List of participating nations at the Winter Olympic Games
The first Winter Games were held in 1924, in Chamonix, France. They were originally called "International Winter Sports Week" and held in association with the 1924 Summer Olympics, but were in retrospect designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the "I Olympic Winter Games".
Sixteen nations participated in these Games: fourteen from Europe and two from North America.
Four years later, 25 nations were represented at the 1928 Winter Olympics, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, including Argentina (the first nation from the Southern Hemisphere), Japan (the first Asian nation), and Mexico.
Participation in the 1932 Games, held in Lake Placid, United States, during the Great Depression, was reduced to 17 nations.
The 1936 Winter Games, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, had 28 participating nations, the largest number to that date.
These would be the last Winter Games for twelve years, as the planned 1940 Games and 1944 Games were cancelled due to World War II.
Skijoring
Skijoring as a sport behind reindeer made its official debut in Stockholm at the Nordic Games of 1901, 1905 and 1909 (http://www.morgedal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/The-beginning-of-the-Winter-Olympics.pdf and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_Games;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skijoring_at_the_1928_Winter_Olympics). In 1926, equine skijoring made an appearance at the Chamonix International Winter Sports Week Games (http://blog.americanheritage1.com/blog/bid/103179/The-Magnificent-1924-Chamonix-Winter-Olympic-Games) which set the stage for it’s inclusion as an exhibition sport at the 1928 Winter Olympic Games two years later in St. Moritz, Switzerland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skijoring_at_the_1928_Winter_Olympics). In 1976, Denver, Colorado listed skijoring as an exhibition sport in their bid for the Winter Olympics. Denver won the bid, but ultimately turned it down, and skijoring was destined to remain in the shadows. Skijor International, LLC and Skijor USA, a non-profit organization, are working to bring equine skijoring back to the Winter Olympic Games in some capacity in 2026 or 2030 marking 100 years of skijoring history.