Jackson, WY – The 2011 International Pedigree® Stage Stop Sled Dog Race could be called the Tournament of Champions or the Super Bowl of Dog Sled Racing, as never before have so many crowned kings competed against each other in one race.
"It's going to be the Super Bowl of dog mushing," said race director Frank Teasley, a veteran musher who's finished as high as sixth in the Iditarod. "Without a doubt this will be a first. I don't know that there's ever been another race that's had the best of every discipline." Teasley continued, “It’s like the Tour De France, but colder and our racers have more fun at night.”
Dog Sledding is the ultimate in retro transportation, and very few people have the skill, strength and ability to work with a team of straining beasts to make it in this grueling sport. But if you’re one of the lucky few who can survive hairy scenarios, and come out with amazing stories, there’s good money to be made. The 2011 IPSSSDR purse is $180k.
At the top of the Dog Sledding food chain, and racing in the 2011 IPSSSDR:
1. Lance Mackey: Master of the distance challenge with four Iditarod championship crowns.
2. Blayne Streeper: Unquestioned domination of sprint mushing, with four consecutive Fur Rendezvous world championship crowns.
3. Hans Gatt: Defending Yukon Quest champion and the only musher to beat Mackey in recent years.
4. Ryan Redington: Grandson of Joe Redington, the “father of the Iditarod”, and Wasilla, AK native has sledding in his blood: His great great grandfather delivered mail by dog team.
Bonus: the Jamaican Dog Sled Team. Musher Newton Marshall will shake it up and make his debut in the lower-48 in the 2011 IPSSSDR, after months of training under Lance Mackey.
The race starts on Jan 28 in Jackson, WY, where a short, strategy-filled sprint and a big party will mark the beginning of the nine-stage race that ends in Park City UT on Sat February 5.
Race info and pictures will be posted each day at: http://wyomingstagestop.org/
Images, as well as phone and in-person interviews with mushers and Frank Teasley, Race Director are available.