Posts Categorized: Uncategorized

5 — Tim Thiessen from Leadville, Colorado. Age 39. 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 his local race circuit with his own team. Tim and his… Read more »

4— Bruce Magnusson from Newberry, Michigan. Age 59. 2023 marks Bruce’s eighteenth consecutive year running the Stage Stop Race — more than any other competitor in our 28-year history — and his twentieth year of mushing. He lives and trains in Newberry, in the upper peninsula of Michigan. “The Stage Stop is always the primary focus of… Read more »

4 — Geneva Lyon from Brightwood, Oregon. Age 47. Geneva lives in Brightwood, Oregon on Mt. Hood with her husband Tim Snail, 7-year old daughter Shade, and their 16 dogs. Born and raised on a small farm in rural southern Oregon, she grew up snowboarding, then discovered skijoring, and fell in love with driving a… Read more »

3 — Dennis LaBoda from Grand Marais, Minnesota. Age 64. Sled dogs were a neighborhood activity when Dennis was growing up in Minnesota. His older brother, Dale, started mushing as a teenager, and raced the IPSSSDR in the early years of our event. Following his brother’s “footsteps in the snow” Dennis started mushing as a… Read more »

2 — Al Borak from Newberry, Michigan. Age 63. Al is a detail man who’s learned to read dogs, and how to take care of them. His special talent is preparing young dogs to be world-class racers, something he plans to do this year with a talented group of youngsters from Magnusson’s kennel. “Any dog… Read more »

1 — Randy DeKuiper from Hesparia, Michigan. Age 75. Randy is a proud native of Michigan, and, in his spare time, he’s grandfather to 13. He’s raced dogs for 53 years — New Hampshire, New York, Wyoming, Alaska, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio. And let’s not forget Canada—Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec. “I look forward to… Read more »

24 — Grant Beck from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Age 71. Grant has been mushing dogs since age seven, when his first job was delivering groceries by dog team in the remote village of Fort Resolution, NWT. By age twelve, Grant was travelling by himself in the bush with his dog team, learning to live… Read more »

23 — Fernando Ramirez from Peoa, Utah. Age 36. Fernando ran the Pedigree Stage Stop Race in 2019 and in 2020. He and his wife, Dana, own and operate Rancho Luna Lobos in Peoa, Utah. They offer educational sled dog tours, kids’ summer /winter camps and have a dog rescue and rehabilitation program on their… Read more »

22 — Jerry Scdoris from Bend, Oregon. Age 74. Jerry: “I am a Vietnam era Veteran and a very serious University of Oregon Duck; a retired high school teacher, counselor, and football and track coach. My dogs have run in eight Stage Stop races, one with my daughter Rachael Scdoris when she was 15, two… Read more »

21 — Hans Gatt from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada. Age 63.  Hans is a dogsled builder with his partner Susie Rogan in Whitehorse, Yukon. He began racing sled dogs in the European Spring circuit in 1987 and moved to Canada in 1990 to pursue stage and distance racing. After winning the Stage Stop four times,… Read more »

20 — Rachel Courtney from Vita, Manitoba, Canada. Age 29. Born in Mainburg, Germany, Rachel started mushing at age 10 with her pet Siberian Husky and was “immediately hooked on mushing.” At age 14 she began bikejoring (riding a bike with a dog pulling) and four years later came to Canada to handle for Chris… Read more »

19— Geneva Lyon from Brightwood, Oregon. Age 46. Geneva became interested in mushing at the age of four and says that she’s “always loved dogs and all animals.” Born and raised on a small farm in rural southern Oregon, she grew up snowboarding, then got into skijoring and fell in love with driving a dog… Read more »

18— Dennis LaBoda from Grand Marais, Minnesota. Age 63. Dennis is a self-employed contractor. Sled dogs were a neighborhood activity for him when he was growing up in Minnesota. His older brother, Dale, started mushing as a teenager and raced IPSSSDR in the early years of our event. Following in his brother’s “footsteps in the… Read more »

17 — Cathy Rivest from St-Paul-de-Joliette, Quebec, Canada. Age 46. Cathy is a prosthetist and has worked with amputees for 25 years. She began dogsledding at age 12 helping to run the family sled dog tour business for tourists. That business quickly turned to competitive sled dog racing. Cathy has raced sprint class, 4-dog and… Read more »

16 — Christina Gibson from Carlton, Washington. Age 20. Christina decided she wanted to run and win the Iditarod after seeing the animated movie “Balto,”. She ran a dog for the first time at the age of twelve and started building her own team a year later. Christina now owns Whiteout Racing Kennel, a professional race… Read more »

15 — Laura Bontrager from Newberry, Michigan. Age 27. Laura started running dogs 22 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 school… Read more »

14 — Lina Streeper from Fort Nelson, British Columbia, Canada. Age 36. Lina grew up in a small community in northern Sweden and became fascinated with sled dogs at a young age. After moving to Canada in 2007, she focused on professional sled dog racing, and has become an integral part of Streeper Kennels. She… Read more »

13 — JR Anderson from Buyck, Minnesota.   Age 42. 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 »

12 — Jake Robinson from Bemidji, Minnesota. Age 30. Robinson Racing Sled Dogs is a 36-dog kennel in Bemidji, Minnesota. Jake has been actively racing for over 15 years, as far east as Quebec, west to British Columbia, north to the Arctic Circle, and everywhere in between. Jake and the Robinson Racing crew focus on… Read more »

11 — Diane Marquis from St Medard, Québec, Canada. Age 67. Diane is retired from a long career of cattle farming. She enjoys fishing, hunting, and anything which lets her be outside, and that’s one of the main reasons she started dog sledding 20 years ago. Her first team was Siberian Huskies, but it wasn’t long… Read more »