American Dog Derby returns for another year

ASHTON, Idaho (KIFI)-The oldest dog sled race in the nation returned for its 107th iteration this weekend during the American Dog Derby.

While it wasn't in downtown Ashton this year, the race was moved to Bear Gulch, as the mountains had more snow this year, than in downtown. Despite the move, race director John Scafe shared how it still was a successful race.

"It's been good. We've had some good teams coming in. We had four Canadian teams and so it's been really good for at least for having a race," Scafe said.

Scafe shared how even if the crowd was smaller in Bear Gulch, it was still a fun experience for every musher.

"They really enjoy this little race. We try to make it a fun race. We're still going by competition, but you still try to make it a good fun race for Ashton for other measures, too," Scafe said.

"I like trying new races every once in a while. And, and I mean, the big thing is also the lack of snow in the rest of North America. So we kind of we're looking for the snow and we found it," Rachel Courtney a musher from Canada said.

Courtney added she had been in the area for a few days, at a variety of races. She says heading back north will be a very different snow outlook.

"Back to ATV training and so its not on the sleds. Not as much fun for us mushers either," Courtney said.

Another family of mushers made it a priority to spend the weekend participating in the family pastime.

Anna and Rich Mumford are a grandfather and granddaughter pair who mush a team of dogs, the got started because of Anna's Father wanting to get into the sport. Which means the Mumfords have 3 generations of mushers, 2 of the 3 generations participated in Saturday's race.

"It's just so fun. You local race, everyone's really nice. It's usually the same people that come here year after year, so it's fun to see everyone again," Anna Mumford said.

"Yeah, it's, well, well-organized, well put together. So we appreciate them," Rich Mumford said.

They also shared how Anna's dad is getting ready for the Iditarod race up in Alaska.

"He's running the Iditarod. So the dogs we ran today are all going up for the Iditarod," Rich Mumford said.

Rachel Scdoris a musher from Bend Oregon, shares while she runs a long distance team and touring company with the dogs, it was still fun to get them involved in the derby and race in it once again.

"this race is so much fun. I know our dogs did really, really well. We're just thrilled with how they get to the last two days they they're great," Scdoris said.

She says that coming to Ashton is such a fun time because everyone is very welcoming, and while the trail was fun and enjoyable, it wasn't without its challenges.

"We had some a couple little soft spots and the dogs just said, okay, we're trotting through this and I said, okay, you're trotting through this. And as we got through the soft stuff, boom, they picked it right back up. They were incredible. And that's got to be a lot of fun," Scdrois said.

One musher has been participating in the race for the past 15 years. Susan Wilson lives in Pocatello, and says she has always had an interest in mushing but wasn't sure how to get a start. Then she found the Dog Derby.

"I was always interested in dog making, but thought that you had to live in Alaska to do it. I didn't even know people did it in the lower 48. Very Ignorant, but a friend at work said, you ought to go to look at the Ashton Dog Derby. The American Dog Derby there. So we came and watched and I thought, Well, that doesn't look too bad. I can do that. It turns out it's a lot harder than it looks, but I'm glad I had that impression," Wilson said.

She adds that she races a six dog team, and while it can go really fast, it can't go as long and as far as the bigger teams.

"A little team can go as fast as a big team, but a big team goes fast, farther, so we run about ten miles each day with the six dog class," Wilson shared.

Wilson added that she also tries to be an ambassador for the sport and shares her experiences with mushing with many different elementary schools and anyone who asks.

"We enjoy all the other people that we meet on the trail," Wilson said.

One spectator is watched the dog derby intending to write a book about it.

"John Scafe has been amazing. He sort of introduced me and said, Hey, mushers, tell your stories to Cheryl. She's writing a book and I've been great about just coming up and sharing their pictures of this is my, you know, whoever a child with her two years old and they were starting and or this is me out on the trail and here's a video of just the peace and the quiet and the solitude out on the trail. And the stories have been have been amazing," Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey said.

Schonhardt-Bailey says she hopes to capture the enthusiasm spectators and mushers have for the sport, and with her background in politics and economics wants to try and tie it all together.

"I think this is the great thing about the sled dog races is that this is the passion. I mean, this is kind of the romanticism of the wilderness. And I think that that's a really important thing to capture and have that in juxtaposition with some of the political conflicts," Schonhardt-Bailey said.

David Torgerson from Wildfire Defense Systems, shares they were glad to be a sponsor of the race for another year.

"It's great to be back. This is the third race in our Triple Crown. Three races in a race series that have kept the mushers in this area for about a month now. Two races up in West Yellowstone, starting in the middle of January. We just had our big open class race with mushers from all over northern Canada in Alaska. That happened just last weekend. And so this is the third race in our series. And we'll be crowning a champion across the three rates race series this year. So we'll have not only our victors here, but we'll have somebody who will be winning the series championship of the three races," Torgerson said.

He says they are happy to be a part of the race as they have been for the past 3 years, and look forward to continuing to sponsor it for many years to come.

All of the mushers also shared how coming to the race year after year is like a big family reunion, giving them a chance to see friends they might not otherwise see.