DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE
There was no room for error at the third annual Dehcho Sled Dog Championships in Fort Providence.

With a little more than 1.5 km left, Anthony Beck and his team head for the finish line in the 10-dog 32.2-km race March 8 during the Dehcho Sled Dog Championships. The Hay River musher won the event with a total time of 2 hours, 20 minutes and 45 seconds. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

The dog teams that 23 mushers from the North Slave, South Slave and Deh Cho regions of the NWT as well as Saskatchewan and Alberta brought were evenly matched. When the snow settled after the final race on March 8 there was less than a 11-minute difference between the first and ninth place finishes in the ten-dog class and a less than six-minute difference between first and 12th place in the six-dog race.

Anthony Beck of Hay River won the 10-dog class with a total time of 2 hours, 20 minutes and 45 seconds, beating out nine other teams. In that class mushers raced 32.2 km each day along a trail that started at the Snowshoe Inn, ran alongside the Fort Providence access road and then north along Highway 3 to nearBluefish Creek before looping back.

"There's a lot of top mushers here for sure," said Beck about his competition.

It was good to race against the other competitors, he said.

This was Beck's second race of the season. He finished second in the same class in Hay River the weekend before.

"My team was running excellent," he said.

Beck was in second place after the first day of racing behind Trevor Lizotte of Yellowknife. Lizotte ultimately finished in third place.

The race was a family affair for Beck. His wife Lynn massaged the dogs before and after each race to help warm up their muscles and their nine-year-old daughter Brenna, who won the three-dog class in Hay River, also helped with the team.

Beck thanked the community for hosting the event, particularly Danny Beaulieu and Susan Fleck who were the lead organizers through the Deh Gah Dog Mushers Club.

"The trail was excellent," he said.

Second place in the 10-dog class went to Roger Beck of Fort Resolution who finished less than three minutes behind his second cousin.

Roger was in fifth place at the end of the first day after his eight dogs finished with a time of one hour, 11 minutes and 28 seconds. Roger ran with one less dog on Saturday and was still the only musher in the class to maintain his time, finishing in one hour 11 minutes, and 53 seconds. He also had the fastest time that day.

Roger said one of his secrets is that he trapped with a dog team of six or seven animals when he was younger. As a result seven dogs seems like a full team to him.

Roger, who returned to racing last year after about 20 years away, is also running dogs he purchased from Buddy and Terry Streeper. The dogs are European hounds, which are different from most of the other racing dogs in the NWT that have a Husky bloodline in them, he said. Roger said his lead Billy, who came from the Streepers, has lots of endurance and stamina.

Roger held his team back on Saturday so that he could have a steady pace on both days.

"It gave me an advantage today," he said.

For Roger, the Fort Providence race was a good chance to measure his team against the competition. He is working towards competing in stage races where teams run 64 to 80 kilometers each day over seven days.

Keith Fabien, also of Fort Resolution, won the six-dog class, which raced 11.3 km each day. Fabien was first after the first day and maintained his position on Saturday. TJ Fordy of Fort Resolution finished in second just 71 seconds behind.

The races were great, said Beaulieu, who created the trails. This year there were three less racers in the 10-dog class and two less in the six dog, but overall there was better representation from the NWT. Only four of the racers this year were from outside of the NWT.

Three young racers, Taryn Beck, Taylor Beck and Zack Campbell of Yellowknife, who will be competing in the Arctic Winter Games also raced this year.

Beaulieu, who owns Stepping Stone Kennels along with his partner Fleck, said he was happy with his team's performance in the 10-dog class where he finished sixth. Beaulieu finished fifth in the six-dog class while running the team for Fleck who couldn't compete because of an injury.

Because everyone has such good dogs now it's really luck of the draw when it comes to who wins, he said. Mel Rasmussen-Vandell of Fort Providence finished tenth in the six-dog class.

A number of local volunteers including Darcy Bonnetrouge, who kept snow on the road crossing and helped with the trail, assisted with the races.

The event is "awesome" and draws in people from across the NWT, Bonnetrouge said.