• Families, individuals, children and dogs are invited

Alpine’s annual Coney Classic Skijor and Dog Party is happening Saturday February 8 in Alpine at the end of County Road 100 just west of the Alpine Airport. This event serves as a fundraiser for the Alpine Trails and Pathways, which manages trail grooming in Alpine throughout the year, as well as Lucky’s Place, which serves Star Valley’s Animal Humane Association as an animal shelter.

Folks are invited to attend the event with, or without a dog. The Dog Party is also a costume party, offering food, auction and raffle items and Skijoring, which is a type of cross country skiing in which one or more dogs pulls a cross country skier.

Individuals interested in Skijoring are asked to preregister and receive a participant number on site that morning. Between 10 and 11:30, registered participants are invited to approach the start line, where officials will time their Skijoring run. This is not a race, but rather a timed event. Folks can approach the start line at their leisure. Prizes will be given for the fastest completion of the Skijoring trail, and for costumes worn to the party.

The “trail is four kilometers, a little over 2 miles, so it’s a nice loop,” said Lila Wheatley, who serves on the event committee, in an interview with the SVI Radio Network last Friday. “It’s been groomed since right before Christmas, so it’s a very well-packed trail.”

Wheatley explained that participants do not necessarily need to use the trail in a Skijoring fashion. They can also ski with their dog running alongside, or without a dog at all.

Officials are asking that any dogs at the event “be well enough trained that it’s not going to interfere with anyone else” that is present or Skijoring. “It’s very fun to watch. It’s very entertaining.”

“This is one of Lucky’s bigger fundraisers of the year, and we have such generous sponsors,” Wheatley shared. Sponsors throughout the Valley have already made donations totaling more than half of what the Coney Classic raised last year.  “That’s super generous of these sponsors, and the fun thing is that we have three sponsors that are also non-profits, which I think is so cool! I think it is so cool to have nonprofits help other nonprofits.”

The fundraiser auction is already live at 32auctions.com/coney2025 and will continue through Saturday, February 8 around 1 p.m. Folks can visit the auction site and login or create an account to bid. Bidders who are unable to attend the event can participate in the auction through a proxy bidding system, which automatically bids on their desired items throughout  the online auction and into the live auction the day of the event.

“There are a lot of adventures [offered through the auction] this year,” said Wheatley. “We have horseback riding, two different dog sled trips, white water rafting, snowmobiling, cabin rentals and all kinds of fun things to get out. Not just items that you bid on. In the raffle, there are a lot of gift certificates to a lot of the local businesses. Those are always good to have because everybody can use gift certificates.”

Families, children and dogs are welcome at this event. Everyone is encouraged to attend in costume. They can bring dogs or leave them home.

“We have a bigger kids booth this year, so we’ll have some kid activities and a hot chocolate bar and all kinds of things” for families with children of all ages.  And, “you should probably love dogs because there’s just a whole ton of dogs running around having fun.”