The Green River Rondy
Sled Dog Race
Saturday & Sunday, December 30 & 31, 2006
Along the scenic Upper Green River near Pinedale, WY
Rondy 2006 Scrapbook
Pinedale,
Wyoming and the Upper Green River Valley hosted an action packed weekend
of dog sled racing and raised the bar for future events!
BP America was a generous
major sponsor
Cameras on the race
course
sent live coverage back to a heated hospitality tent at the start line,
allowing spectators to enjoy race action in comfort. Free shuttles brought
riders up from town, and complementary refreshments were provided!
The warm tent was a beacon of comfort on a cold winter morning.
A scenic start to a work day for the dogs
Race sponsor Scott Schneider manning the grill, and a view of the cool
volunteer jackets provided by Wiggy's6 dog winner Dave Turner's dogs hit the trail with enthusiasm
Live race coverage, provided for by
Electrical Dynamics Inc. of Riverton, WY,
came from three trail cams fed into
the BP warming tent.
There was plenty of food and drink inside the BP warming during the race
Barrie Raper's 6 dog team and Robin Beall's 12 dog team gallop down the home stretch together
Elizabeth Levitski from Bryant, Wisconsin wearing the "Dot Diamond Dot" brand for the 6 dog class has company on the trail—Janet Smith from Fairbanks, Alaska, wearing the "Circle S" in the 12 dog class.
Jean Wise from Rapid City, South Dakota wearing the Pape brand in the 6 dog race
Race sponsor BP not only provided the purse money and operating expenses, but a number of their executives came and
volunteered at the race. They proved invaluable in getting the excited
teams to the start line.BP also gave away 90 saucer sleds
to kids young and old.
They enjoyed their free
saucer sleds throughout the morning.
The 12 dog class buckle
The 12 dog class was taken by Clint Hallam of Lyman, Wyoming. He wore the
"Lazy
H Hangin' X" brand of Pinedale's John Wardell on his bib. Clint has participated
in the Green River Rondy since its beginning in 2000. He had a very successful
season last year, winning every race he entered except the Rondy, which
he finished in third. Clint happily added his Grand Champion buckle to a
collection of bull riding buckles from his past.
The 6 dog class buckle
Dave Turner of Sandy, Oregon won the 6 dog class of the Green River Rondy Sled Dog Race for the second year in a row. The software engineer wore the "R U Lazy 2" brand of Roy & Peg Snow of Big Piney while proving that his team certainly wasn't! Turner received a Grand Champion belt buckle and a share of the $8,600 purse provided by race sponsor BP.
Barrie Raper of Pinedale came in second; this hometown girl has been mushing since she was 15. Frank Caccavo, a Marine and Microbiology Professor from Deer Park, Washington placed third. Local musher Casey Boulter of Big Piney finished strongly in fourth place.
JR Anderson of Ray, Minnesota came in second
with his team of Alaskan huskies; he designs and
builds dog sleds for a living. His brother
Ryan Anderson was just edged out of
third place by Janet Smith of Fairbanks, Alaska.
Janet,
an architect, is a serious competitor in Alaska mid-distance races. Her
husband Art Stoller assisted Andy Nelson with the Calcutta on Friday evening,
giving details about the various mushers. 
BP’s
subcontractor Electrical Dynamics sponsored complementary hot food and beverages
for almost 200 people per day as well as installing four cameras on the
race route and a big screen monitor in the tent. Each of these cameras would
transmit data to a central tower (aggregate tower) and then transmit back
to the main tower which was at the tent. 
They
took the cameras and generators (via snowmachine) out to the field, set
them up, and tested as needed to get them working. Spectators were able
to watch race action in heated comfort. Electrical Dynamics plans to increase the number of cameras for next year’s race and will be exploring ways to broadcast live on the internet.
Dave
Benson from Sandpoint, Idaho wearing the "I R V" brand.
Both days were clear, cold and sunny
Both days were clear, cold and sunny
The
free shuttles from Pinedale were popular, with some riders coming
up to watch both days. The heated tent was especially appreciated
on Saturday morning with a wind chill well below zero. As the
day warmed up green and yellow saucer sleds could be seen on nearby
hillsides and a few hardy spectators skied and snowshoed up the
trail to better vantage points. |
Douglas
Willett from Seeley Lake, Montana was prepared for Saturday morning's
bone chilling wind.
Jackson, Wyoming's Dan Carter checked his time in the 12 dog race. He wore the "River D" brand of the Roberts ranch
Little ones had races of their own on the nearby sledding slope, with disc provided by major sponsor BP America
Kids made use of the BP sledding discs while the race entertained grown-ups.
The three junior mushers were given
special recognition following the race.
Emily Wade of LaBarge will be 13
in February; this was her first race.
She was a junior musher in the
IPSSDR (Stage Stop) race last year.
Kayla (14) and brother Tory (17)
Corcoran are already experienced
racers and competed here last year.
Kayla finished in the money (7th) in the 6 dog class.
Mushers were briefed by Race Organizer Kathy MacKay and Casey Boulter on race rules and other info at the mushers meeting Friday night.
Every musher received a prize
of some sort, from 50 lb bags
of dog food to a beaver pelt and
a Green River Skinner knife.
The Charity Calcutta which took place Friday evening at Bottoms Up Brewery brought in over $5,000. 25% of the proceeds go to the McKenzie Meningitis Foundation to support their programs. The lucky bidders who "won" the top three finishers in each class share the balance of the take. This year's bid for a winning musher was worth over $980!
Cowboy humorist Andy Nelson entertains the crowd while musher Art Stoller looks on.
Traffic to www.greenriverrondy.com
came from as far as Europe.
Jean
Wise's lead dog makes a statement while the other dogs are tended to
Patt Potts's team of Redboned
Coonhounds finishing the 6 dog race
Alaskan Huskies from Kathy MacKay's
team looked forward to the day
J.R. Anderson from Ray, Minnesota
prepares his team early in the morning.
Race
participants came from 11 states including Alaska. Their teams
ranged from the traditional “Alaskan Husky” type to
purebred Malamutes and Siberians and even a team of Redbone Coonhounds.
Mushers all have other day jobs, including nurses, veterinarians,
a math professor, retired Air Force Colonel, plumber, police officer,
land developer, coal miner, bookkeeper, biological technician,
carpenters, and high school students. They all commented on the
friendly atmosphere of this race and of the local people. Mushers were extremely complementary of the course grooming, which was done by Darin Binning through the Sublette County Recreation Board. |
Go to last year's scrapbook here.
See other race pictures here.
Several photos on this page taken by Mindi Crabb, Sublette County Tourism Board. Others provided by Nancy Ruff.