Inevitably, several forms of “extreme skijoring” have cropped up, some more improbable than others. There’s equestrian skijoring—the type demonstrated in the 1928 Olympics—in which a skier is pulled by a towline attached to the harness of a galloping horse. Often, equestrian skijorers also have to negotiate a series of obstacles and jumps. Skiers often have a difficult time controlling their spirited steeds, and athletes commonly suffer cuts and bruises from flying ice kicked up by horses’ hooves.

Arno Balzarini / AP

There’s also, on the less serious end of the spectrum, snowmobile-powered skijoring—which involves a skier, a snowmobile, and not infrequently, alcohol. The object of snowmobile skijoring appears to be causing the skier to wipe out as spectacularly as possible, while a third party records the hilarity and posts it on YouTube.

And then there’s the ultimate in extreme skijoring—skiing while being pulled by a powerful all-wheel-drive vehicle. This form of the sport is not for the faint of heart, nor the sensible. Skijoring world champion Franco Moroski once sped through the snow while tethered to the rear of a twin-turbocharged 567-horsepower luxury Bentley Continental GT, and lived to tell the tale. It’s unlikely that this type of skijoring will ever become an Olympic event. Unless, of course, Bentley agrees to sponsor it.

But in recent years, a movement to bring skijoring (the dog-powered variety) to a future Winter Olympics has started to gain some traction. And why not? It’s hard to argue that a skier being pulled by dogs is any stranger than athletes madly sweeping brooms to direct large polished stones across the ice.

In order for skijoring be added to a future Winter Olympics, supporters will need to convince the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that the sport has international appeal, attracts world-class athletes, adds value to the games and presents well on television. The IOC tends to be somewhat stingy when it comes to adding new events, although the committeee has added golf and rugby to the 2016 summer games in Rio.

Supporters failed to convince the IOC to add skijoring to the Sochi games, but advocates are setting their sights on the 2018 Winter Olympics, to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The International Federation of Sleddog Sports (IFSS), the global governing body of all sled dog sports, is currently drafting an application to submit to the IOC on behalf of skijoring. The group says it’s too early to tell how the committee will rule, but officials feel that, with a little luck, skijoring’s moment in the Olympic spotlight may not be far off.

“I know the Olympic committee is looking for new winter sports that would be interesting to view on TV,” says Helen Lundberg, president of the IFSS. “To be honest, there are a lot of bureaucratic things you have to go through before they approve a new sport. But I’m optimistic.”