Friday, August 12, 2005

TWO MICHIGAN MUSHERS CHOSEN TO COMPETE IN EUROPEAN ALPINE SLED DOG RACE

    MICHIGAN – Marquette's Dr. Tim Hunt, DVM, and Newberry's Tasha Stielstra have become two of eight U.S. entrants invited to participate in the second running of La Grande Odyssee, a challenging five hundred plus mile sled dog race with a trail traversing rugged mountainous alpine paths in France and Switzerland.

    From the continental United States, only one other musher, Wyoming’s Frank Teasley was invited to compete. Other American mushers invited include Alaska ’s Jessie Royer, Gwen Holdman, Magali and Jacques Philip and Ken Anderson. The international competitor list includes mushers from Canada, Finland, Germany, Spain and Switzerland.

    La Grande Odyssee’s race format requires mushers to complete one loop of approximately 155 miles, with entrants and teams trucked to a second 373 mile loop. Mushers are required to run the race in primarily an unassisted format, translating into very little outside handler assistance to help with feeding and bedding down dogs during rest breaks. The race begins on January 8th, and culminates with an award ceremony on January 19th, 2006. The 2005 race purse totaled $187,500.00. Checkpoints for La Grande Odyssee are located in some of Europe’s premier ski resorts within the French and Swiss Alps, and small villages along the route hold colorful festivals in conjunction with the race.

    The inaugural running of La Grande Odyssee in 2005 was dominated by Alaskan mushers Jessie Royer and Jacques Philip who placed first and second. Coming in third was Canadian Grant Beck followed by Wyoming's Frank Teasley. Fifth place was garnered by Alaskan John Schandelmeier and Michigan's Dr. Tim Hunt placed eighth among eighteen mushers completing the race.

    Dr. Hunt is a graduate of Michigan State University, an owner/practicing veterinarian at the Bayshore Veterinary Hospital in Harvey, Michigan, and has been a musher for eleven years. His racing resume includes Michigan ’s U.P. 200 and Midnight Run, Minnesota ’s John Beargrease Marathon, Wyoming ’s International Stage Stop Race, Canadian-American Percy De Wolfe, and other weekend races in the United States. He has served as a veterinarian in both the Iditarod and U.P. 200 races. More information on Dr. Hunt is available on his website at www.drtims.com.

    Also an alum of Michigan State University, Tasha Stielstra has a degree in elementary education. Previously a kindergarten/first grade teacher, she now devotes her time to operating Nature's Kennel, a full time sled dog kennel business along with husband Ed, an Iditarod veteran. Tasha has been mushing for seven years and supported Ed as a handler during the 2004/2005 Iditarod races. An accomplished musher herself, she has competed in Minnesota's 400 mile John Beargrease Marathon, Michigan's 240 mile U.P. 200 and a number of other shorter distance races. During the 2005 running of the U.P. 200, Tasha missed winning the race by a twenty-six second margin. When she is not training and working with sled dogs, Tasha provides educational lectures and materials to youth regarding the sport. Nature's Kennel information is available online at www.natureskennel.com

    Additional information on the La Grande Odyssee sled dog race is available on the web at http://www.grandeodyssee.com.

- 30 -

Prepared by Beverly Stroh