Horse-racing and skiing are not the activities you would necessarily put together, but in the exclusive resort of St Moritz they are, in fact, combined to create a unique White Turf event.
On the frozen lakes among the snow-capped mountains of this hugely popular Swiss resort, which is just a short hop from a number of international airports using our transfer service to St Moritz, some of the best racehorses in the world go head to head on the glistening “white turf.”
The visitors coming for the next race on 16 February will see that this is not an ordinary horse-racing. White Turf is actually a competition of skijoring; where un-mounted horses race against each other with skiers towed behind them.
The exhilarating race day, which sees world-class race horses and athletes descend on the sophisticated resort for the elite competition, may be unique for much of the world but in St Moritz it’s an annual event which dates back to the early 1900s. The first skijoring race was held in 1906, with competitors following a route by road from St. Moritz to Champfèr. Skijoring was then transferred to the race course, with the race demanding a great deal of skiing prowess on the part of the athletes, as well as a firm control of their four-legged partners.
The event attracts up to 30,000 spectators every year, with the resort of St Moritz turning into one big party town for the weekend. There are a series of races, with the next dates confirmed for February 16th and 23rd.
So if you are disappointed not to be taking a journey to Sochi for the Winter Olympics, treat yourself to another epic competition on snow – White Turf of St Moritz.
Heli Securite provides regular Geneva transfers to St Moritz. You can also get a helicopter charter to the resort from the French Alps, and the Italian and the French Rivieras.
Lead image via MySwitzerland.com
