Commentary by Jerry Bath
She might be new to the Pedigree Stage Stop Race, but she is very well known in the world of dog racing.
Anny Malo has been mushing since 1995 and she holds the honor of being the first female to win the Copper Dog 150, taking first place in in 2017 and second place in 2018. She’s also the first female to win the 2018 Cross Lake Trappers Festival Race in Manitoba.
Training and traveling with her will be her husband Marco Rivest and son Elliot Rivest. Marco competed in the Pedigree Stage Stop Race in 2016. Elliot will be competing in the Eukanuba 8-Dog Classic, which coincides with the main event Pedigree Stage Stop Race for the first two days.
Anny gave me her thoughts on coming to Wyoming for the first time.
Where are you now and when will you start your journey to Wyoming?
We got on the road January 12th to have some to time to acclimate the dogs to the elevation. It’s a 3-days trip from Québec.
Are you coming early to acclimate?
We plan to train on different location on Wyoming/Colorado border with Tom Thurston.
How has your training been?
We had really good conditions this year: early snow, good amount. We had to train up north to avoid rain. Good trails were there with a little work. We usually are not on the sled before mid-December. This year the first run on sled was November 17th.
Tell us about your training? Since it’s your first time to Wyoming, has it been different in preparations for the Pedigree Stage Stop Race?
To participate in Wyoming Stage Stop we had to start training early as the race is long and in January. We started mid-August. We haven’t changed a lot on our training as we race mostly 30 milers. We try to reach 1000 miles before the race. The weeks before racing are dedicated to acclimate, rest, recover and be happy.
How do you see this year’s changes in mileage and number of dogs? Is that what interested you in coming south?
We chose SS 2019 after the change at the format. We feel that with that kind of distance, we have the time to prepare a competitive team. The dogs will still be in good shape for other 30-miles race like the circuit in Manitoba.
Best of luck in Wyoming. We’re so glad you chose to come and compete!
