skijoring events in Western states.

- I used to be a horseback rider when I was younger.

I'm still a very avid alpine skier, so they're both two sports that I love.

So seeing it together always really excited me.

And I was like, "Why aren't we doing this in Maine?"

We have tons of skiers, tons of horses.

It's silly that it's not out here and it's just a western thing.

So now it's a Maine thing.

(laughs) - [Aislinn] Skijor Skowhegan was first held in 2019.

It's now in its fifth year.

- [Mary] We try to make it fast paced, high action so that, you know, it makes people feel a little tingly and excited to see a new team coming down the track as fast as they can.

- One amazing thing about equestrian skijoring is that it brings together two distinct communities, the skiing community and the horseback riding community.

- Just make sure you got a good hold on.

- I'll try to.

- For this year's competition in Skowhegan, Hilton paired up with skier Kayla Starr of Embden.

It's their third year competing together.

- It's really exciting to do something like this, but also nervous.

You don't wanna fall.

You wanna do the best you can for your horse and rider.

I mean, the horses do a lot of work.

The riders put a lot into it.

And it's your job just to stay upright and hold on to that rope.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

(crowd cheers) - [Aislinn] Still, safety is key.

Horses wear special studded horseshoes so not to slip on the ice.

And skiers wear helmets to protect them if they fall.

- You know, you could do this with a snowmobile and you probably would even go faster.

But we don't, we do it with a horse because that's part of it.

You know, that's like the trust and it's sort of primal (laughs) so.

- When you put aside what the actual sport is itself, when you talk about horse riding and skiing, there's a lot of similarities in terms of, you know, it's risky, you're going fast.

There's a lot of uncertainties and a lot of things out of your control, whether you're on a horse or on skis.

We just share this willingness to risk it and have fun and enjoy the outdoors.

- [Aislinn] It's a great sport for spectators.

Not only is it packed with action, but some of the participants dress up in costumes.

- [Kayla] Ready.

- [Aislinn] Hilton, Starr, and Gracie ran the course in just under 30 seconds, placing them in the middle of the pro division pack.

- [Kelsey] Oh my gosh, my first run, I don't think I breathed the entire run.

And I got to the end and I was just like, (gasps) like I had not taken a breath the whole time.

The second run, we were a little more composed.

I think I did some breathing (laughs) on the second run.

- [Aislinn] They hit the jump successfully and were happy with their performance as a team.

- [Kelsey] I just really want there to be more of these events.

It's really thrilling.

It's cool to see the teams work together and it's really fun to see the horses and see what they're enjoying.

And sometimes it's in the middle of a lot of weather, like sometimes it's just snowing and you're just galloping down the track with your skier just barely hanging on.

And I think that it's a great day.

I just love doing it and I think our spectators love doing it too.

(laughs) (upbeat country music) (bright upbeat music) (upbeat music)