2003 Daily Results

DAY 4

Holdman Posts Fastest Time During Day Four of International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race; Shirilla Maintains Lead Overall

Mountain View—January 28, 2003—Gwen Holdman from Fairbanks, Alaska, had the fastest time during stage four of the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race with 3:26:23.  Jacques Philip from Nenana, Alaska, came in second with 3:28:10; Melanie Shirilla from Lincoln, Montana, was third with 3:41:01.

In cumulative times, Shirilla maintains the lead with 12:15:48; Holdman is in second place with 12:16:47, and Philip is third with 12:26:19.

Following the conclusion of the 45-mile leg in Bridger Valley, teams drove to Kemmerer where a chili feed awaited them at 5:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, January 29, teams depart on a 53-mile leg from Lake Viva Naughton outside Kemmerer.  After the conclusion of stage five, teams will drive to Alpine for the Finger Food Function at 6:00 p.m.

Twenty 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