Melanie Shirilla
Melanie Shirilla, #20, makes the final turn into the Pinedale finish line during the 2007 Pinedale Stage Stop of the IPSSSDR. She will again be competing in the 2008 IPSSSDR. The course takes the teams through a residential neighborhood of west Pinedale to the finish line.
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Sponsor Banners
The sponsor banners are attached to the sled while the teams race. The mushers autograph each of the banners, which businesses post prominently in their businessses.
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IPSSSDR begins January 25
International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race
January 11, 2008
Nineteen teams are slated so far to compete in the 2008 International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race (IPSSSDR) beginning January 25th, announced Race Director Frank Teasley. The largest sled dog race in the lower 48 states begins in Jackson and continues through eight Wyoming towns before finishing in Park City, Utah, on February 2, 2008.
Two of the stages are sponsored by Stage Stop towns Pinedale and Big Piney/Marbleton. The Pinedale stage will be held January 27-28 and the Big Piney Stage will be January 28-29th. Both towns are planning community social events the evening before their races to allow the town to meet the mushers.
"We’re still getting calls from teams trying to get to Wyoming for the race," says Teasley. "I anticipate we’ll have over 20 teams at the start."
Three Wyoming mushers will be competing in the event: Stacey Teasley and Dustin Schmidt from Jackson and Wendy Davis from Lander.
Many of this year’s big-name mushers have raced in previous IPSSSDRs, including four-time Iditarod champ Doug Swingley; two-time IPSSSDR winner and the first woman to win the IPSSSDR, Melanie Shirilla; 2007 IPSSSDR winner, Wendy Davis; three-time winner of the Alpirod, Jacques Philip; and Grant Beck, presently ranked second in the International Federation of Sleddog Sports World Cup Program. New faces to the event include Dustin Schmidt of Jackson, Wyo.; Dennis Laboda of Horland, Minn.; Butch Austin of Fruita, Colo; and Aaron Peck from Cobourg, Ontario, Canada.
"With the level of competition in the 2008 IPSSSDR, I think we’ll have quite a show-down," Teasley says.
With its unique "stage stop" format, the race stops in a different community each night, where towns turn on the homespun hospitality for mushers and spectators with events ranging from dog parades, kids’ dog sled races and ice sculpture contests to banquets, carnivals and fishing derbies.
Pedigree® Food for Dogs is the title sponsor of the IPSSSDR. The Pedigree® brand actively supports a wide range of programs that promote responsible pet ownership and highlight the contributions dogs make to society.
The International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race was founded in 1996 by Frank Teasley of Jackson to make sled dog racing more accessible to the public. For more information, contact the race via e-mail at wystagestop@blissnet.com or telephone at 307-734-1163.
For complete biographies of all the teams and daily race results visit www.wyomingstagestop.org.
2008 IPSSSDR Teams
1. Stacey Teasley (Jackson, Wyoming)
2. Dustin Schmidt (Jackson Wyoming)
3. Magali Philip (Nenana, Alaska)
4. Jacques Philip (Nenana, Alaska)
5. Bruce Magnusson (Manchester, Michigan)
6. Sam Perrino (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada)
7. Jarle Halsnes (Steamboat Springs, Colorado)
8. J.R. Anderson (Ray, Minnesota)
9. Mark Stamm (Riverside, Washington)
10. Kate St-Onge (Millville, Utah)
11. Melanie Shirilla (Lincoln, Montana)
12. Doug Swingley (Lincoln, Montana)
13. Wendy Davis (Lander, Wyoming)
14. Mary Gilbertson (Chatham, Michigan)
15. Dennis Laboda (Horland, Minnesota)
16. Terry Adkins (Sand Coulee, Montana)
17. Grant Beck (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada)
18. Butch Austin (Fruita, Colorado)
19. Aaron Peck (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada)
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