Video: Wild Rides & Dark Horses with Zoe Witwicki

We were lucky enough to be invited to accompany our sponsored rider Zoe Witwicki to Casey Brown's Darkhorse Invitational this year! An important event in the freeride world, Dark Horse creates a pathway for young women to progress in the sport.

For Zoe, it was her 4th time attending the event, and she’s progressed quite a bit during this time. Last year, she even competed in Crankworx Rotorua (New Zealand), where she placed 5th! This year Zoe is sponsored by Transition and riding her PBJ, as well as a Bottlerocket we just built up for her and is making moves to attend quite a few comps.

Pierre joined Zoe in Revelstoke at Casey’s ranch where athletes spent the weekend unlocking features on the jump line. It concluded with rider-judged awards, and the top prize of a Wild Card entry to next year’s Natural Selection Bike event in Aotearoa.

What's Dark Horse? Glad You Asked!

Dark Horse is a Women's Freeride event founded by Casey Brown and produced by Sophie Luther (who also produces Natural Selection Tour) that is now in its fifth year. It allows women to experience another avenue of professional mountain biking outside of racing.

The event has expanded to now include several parts:

• Dark Horse Academy – A five-day progression camp at SilverStar Mountain Resort for athletes ages 14-25, which focuses on building confidence and developing freeride skills. The Academy features coaching, mentorship, skills clinics, and riding sessions with some of the world’s best female freeriders.
• Dark Horse Community Ride – Following an athlete signing session in the village at Silverstar, participants are invited to ride alongside Academy coaches, mentors, and professional athletes in a fun, inclusive group ride through the bike park, open to all.
• Dark Horse Invitational Jump Jam – Spectators are invited to watch the Dark Horse Invitational Jump Jam featuring some of the world’s top female freeriders riding a custom-built course, with live music, food trucks and an exciting atmosphere on the hill.
• Dark Horse Invitational – Riders are welcomed to Casey’s Ranch near Revelstoke to participate in an invite-only event where rider-judged awards are given out, including a pre-qualifying spot at Natural Selection Bike in Aotearoa (New Zealand).

What started from Casey’s vision of creating more opportunities for women in freeride has grown into one of the sport's most influential events.