Wyoming to Utah Sled Dog Race begins January 28

Jackson, Wyoming – January 6, 2011 – Twenty-two teams will depart from the starting line in Jackson’s Town Square on January 28 at the start of the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race (IPSSSDR). The race, the largest sled dog race in the lower 48 states, will continue from Jackson to separate stages in the small Wyoming communities of Lander, Pinedale, Cora, Big Piney, Marbleton, Alpine, Kemmerer, Diamondville, Evanston, Mountain View and Lyman before finishing in Park City, Utah on February 5.

Eleven newcomers or rookies to the IPSSSDR will race this year. Eight teams come from outside the U.S., with teams from Canada, including British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Northwest Territories, as well as Sweden and Jamaica. Five teams this year will be driven by women. The youngest musher is 19 and the oldest, 60.

Communities on the race route host various festivities to welcome mushers and dogs as they speed through town, offering Dutch oven dinners, flapjack frenzies and musher mania events that include a human sled dog race and snowshoe softball.

With its unique stage stop format, the IPSSSDR has become a popular mushing event attracting the world’s top competitors. 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.

The International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race was founded in 1996 by Frank Teasley to showcase the state of Wyoming and to make sled dog racing more accessible to the public. Each year the race makes a contribution to communities on the race route for childhood immunizations. For more information, visit the race website at http://www.wyomingstagestop.org/ ; contact the race via e-mail at bark@wyomingstagestop.org  or telephone at 307.734.1163. The race is also active on Facebook under International Pedigree Stage Stop and on Twitter at @IPSSSDR.