2003 Daily Results

DAY 3

Shirilla Takes Lead in International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race Stage Three

Lander, Wyoming—January 27, 2003—Melanie Shirilla from Lincoln, Montana, posted the fastest time of 4:18:49 in the 52-mile stage three of the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race.  Mike Salvisberg from Bear Creek, Yukon Territory, came in second with a time of 4:29:58; followed by Doug Swingley from Lincoln, Montana, in third place with 4:35:34.

In overall times, Shirilla leads with 8:34:47. Salvisberg is in second place with 8:50:08 and Gwen Holdman from Fairbanks, Alaska, is in third place with 8:50: 24.

Following stage three, teams drove to Evanston for a Parade of Mushers and Pet Parade at 7:00 p.m.  Stage four, a 45-mile leg begins Tuesday, January 28, at 9:00 a.m. outside Evanston. Following the race, teams will participate in the post-race winter carnival in Mountain View at Town Hall, before driving on to Kemmerer where a chili feed awaits them.

Twenty-one teams are competing in the 2003 IPSSSDR—the largest sled dog race in the lower 48 states. With its unique “Stage Stop” racing format, the race stops in a different Wyoming community each night from January 25 through February 1, 2003, beginning with Jackson, then on to Dubois, Lander, Evanston, Mountain View, Lyman, Kemmerer/Diamondville, Alpine, and Pinedale before finishing at Teton Village in Jackson Hole. Each town hosts festivities for mushers and spectators ranging from junior dog sled races for children, dog parades and ice sculpture contests, to banquets, carnivals and fishing derbies.

The International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race was founded in 1996 by Frank Teasley, an Iditarod veteran who lives and works in Jackson Hole. Teasley’s goal was to make sled dog racing more accessible to the general public as well as to showcase the beautiful state of Wyoming. During the 2003 IPSSSDR, title sponsor Pedigree will host “Postcards from the Trail” with photographs posted on its web site, pedigree.com. Pedigree will make a donation to animal shelters for each visitor to the site during the race through its Homeward Bound program. For more information, visit the race website at  www.wyomingstagestop.org, or contact the race via e-mail at wystagestop@blissnet.com