2003 Daily Results

DAY 6

Philip Wins Day Six of International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race; Holdman Takes Overall Lead

January 30, 2003—Alpine, Wyoming—Jacques Philip from Nenana, Alaska, won stage six of the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race with a time of 3:48:22.  Gwen Holdman from Anchorage, Alaska,  was second with 3:49:37; and Ken Anderson from Anchorage, Alaska, was third with 4:03:24.

In overall times, Holdman takes the lead with a time of 20:37:54; followed by Melanie Shirilla from Lincoln, Montana, with 20:38:46.  Philip is in third with a time of 20:41:19.

After competing in stage six, teams drove from Alpine to Pinedale for the Pinedale Reception at the Community Center, 5:00 p.m; a Calcutta follows the reception. Stage seven begins Friday, January 31, at 9:00 a.m. in Pinedale. 

Following stage seven, teams will drive to Jackson where they have a free night, before competing in stage eight, the final stage of the race, Saturday, February 1, at Teton Village, 9:00 a.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