2003 Daily Results

DAY 7

Holdman Posts Fastest Time in Stage Seven of the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race;  Continues to Hold Overall Lead

January 31, 2003--Pinedale, Wyoming—Gwen Holdman from Fairbanks, Alaska, won stage seven of the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race (IPSSSDR) with a time of 3:23:31.  Melanie Shirilla from Lincoln, Montana, came in second on the 47.5 mile course with a time of  3:28:05; Jacques Philip from Nenana, Alaska, was third with a time of 3:28:46.

Holdman maintains her lead with an overall time of 24:01:25.  Shirilla is second with a time of 24:06:51; Philip is third with a time  of 24:10:05.

 Following stage seven, teams drove to Jackson Friday night. They will compete in stage eight, the final stage of the race, on Saturday, February 1, at Teton Village, 9:00 a.m. Students from Wyoming,  ages 8-14, will participate in the Junior Stage Stop following the conclusion of the IPSSSDR at 10:30 a.m. The closing banquet for the IPSSSDR will be held at 5:00 p.m. at Teton Pines.

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. Stage stop communities include Jackson, Dubois, Lander, Evanston, Mountain View, Lyman, Kemmerer/Diamondville, Alpine, and Pinedale, and finishes 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