Skijoring the latest thrill ride for speed demon Cody Smith

Cody Smith’s latest obsession with speed and risk involves skis, jumps, a tow rope and a spirited horse running full speed. But his race to be the best in the world didn’t start there.

Some people are just born to go fast. Something is inherently given from their DNA that directs them to let go of all their inhibitions. It blocks the instinctual fears that most of us experience when our bodies begin to move at uncomfortable velocities.

This is the gift that ultimately separates champions from the rest of the pack.

Smith indicated he had the go-fast gene when he started racing at the age of 5.

“We were just a family of racers,” the Spokane native said. “Cars, autocross, go-carts, skis, whatever … we were all pretty used to speed.

“Ever since I was a little kid I had an amazing drive to win whatever we were playing or doing at the time. It could have been roller hockey in the street, BMX bikes over at Joe Albi, cross country meets, soccer, skiing… it didn’t matter what it was but I had to win,” said Smith. It was a deep drive inside me and I just couldn’t let someone beat me.”

Smith, 38, has built an entire career out of winning races, with its roots starting back from his days in grade school, competing with his father in go-cart racing.

He was introduced to downhill ski racing as a teenager and went on to become ranked eighth nationally in his age group, winning several Junior Olympic championships. At one race he was clocked at 67 miles per hour on his fastest run.

After high school in the late 90’s, Smith was at the forefront of new form of ski racing called ski cross. ‘Skier X’ owes its roots to BMX styled racing. It’s similar to a downhill ski race except that contestants are on the course with several other skiers at once. Like every other type of race before, Smith excelled locally and was soon invited to join the U.S. Olympic development team.

“I traveled to France with the team and competed in the X Games four years in a row and also took part in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics test event in 2009,” he said. “Unfortunately the Olympic committee decided to only use the top two racers for the U.S. Ski Cross Team in the 2010 Olympics. Being the No. 3 guy, I just missed out on that opportunity.”

Smith was once again at the forefront of another race movement in the early 2000s called skijoring, where a racer, on skis, is towed by a dog, or in the Western big-leagues of the sport, by a horse barreling along an obstacle-laden track at upwards of 40 miles an hour.

Ranked No. 1 in the world, Smith has won 10 national championships, four world championships and approximately 15 overall points championships.

Despite all the high-speed competition that Smith has endured in his life, he has never seriously injured himself.

“I have been very fortunate and haven’t had anything more than a couple concussions,” he said.

But he added that the potential for injuries has started to weigh on his mind. “I think that I have put my body through a beating my whole life and sometimes I wonder if I will be able to move when I am older.”

Smith has also become an accomplished auto racer in recent years. Competing in multiple disciplines such as motocross, autocross and drag racing, he recently won the Pro3 season championship and an Improved Production season championship.

Being behind the wheel hasn’t turned him away from the thrill of riding skis.

“Ski cross was always fun because of the big air time and just the courses in general,” he said. “Racing cars is a blast, too, because, of course, the speed. But skijoring will always be my favorite simply because it’s the biggest short-term adrenaline rush you could ever experience.”

As the youngest in a family of racers, Smith is grateful for the opportunities he was given by his parents to let his gift for speed flourish.

“We never had much money but my they sacrificed everything so my brother and I could compete,” he said.