The dogs truly had their day in Park City on Saturday as the 2009 International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race (IPSSSDR) wrapped up on a nine-mile course on Round Valley near Quinn’s Junction.
Defending champion Melanie Shirilla won the stage race again with an eight-day cumulative time of 23 hours and 8:08 minutes. This was the fourth Pedigree race that the Lincoln, Montana native has won.
“I have an incredible dog team,” Shirilla said. “I’ve been the lucky person who gets to ride the sled.”
Shirilla has been mushing for 15 years and has been a professional racer for the past 10 years. She was the first woman to win the Pedigree race in 2002.Traveling with her is musher Jon Stewart and her husband, trainer and coach, Doug, as well as a whole team of people who make sure each race runs smoothly.
“A musher on their own couldn’t accomplish this,” she said.
Shirilla, who is a marathoner when she’s not behind the sled, was joined by racers from all over the country, including four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King of Denali, Alaska. There were mushers from Wyoming, Montana, Michigan, Alaska, northern Canada and even Scotland and Norway. A team from Quebec, Canada, drove 3,000 miles one way just to compete. The youngest musher was 15-year-old Krista Halsnes of Steamboat Springs, Colo.
Park City, the only stop outside Wyoming on the 11-town tour, has been a part of the event for the last five years. The race, created by race director Frank Teasley, has been run for 14 years. According to Darla Worden, public relations director for the race, the addition of Park City to the schedule has really enhanced the event.
“We love ending it in Park City,” she said. “It’s been a great partnership”
These are some of the best dogs and mushers in the business. Many are long-time Iditarod competitors but enjoy the format of the Pedigree race. In contrast to the nonstop nature of the Iditarod, the ISPPR builds in just enough down time.
“We’re finding less might be a little bit more,” Shirilla said.
Worden says that the event is a sort of a Tour de France for canines. Each stage takes place in a different location and the courses vary in distance and terrain. The Park City stop is by far the shortest to make it an exciting finish for the fans, but others can last all day with stretches over 70 miles long. The style of the race not only allows the dogs and mushers a chance to rest every night but also allows them to interact with different communities and spread awareness about the sport of sled-dog racing.
One competitor, Debbie Moderow, even dropped out of the Iditarod just days before its start because the chance to tour the West and meet people was far more enticing.
“I dropped out of the Iditarod because this absolutely sounded like a lot more fun,” she announced to the crowd. “There is no question.”
The Park City stop started with a “Meet the Mushers” period where the community could talk to the mushers and handlers or even offer a friendly rub to the dogs. The main race was followed by a junior musher race to wrap up the day. At the Evanston,Wyo., stop, school kids were bussed in to watch the race. One Wyoming teacher even made the trek for the entire event, publishing a curriculum along the way so other school children could follow and learn from the race.
The dogs are Alaskan huskies — a mix of Siberian husky for hardiness with a number of other fast and smart breeds like pointers and salukis. According to staff veterinarians Denny Albert and Lannie Hamilton, the dogs love to race.
“This is what they are bred to do,” said Albert. “They give phenomenally”
As each team prepared to start, the dogs were hooked up to the sled and immediately shifted into race mode. All 12 begin howling together and tugging at their harnesses.
Every dog receives a complete physical before the race and the vets travel with the group to offer any emergency care needed. The dogs are also microchipped so the teams can be tracked and the competition kept fair.
Each musher has a team of 16 dogs to choose from. Twelve 12 are selected for each stage.
One musher, John Barron, a 28-time Iditarod competitor from Montana racing in the Pedigree event for the first time, even races with a blind dog named Noggin. Although he can’t see, he still has all the talent and skill of his f teammates and relies on the pack mentality and direction to help him pull the sled.
“He’s got such heart, he made the team,” Barron said. “He does just fine. He’s a hard worker.”
Mushing is a year-round job for most of the competitors. They breed the huskies, train and care for them, and commit themselves to a year-round training schedule much like any other athletes. Its not uncommon for a musher to take their team on daily four-hour training rides before a big race.
For more information or results, visit the race website at www.wyomingstagestop.org .