Posts Categorized: Uncategorized

14 — Gwenn Bogart from Boulder, Wyoming. Age 63. Gwenn started mushing in 2012 as a trainer in Alaska. Her dream to compete in the Iditarod was fulfilled in 2015. About 350 miles into the event she was on a 120 mile leg when the temperature reached -64F.  “My dogs said they’d had enough, and… Read more »

13 — Randy Dekuiper from Newbury, Michigan. Age 73. This is Randy’s first year to join the Stage Stop family, but it’s far from his first competition. In his over fifty year career, he raced the Iditarod in 1977, the Rondy, Open North American, Laconia, New Hampshire, not to mention numerous races from Ohio to… Read more »

12 — Jake Robinson from Bemidji, Minnesota. Age 29. Jake is the proud owner of Robinson Racing Sled Dogs, a 36-dog racing kennel in beautiful Northern Minnesota that focuses on Open Class and 10-dog racing. He’s been active in racing for over 15 years, and has travelled from Quebec to British Columbia to the Arctic… Read more »

11 — Elliot Rivest from St-Zénon, Québec, Canada. Age 16. Elliot is a student living in a family of mushers. Literally. “I was born into a musher family, so I never really ‘started’ in sled dogs but ‘dived’ into it,” he writes. “My first race was in Manitoba when I was six or seven years… Read more »

10 — Maria Torgerson from Red Lodge, Montana. Age 18. A second generation musher from Bozeman, Montana, Maria Torgerson started life as a baby in the sled and as a teen  was still on the runners. After her dad, David Torgerson, retired, her love for the dogs’ passion pushed her to find a way back… Read more »

9 — Rafael Nelson from Bend, Oregon. (Driver substitution for Jerry Scdoris) Age 30.   Rafael guides rafting trips on the Rogue River in the summer and sledding trips at Mt. Bachelor in the winter. Four years ago, he learned how to run dogs at the Scdoris kennel in Oregon. The race team has been… Read more »

8 — 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 a part of “the famous mushing dynasty”… Read more »

7 — JR Anderson from Buyck, Minnesota. Age 41. A native of Minnesota, JR Anderson has dedicated more than 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 »

6 — Bruce Magnusson from Newberry, Michigan. Age 57. This will be Bruce’s sixteenth consecutive Stage Stop — more consecutive races than any other competitor in the 26-year history of our event — and his 18th year of mushing. Although Bruce grew up playing sports, he says that for him no other sport compares to… Read more »

5 — Chris Adkins from Sand Coulee, Montana. Age 52. Chris Adkins is a lumber yard worker/dispatcher, and he and his wife, Shannon, operate a 49 dog kennel in Sand Coulee, Montana. He began running his dad’s dogs when he was four years old. Later, he took on one dog race, and then at 21… Read more »

4 — Anny Malo from Quebec, Canada. Age 49. Last year’s Stage Stop champion, Anny was a biologist just out of the university when she met Marco, his group of sled dogs, and literally fell in love with the man and his canine crew. Twenty five years later, they’re all still in love. The pair decided… Read more »

3— Tim Thiessen from Leadville, Colorado. Age 37. Tim’s passion for dog sledding began in 2003 when he was hired to work for a Breckenridge, Colorado dog sled tour company. Afterwards, he put together his own team of Alaskan Huskies and competed in local races. He caught the “stage race bug” at the 2018 Eukanuba… Read more »

2 — Austin Forney from Leadville, Colorado. Age 39. Austin was born and raised on a cattle ranch in the Sandhills of western Nebraska, and now lives and trains at 10,152 ft. in Leadville, Colorado. Fourteen years ago he switched from cattle and horses to sled dogs, and has been chasing his mushing dreams ever… Read more »

1 – Alix Crittenden Bondurant, Wyoming. Age 33. Alix Crittenden and her husband Sam own and operate Sleeping Indian Outfitters where they guide horseback, fishing, and hunting trips. For the last five years, Alix has run dogs for Frank Teasley’s Jackson Hole Iditarod Racing. She gives a special thanks to all her dogs “for always… Read more »

#25 — Tim Thiessen from Leadville, Colorado. Tim’s passion for dog sledding began in 2003 when he was hired to work for a Breckenridge, Colorado dog sled tour company. Soon afterwards, he began to put together his own team of Alaskan huskies and competed in last year’s Eukanuba 8-Dog Classic. Tim lives with his fiancé… Read more »

#24 — Richard Beck from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Richard is a Supervisor with the City of Yellowknife. He grew up in a family of mushers where dogs were a part of their culture. He’s placed in the top 10 in multiple races in Europe, Alaska, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec. Richard recently… Read more »

#23 — Tommy Bird from Southend, Saskatchewan, Canada. Tommy has been around dogs all his life and tells his story better than anyone, “…from first dog a few days old when my mom brought me home from hospital …dad pick us up by airplane …help my dad in trapping as a kid age 8 to… Read more »

#22 — Rachel Courtney from Caliento, Manitoba, Canada. Born in Mainburg, Germany, Rachel began bikejoring (riding a bike with a dog pulling) when she was 14 years old; she was “immediately was hooked on mushing,” she says. Four years later, she came to Canada from her native Germany to learn more about sled dogs, and… Read more »

#21 — Anny Malo from Quebec, Canada. Anny Malo is a biologist, Executive Director and owner of Bio-Forest Management Rivest with her husband, Marco. She started mushing in 1995 after Marco used his dog team to meet her. Mushing became their passion and in 1998 they spent eight “hands-on” months at Joe Redington’s kennel learning… Read more »

#20 — David Torgerson from Red Lodge, Montana. Since starting sled dog racing in 1989, Dave has raced extensively throughout the United States and Canada in the middle distance and stage format. In 2001, he put sled dog racing on hold to pursue other aspects of life, his family and business, but in 2017 returned… Read more »