Christmas race returns
More teams expected for second annual event
Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, December 19, 2013
DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE
A Christmas tradition that was revived in Fort Providence last year will be returning to the hamlet on Saturday.
Fort Providence musher Mel Rasmussen-Vandell gives Nemo a bit of praise before the start of the six-dog race during the inaugural Deh Gah Christmas Sled Dog Fun Race last December. The event will be returning to Fort Providence on Dec. 21. - NNSL file photo
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The Deh Gah Christmas Sled Dog Fun Race will begin on Dec. 21 at noon with the 10-dog class, followed by the six-dog class at 3 p.m.
The Deh Gah Dog Mushers Club created the event last year to give mushers in the NWT an opportunity to get together at the start of the racing season. The race also revived the racing tradition that some NWT communities once had as part of the Christmas season.
This year's race will be the first of the season in the North, said Susan Fleck, a member of the club and one of the owners of Stepping Stone Kennels in Fort Providence. The event allows mushers to try out new leaders and young dogs while having fun, she said.
"We're hoping for more people than last year, as long as the weather co-operates," Fleck said.
In its first year, eight competitors entered the six-dog race, while four tried the 10-dog race. This year, teams from Yellowknife, Hay River, Fort Resolution, and potentially Fort Smith, are expected to race. Fleck, Danny Beaulieu and Mel Rasmussen-Vandell, with Stepping Stone Kennels, will be representing Fort Providence.
There will be a $3,000 purse for all of the races, with cash prizes up to fifth place in both classes. The races will go forward as long as temperatures don't go below -25 degrees celcius, said Fleck.
Beaulieu is grooming the trails for the race. The six-dog class, which will cover seven miles, will follow the Fort Providence access road to the Big River Service Centre, and back again. The 10-dog class will go 12 miles down the access road, across Highway 3 and almost as far as the Deh Cho Bridge, before returning.
"People can see it the whole way," she said.
Beaulieu is working on approximately 80 km of trail around the hamlet. In addition to the Christmas race, the club is hosting the Arctic Winter Games dog sledding trials from Jan. 24 to 25. The club will also be hosting its third annual Dehcho Sled Dog Championships on March 7 to 8.
Beaulieu and Fleck began training their dogs on snow approximately a month ago. The training for this season began in September with the use of four-wheelers.
Last year Mark Taylor won the 10-dog race with a time of 40:25:41. TJ Fordy took the six dog race at 24:19:47.
