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4 — Thad McCracken from Mosier, Oregon. Age 48. Thad is a software engineer in Portland who had no plans to get into mushing until his wife Colleen bought a rescue dog, Berny, who had excellent pulling abilities. Their first race, a skijor, resulted in a last place finish but totally hooked Thad and Colleen… Read more »

3 — Austin Forney from Leadville, Colorado. Age 40. Austin was born and raised on a cattle ranch in western Nebraska, and now lives and trains at 10,152 feet in Leadville, Colorado. Fourteen years ago, he switched from cattle and horses to sled dogs, and has been chasing his mushing dreams ever since. He, Rich… Read more »

2 — Tim Thiessen from Leadville, Colorado. Age 38. Tim’s passion for dog sledding began in 2003 when he worked for a Breckenridge, Colorado dog sled tour company. He soon put together his own team and began competing in the local race circuit. Then he caught the “Stage Race Bug” in 2018. This will be… Read more »

1 —Bruce Magnusson from Newberry, Michigan. Age 58. This will be Bruce’s seventeenth consecutive Stage Stop — more than any other competitor in the 27-year history of our event — and his 19th year of mushing. He now lives and trains in Newberry in the upper peninsula of Michigan. “The Stage Stop is always the primary focus… Read more »

24  — Ben Barrett from Middlebury, Vermont. Age 22. In a normal year Ben would be attending his college graduation in February, but instead he’s coming back to Wyoming to compete in his second Pedigree Stage Stop Race. Ben learned to mush straight out of high school when he was 18, and has been working… Read more »

23 — Ryan Beaber from Lily, Wisconsin. Age 47. Ryan is a custom home builder who started running dogs as a hobby, and then turned to competitive racing in 2016. It was a good way to build strong bonds with his children who have travelled to races in Tahquamenon Falls, Apostle Islands, Bear Grease, Gunflint, Midnight… Read more »

22— Guy Girard from Saint-Thomas de Joliette, Canada P.Quebec. Age 67. Guy is retired, and since 1977 has followed this sport to compete in many states. He lives on the south shore in Quebec, near Montreal where the weather is too warm, and the lack of trails make it difficult to train his dogs. For… Read more »

21 — Érick Laforce from Lanoraie, Quebec, Canada. Age 54. Érick is a Montreal firefighter who grew up in a small town at the edge of the country. He spent his teenage years in Montreal where a husky he later named Max came to him in the school yard one day. He says that the… Read more »

20 — Doug Butler from Middlebury, Vermont. Age 66. One of the most notorious mushers on the Northeast circuit, Doug Butler is back for the 2021 Stage Stop Race! Doug has a well-earned reputation over his 45 years of mushing for his ability to party both on and off the race course. A former dairy… Read more »

19 — Ed Stielstra from McMillan, Michigan. Age 51. Ed grew up in Ludington, Michigan enjoying competitive sports, dogs, and, mostly, simply being outside. After high school, he attended Michigan State University where he received a Bachelor of Science from Lyman Briggs College of Science. About 17 years ago, Ed was attracted to the immense… Read more »

18 — Laura Neese from McMillan, Michigan. Age 24. On a small farm in Newark, Ohio, Laura and her oldest sister raised Boer goats, and for eight years her 4-H project was training and showing five family dogs. She fell in love with dog mushing and long distance racing when she was nine years old,… Read more »

17 — Diane Marquis from St Medard, Quebec, Canada. Age 66. Diane is retired from a long career of cattle farming. She enjoys fishing, hunting, and anything which puts her 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 before… Read more »

16 —Thad Mccracken from Mosier, Oregon. Age 47. Thad is a software engineer in Portland who never planned to get into mushing until his wife Colleen bought a rescue dog, Benny, who showed excellent pulling abilities. Their first race, a skijor, resulted in a last place finish and totally hooked Thad and Colleen into the… Read more »

15 — Ken Chezik from Fife Lake, Michigan. Age 61. Ken Chezik is an irrigation service manager who works 60-70 hours a week for nine months so that he can race his dog team the other three. He started the sport in 1978 by racing friends’ Siberians. He joined Betcha Katcha Kennel in 1979, and… Read more »

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 »