Our company is on a journey to foster a culture that embodies our newest value, Be Inclusive. In honor of Black History Month, each week we will be highlighting key Black figures in skiing and riding who have bravely moved the sport towards a more inclusive future.
First up is Alaskan downhiller, Andre Horton, the first Black skier on the U.S. Alpine Ski Team in 2001. Andre and his ranked ski-racing sister, Suki, began their mark in history when their mother introduced them to the sport. The pair began their athletic pursuits as Nordic skiers before switching to Alpine skiing. Soon the sibling duo entered local ski races, where they earned attention for their athletic abilities within the ski community.
By their early teens, the Hortons had become Alaska’s state champions and were winning races throughout the western United States. They seldom saw other Black skiers on the mountain. Rather than letting the “loneliness” of being the only Black skiers on the ski-racing hill discourage them, Andre and Suki saw it as an opportunity to pave the way for a more inclusive future of the sport. “I’ve made some Black people cry because they couldn’t believe I was racing down a course at a world-class level because they could never do it when they were growing up. That’s my quiet smile, as I call it,” Andre told Ski Racing Journal.
Andre and Suki went on to be top-ranked Black ski racers – Andre being the first Black skier to win a FIS race in Europe while Suki maintained three top-15s in FIS races. Andre finished his career fourth in the Super G and sixth in the Downhill of his final U.S. Alpine Championships. The siblings retired in 2004.
Read more about Andre Horton.
