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Jennifer Probert competing in the 10 Dog Class

The two-days of dog-sled races at the Montana Creek Dogmusher’s Association’s Su-Valley Championships were cut a day short after high winds obliterated the trail on Saturday morning. Trail groomers worked around the clock to get the trail back in shape to race on Sunday, and all competitors were able to get one last day of racing in to close the Montana Creek season.

With temperatures around zero degrees for most of the day, the temperatures were just right for a sprint race. Kim Wells from Anchorage took first place in both the 4dog and 6dog class, while Rebecca Knight snatched first place from Becky Voris by a mere 1second.

10dog class saw Dori Hollingsworth take first place over Egil Ellis, and Salcha sprinter Arleigh Reynolds finished in front, winning the open class by 1minute and 51seconds over Nathan Sterling who took 2^nd  and then Egil Ellis took 3^rd.

Arleigh Reynolds says the Su valley Championships are the first step towards ending up where he wants to be in a season with two big races coming up in February: the Exxon Mobile Open, and the Fur Rendezvous.

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Full Results:

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4-dog (6miles)

1.Kim Wells 19:03

2.Jennifer sterling 19:18

3.Amy Maclean 19:44

4.Doreen Hadele 20:08

5.Kathy Faryinarz 21:39

6.Melissa Owens 22:40

Skijor (6miles)

1.Rebecca Knight 19:45

2.Becky Voris 19:46

3.Greg Jurek 20:13

4.Emilie Entrikin 20:24

6-dog (8miles)

1.Kim Wells 23:28

2.Ami Gjeston 24:05

3.Bev Stevens 24:33

4.Greg Sellentin 24:53

5.Kris Rasey 25:29

6.Jennifer Sterling 25:30

7.Evelyn Beeter 26:22

8.Melissa Owens 27:31

9.Adam Tindill 28:15

10.Paul Gregory 29:08

10-dog (10miles)

1.Dori Hollingsworth 28:25

2.Egil Ellis 28:58

3.Jennifer Probert 29:03

4.Evelyn Beeter 29:33

5.Jennifer Sterling 30:09

6.Jeff Conn 30:10

7.Marvin Kokrine 32:09

8.Michael Tetzner 34:25

Open (15miles)

1.Arleigh Reynolds 44:37

2.Nathan Sterling 46:28

3.Egil Ellis 47:19

4.Greg Sellentin 48:18

5.Eric Renneberg 48:50

6.Bill Kornmuller 50:00

7.Michael Tetzner 50:08

8.Marvin Kokrine 51:04

9.Mike Fields 55:10

Egil Ellis overcame a 21-second deficit to snatch first place from Alreigh Reynolds, on Sunday. Bill Kornmueller took third place ahead of Nathan Sterling and Greg Selentin. Ellis says the recent snows and soft trail made for an exciting race.

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Egil Ellis talks about the race

French Musher Christian Taveau jumped two spots from third to take the 8-dog sprints by one second ahead of Jennifer Probert from Fairbanks. Ami Gjeston (rhymes with Question) from Salcha held on to her lead in the 6 dog race. Kim Wells from Anchorage held on to her lead over Jennifer Sterling in the 4-dog race, and Becki Voris retained her lead over Greg Jurek for the 4-mile skijor.

On a weekend when the big names in Distance Dog mushing were confirming their early-season form at the Knick 200 dogsled race, one Iditarod musher chose to test his distance dogs against the speed teams at last weekend’s Montana Creek Sprint Championships. Jeff King competed in the two-dog skijor competition, and in the open-class sprint competition.

It was the same team King drove to victory in last month’s Sheep Mountain, and he says they will be his Iditarod team, because they’re the only dogs he has.

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Jeff King talks about his dogs

The dogs are by no means sprinters, but King says the interval training could be great conditioning to get the dogs in top form.

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Kings team and speed.

King has picked a number of shorter two- or three-day sprint races for his calendar, and even mentioned he is considering running the Fur Rendezvous in February. He finished more than 30 minutes back of Ellis’s winning time of 88 minutes, Fifty-four seconds over both days.

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There will be an Iditarod Report for Saturday, March 12th here on ktna.org.

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A KTNA listener heard the plight of the 3 adult dogs and 2 puppies and said he would take them under his roof. Dave ‘Dirt’ Gonzales contacted the couple who had found the dog team and were caring for them.  He has taken all 5 dogs under his wing saying he hates the dog pound and couldn’t stand the thought of dog going that route.

He says he knows at some point he’ll be able to find good homes for them, but for now they are back in great health and are very well-trained dogs that are welcome at his home. He has named them and will take care of them for as long as it takes.

Sam and Nancy Claypool said they are sure the dogs have gone to a good home and said by the time the dogs left their house they were back to good health.

PHOTO FINISH— Paul Gebhard, left, crosses the finish line on the first day of the Alaska Excursions 120 sled dog race, followed by Ryan Redington, who won the race. Photo by Diana Haecker

TALKEETNA— Sled dog racing began in earnest last weekend with three events taking place at the same time. Sprint mushers gathered at the Montana Creek Dog Musher’s track near Talkeetna and ran skijoring, limited class and open class races. Christian Taveau dominated the open class and bested Egil Ellis by 23 seconds on the 13-mile trail. Anchorage’s Kris Rasey won the eight-dog class, Beverly Stevens the six-dog class and Kim Wells won the skijor class.

