Teasley Departs for La Grande Odyssee
Race Invites 25 of the Best Mushers in the World to Compete in Europe
Jackson, Wyoming—December 23, 2005--Frank Teasley, owner of Jackson Hole
Iditarod Sled Dog Tours, and director of the International Pedigree
Stage Stop Sled Dog Race (IPSSSDR), will compete in La Grande Odyssee—a
1000 kilometer race through France, Switzerland and Italy, January 7
-20, 2005.
Teasley was invited along with 24 mushers from 11 countries (three
continents) to participate in this first time event. Mushers will travel
through 15 resorts as they compete for the $90,000 purse.
“Race organizers have been incredibly helpful coordinating the details
of bringing the teams to Europe,” says Teasley who will depart from
Jackson on January 4th, along with two handlers and his team of 14 dogs.
“They are flying us to Europe where they will provide a truck at the
airport for transporting the dogs.”
Teasley will be racing along side Grant Beck and Jacques Philip--two
familiar faces in the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race.
Beck from Yellowknife, NWT, placed fifth in the 2004 IPSSSDR; and Philip
from Nenana, Alaska, placed sixth in the 2004 IPSSSDR. They will both
return to Wyoming for the 2005 IPSSSDR race following La Grande Odyssee.
Teasley is an eight-time Iditarod veteran who has been mushing since
1979. His Iditarod experience includes winning the coveted Leonard
Seppala Humanitarian Award for the best-cared-for team in 1989. His best
finish was in 1991 when he earned the Sterling Silver Award for most
improved team, finishing sixth out of 74 entrants.
Recently, Teasley has raced in the Northwest Territories, Oregon,
Michigan, Minnesota, and Maine, finishing in the money in all the races.
Teasley founded the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race in
1996—and he will return from La Grande Odyssee just in time to celebrate
the race’s tenth year, January 28th through February 5th 2005. For
additional information about La Grande Odyssee, visit
www.grandeodyssee.com; or for
additional information about the IPSSSDR visit
www.wyomingstagestop.org.
Contact: Darla Worden, International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race
307.734.5335;
dworden@dimensional.com
