The snow’s been falling in Jackson, Wyo., where 19 top teams will congregate in Town Square for the start of the 2008 International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race (IPSSSDR), announced Race Director Frank Teasley. The largest sled dog race in the lower 48 states begins in Jackson on January 25 and continues through eight Wyoming towns before finishing in Park City, Utah, on February 2.”We’re still getting calls from teams trying to get to Wyoming for the race,” says Teasley. “I anticipate we’ll have over 20 teams at the start.”Many of this year’s big-name mushers have raced in previous IPSSSDRs, including four-time Iditarod champ Doug Swingley; two-time IPSSSDR winner and the first woman to win the IPSSSDR, Melanie Shirilla; 2007 IPSSSDR winner, Wendy Davis; three-time winner of the Alpirod, Jacques Philip; and Grant Beck, presently ranked second in the International Federation of Sleddog Sports World Cup Program. New faces to the event include Dustin Schmidt of Jackson, Wyo.; Dennis Laboda of Horland, Minn.; Butch Austin of Fruita, Colo; and Aaron Peck from Cobourg, Ontario, Canada.”With the level of competition in the 2008 IPSSSDR, I think we’ll have quite a show-down,” Teasley says.With its unique “stage stop” format, the race stops in a different community each night, where towns turn on the homespun hospitality for mushers and spectators with events ranging from dog parades, kids’ dog sled races and ice sculpture contests to banquets, carnivals and fishing derbies.Pedigree® Food for Dogs is the title sponsor of the IPSSSDR. The Pedigree® brand actively supports a wide range of programs that promote responsible pet ownership and highlight the contributions dogs make to society. For additional information about Pedigree products and programs visit www.pedigree.com.The International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race was founded in 1996 by Frank Teasley to make sled dog racing more accessible to the public. For more information, contact the race via e-mail at wystagestop@blissnet.com or telephone at 307.734.1163, or for complete bios of all the teams and daily race results visit www.wyomingstagestop.org.2008 IPSSSDR Teams1. Stacey Teasley (Jackson, Wyoming)2. Dustin Schmidt (Jackson Wyoming)3. Magali Philip (Nenana, Alaska)4. Jacques Philip (Nenana, Alaska)5. Bruce Magnusson (Manchester, Michigan)6. Sam Perrino (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada)7. Jarle Halsnes (Steamboat Springs, Colorado)8. J.R. Anderson (Ray, Minnesota)9. Mark Stamm (Riverside, Washington)10. Kate St-Onge (Millville, Utah)11. Melanie Shirilla (Lincoln, Montana)12. Doug Swingley (Lincoln, Montana)13. Wendy Davis (Lander, Wyoming)14. Mary Gilbertson (Chatham, Michigan)15. Dennis Laboda (Horland, Minnesota)16. Terry Adkins (Sand Coulee, Montana)17. Grant Beck (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada)18. Butch Austin (Fruita, Colorado)19. Aaron Peck (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada)