In Big Lake, the Alaska Excursions 120 was held. The mid-distance sled dog race saw 38 mushers at the startline, with 29 teams finishing. The event had two heats, held on Saturday and Sunday, with mushers racing on a 44-mile trail each day. Ryan Redington won the race, setting a blistering speed on day one, holding on to his lead. Kasilof’s Paul Gebhard came in second, Hugh Neff placed third. Local mushers Matt Hayashida and Nils Hahn also participated and placed sixth and thirteenth respectively.

Lance Mackey won the Sheep Mountain 150 sled dog race, Jake Berkowitz placed second and last year’s winner Jessica Hendricks placed third.

Anchorage’s Kim Wells dominated the skijor and 4-dog class events. Trail conditions were slower on Saturday with fresh snow on the hardpacked trail base. On Sunday, temperatures plunged to minus 15 degrees Fahrenheit and made for excellent trail conditions.

The Montana Creek Dog Mushers Association are going to hold two more sprint sled dog races at the Montana Creek Dog Musher’s track next weekend.

Another race scheduled for that weekend is the Alaska Excursions 120 sled dog race, organized by Ryan and Erin Redington. The race is on and the start has been moved from Knik to the Aurora Dog mushers club house in Big Lake. Thirty-eight mushers are signed up. The trail follows the Iditarod trail past the Nome sign and back.

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During the meeting, animal control chief Bob Haskel said that the practice of staking dogs out on unattended lots is quite common in the borough and that he is greatly concerned about it.

Assemblyman and musher Vern Halter was worried that the ordinance unfairly singles out the mushing community, but Haskel countered that the ordinance targets the “wanna-be” mushers who are not knowledgeable about safe and humane dog and kennel care. He said, the intent of the ordinance is to provide humane treatment of dogs and cats and to prevent animal cruelty or neglect due to absentee owners or caretakers.

Eight people provided public comment and were all in favor of the ordinance for the sake of protecting the animals as well as people.

The ordinance passed with three minor amendments and with the understanding that the animal control board is in the process of re-writing the code that spells out the borough’s animal care regulations.

Dr Chilcoat was a practicing veterinarian in Talkeetna, and also served as a volunteer veterinarian in the Iditarod Trail sled dog race.  He was well known by dog and other pet owners in the Upper Susitna Valley.

–Trooper spokesperson Megan Peters says they are treating the case as a suicide investigation.  An autopsy will be performed and no information will be available until the state medical examiner is finished with the case.

**an addendum for all friends: Friends here have set up a  memorial account  for Marlene at the Talkeetna Mat-Su Valley Federal Credit Union for assistance.  Extended family has said “please, no flowers”

THE START LINE— Thousands of people lined the start chute during the Sunday start of the 2010 Iditarod Trail sled dog race on Willow Lake. Photo by Diana Haecker

The restart – the official start – of the Iditarod started at 2 pm at Willow Lake as 71 mushers headed on the trail to Nome.

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Musher Jerry Sousa is the only dog driver this year from Talkeetna to race in the 2010 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race.

He has trained all year for this moment and before he hits the trail, shares insights on his hopes, concerns and dog mushing in Talkeetna with our listeners.

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READY— Jerry Sousa and “Dodo” at Sousa’s Sundog Kennel in Talkeetna. Photo by Diana Haecker

TALKING DOGS— Sprint mushers Egil Ellis and his wife Helen Lundberg share the passion of racing sprint dogs.

Photo by Diana Haecker

The 75th anniversary of the Fur Rondy is this year, and local mushers will be among those participating in the sled dog racing portion of the festival. Host Charlie Loeb talks with two of them – Egil Ellis and Helen Lundberg of Willow, whose dog teams have won several prior championships. Find out what brought this pair and their dogs from Sweden to the Upper Susitna and discover the ins and outs of competitive sprint racing.

(Audio runs a half hour)

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Conditions were less than ideal during the fourth and last point races as temperatures soared above the freezing point and at one point, it even started to rain. Despite the warmth, the trail was in good condition, and allowed for fast times posted by mushers and skijorers racing in the earlier, cooler part of the day.

Despite the warm temperatures, there was a strong showing of mushers and skijorers to duke it out on the race track. In  skijoring, Rebecca Knight took home the win of the fourth point race and with that, she also won the overall point race champion title. The same held true for Kim Wells, winning the four-dog class and cementing her first place ranking in the overall all ranking. Former Talkeetna resident Debra Castro, now of Willow, placed third in the four-dog class but took home second place in the overall standings. Castro is mushing a purebred Siberian Husky team. Anchorage’s Bev Stevens upset Kris Rasey’s winning streak in the six-dog class, but Rasey still remained the overall point champion.

