Posts Categorized: Stage Stop Racers

#15 JR Anderson

15 — JR Anderson from Buyck, Minnesota.   Age 44. A native of Minnesota, JR Anderson has dedicated over 20 years to the sport of endurance canines. He and wife, Anna ‘Chapman’ Anderson, own the River Rock Kennel in Buyck, Minnesota. When not racing dogs, JR can be found playing with his daughter Sara and… Read more »

#14 Charlie Conner

14— Charlie Conner from Loon Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada. Age 42. Charlie is a member of the Peter Ballantine Cree Nation, and a multi-generational mushing family. In fact, “Conner” is Scottish family name that means dog lover. He was raised on the Ma-Mow-We-Tak circuit and is passionate about sharing dog mushing with his family and others. When he’s not… Read more »

#13 Mike Bestgen

  13— Mike Bestgen from St. Cloud, Minnesota. Age 65. “My wife, Vicki and I have four adult children, and ten grandchildren. I’ve been racing long and middle distances the last 25 years, and hope to continue doing it for a while yet,” Mike says. He’s a three time winner of the WolfTrack Classic Sled… Read more »

#12 Rachel Courtney

  12 — Rachel Courtney from Caliento, Manitoba, Canada. Age 31. Rachel Courtney is a dog trainer who began mushing in 2002 with her pet Siberian Husky, Cindy. In 2010, she traveled to Canada to learn more about mushing and fell in love with the sport and lifestyle, then started her own kennel three years… Read more »

#11 Cathy Rivest

11 — Cathy Rivest from St-Paul-de-Joliette, Quebec, Canada. Age 46. Cathy began sledding as a twelve-year-old helping to run the family sled dog tour business. Business quickly turned into competition — competitive sled dog racing. Cathy has raced sprint class, 4-dog and 6-dogs, and dryland. She’s been an active part of Quebec’s Provincial Federation the… Read more »

#10 Sarah Tarlton

  10 — Sarah Tarlton from Mountain, Wisconsin. Age 44. Sarah Tarlton is a jack of all trades but a master of none. She started handling dogs in 2015 with Ryan Beaber and his daughters, then started racing in 2019. She loves learning everything she can about taking care of her dogs and giving them… Read more »

#9 Anny Malo

  9 — Anny Malo from St-Zenon, Quebec, Canada. Age 53. Anny started mushing in 1995 when she met Marco. It was clear from the start that the woman of his life would have to share his passion. And she did!!! Quickly, they decided to get into the sport seriously. In 1998 they handled at… Read more »

#8 Jess Moore

  8 — Jess Moore from Jackson, Wyoming Born and raised in Jackson, Wyoming, Jess began working for JHI as a tour guide in 2018. In 2019, she began working as a handler for the JHI race team and has been hooked ever since. Jess has put in her time as a handler at the… Read more »

#7 Laura Bontrager

  7 — Laura Bontrager from Newberry, Michigan. Age 30.  Laura started running dogs 24 years ago with a 4H group started by Jan & Bob Shaw, and their kennel Arctic Wind Racing Sled Dogs. Jan and Bob became like grandparents, and she was fortunate to train and race at Arctic Wind competitively throughout high… Read more »

#6 Donny Poulin

  6 — Donny Poulin from The Pas, Manitoba, Canada. Age 49. This is Donny’s second time running the Stage Stop. He was born into the sport — both his father and mother come from mushing backgrounds, He began mushing when he was four years old. His father, Brian, started running dogs in the early… Read more »

#5 Chris Adkins

  5 — Chris Adkins from Sand Coulee, Montana. Age 55. Chris states that he’s a “lumberyard dispatcher/cat herder” in his online application. He grew up running dogs, and attempted his first distance race, the Race To The Sky 500, at 21. He entered the Stage Stop Race in 2010 as a training run for… Read more »

#4 Remy Coste

  4 — Remy Coste from France. Age 48. Previously a baker in France at Meilleur Ouvrier de France, Remy says “so I’m one of the best bakers in France.” He began racing dogs in 2012 with partner Aurelie Delattre, also a musher. They lived in Sweden for seven years training dogs for several European… Read more »

#3 Austin Forney

3 — Austin Forney from Leadville, Colorado. Age 42. Austin comes from a sixth-generation line of cattle ranchers in the Sandhills of western Nebraska. In 2006, Austin switched from cattle & horses to sled dogs and has been chasing his mushing dreams ever since. He currently lives and trains at elevation 10,152 ft. in Leadville,… Read more »

#2 Michael Tetzner

2 — Michael Tetzner from Burg, Germany. Age 58. Michael’s homebase is a farm in Burg, in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany where he has a 60-dog kennel. He began mushing in 1987 after watching a sled dog race in Germany, then started running Siberian Huskies and he’s been racing dogs all over the world since. Michael… Read more »

#1 Tim Thiessen

1 — Tim Thiessen from Leadville, Colorado. Age 40. Tim has run the Stage Stop every year since 2019. His passion for dog sledding began in 2003 when he began working for a Breckenridge, Colorado dog sled tour company. He soon began competing in the local Colorado race circuit with his own team. Tim and… Read more »