In the eight dog class, Christian Taveau narrowly defeated Brenda Burge by only seven seconds to win the fourth point race, which put him in the number one spot in the overall ranking. Willow’s Egil Ellis placed third but accumulated enough points for placing second in the overall point standings.

Last Saturday’s race concludes MCDMA’s preliminary races. On January 9 -10, 2010 mushers and skijorers are invited to the Montana Creek Championships – a two-day race with a purse of $3,000. On January 23-24, 2010, the Su Valley Championships with a purse of $7,000 conclude MCDMA’s race season at the track.

TAKE OFF— A handler lets the dogs loose as skijorer Rebecca Knight takes off during Saturday, December 19, 2009, MCDMA sled dog races. Photo courtesy of MCDMA

Juniors made a strong showing as three junior mushers participated in the one-dog class and two in the three-dog class.  The four-dog race won by Kim Wells. Rebecca Knight won the four-mile ski-jor event. Willow’s eleven-year old Ruthan Stitt won both the 3-dog and one-dog junior races. Anchorage’s Kris Rasey continued to dominate the six-dog class with her third win of the season. Brenda Burge won the eight-dog class and Christian Taveau won the open class.  Daryl Hollingsworth, of Seward, who had dominated the past two open class races, ended up in fourth place after a tangle in his team forced him to stop and untangle, losing precious time.

The final points race for the Montana Creek Dog Mushers is scheduled for Saturday, December 26, beginning at 10:30 a.m. The races are held near the Shooting Range near milepost 94 of the Parks Highway.

Race results for Point Race 3, held on Saturday, December 19, 2009

4-Dog

1. Kim Wells                                    15:19

2. Kris Rasey                                   18:19

3. Debra Castro                               19:38

4. Hannah Summers                    20:55

5. Kim Waychoff                              21:44

Jr. 3-dog

1. Ruthan Stitts                  26:20

2. Grayton Bruton             29:23

Jr. 1-dog

1. Ruthan Stitts               2:10

2. Lizzy Hahn                  2:20

3. Adeline Berry              3:18

3-Dog Junior

1. Ruthan Stitt                                   19:37

2. Grayson Bruton                            21:44

Skijor

1. Rebecca Knight                                    15:14

2. Becky Voris                                    15:16

3. Kim Wells                                    15:30

4. Lulie Williams                               15:35

5. Bud Rice                                    16:32

6. Phyllis Seeba                               17:17

7. Pam Schamber                               17:27

8. Kathy Faryniarz                              18:45

9. Skipper Stitt                                    21:35

6-dog

1. Kris Rasey                                    17:39

2. Hannah Summers                  20:00

3. Skeeter Stitt                                    20:25

4. Bev Stevens                                    21:05

5. Melissa Ghosh                                    21:52

6. James Castro                                    22:24

7. Mike Stitt                                     26:58

8-dog

1. Brenda Burge                             25:10

2. Christian Taveau                       25:16

3. Egil Ellis                                    27:12

4. Diana Haecker                            29:01

Open

1. Christian Taveau                      31:06

2. Egil Ellis                                    31:43

3. Greg Sellentin                            32:07

4. Daryl Hollingsworth                  32:10

5. Jack Berry                                    33:23

6. Nils Hahn                                    35:27

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Photo courtesy of MCDMA

RACING TO VICTORY— Seward musher Daryl Hollingsworth won the open class in the first point races of the Montana Creek Dog Musher’s Association, held Dec 12 and 13, 2009. Hollingsworth races to the finishline with his 14-dog team on Sunday, Dec. 13.

The first two point races of the Montana Creek Dog Mushers Association took place over the weekend of Dec. 12 and 13, attracting more than 40 mushers and skijorers from as near as Talkeetna and Willow and as far as Fairbanks, Anchorage and Seward to the Montana Creek Dog Mushers race track.In the open class, Seward’s Daryl Hollingsworth dominated the field of high-caliber mushers including multiple Rondy and ONAC champion Egil Ellis, limited ONAC winners Jennifer Probert and last year’s MCDMA point race champion Christian Taveau. Hollingsworth took his 14-dog team around the 10-mile course in 29 minutes and 46 seconds on Saturday, and in 30 minutes and 14 seconds on Sunday. All eight open class mushers crossed the finish line within two minutes and 15 seconds.

Less competitive yet all serious about dogs and racing were four 5-year old junior one dog racers who finished their loop in an intense one-minute of racing.

Three older juniors braved the 3-dog class and mushed their dog teams around the 3-mile course.

Skijorer Greg Jurek remained victorious in both days of skijoring and completed the skijor 3-mile course in 14 minutes and 3 seconds on Saturday and 14 minutes and eight seconds on Sunday.

In the 6-dog class, Anchorage’s Kris Rasey set a blistering pace and won both Saturday and Sunday’s 6-dog races.

Temperatures hover around the -7°F mark and warmed up to 5°F over the course of the weekend. Under clear skies, racing started at 11 a.m. and was done before sunset. Except for two dogs chewing a gangline and taking off after a departing 6-dog team, the races went smoothly. The dogs were safely retrieved and returned to their owners.

The next point race will take place on Saturday, December 19.

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