Mushers race in Sisters country

Mushers hit the trail in a storm at Hoodoo on Tuesday, January 6. photo by Jeff McCaulou

In the world of dogsled racing, comparing Buddy Streeper and Doug Swingley is like comparing a Ferrari to a Land Rover.

Streeper is the undefeated champion in the sprint class while Swingley holds four titles in the 1,100-mile Iditarod dog sled race.

Streeper dominated the competition in the Sisters stages of the Atta Boy 300 dog sled race earlier this month and Swingley was the next contender.

The $55,000 race came to the Sisters area for two days during the multi-stage event. On Tuesday, January 6, the 32-mile race started in a storm at Hoodoo base lodge. Wednesday's race started its sunny 47-mile leg at Three Creek Sno-Park.

Streeper, from Fort Nelson, British Columbia, won the opening stage of the dog sled race and was going into Tuesday's race at Hoodoo with a lot of optimism.

"My dogs are high on themselves today," said Streeper, "We've got the best sprint class team in the world."

Iditarod-like conditions allowed Swingly to pull ahead, despite Streeper's optimism, and take first in the Hoodoo race.

The dog teams could barely contain their excitement at the starting line. photo by Jeff McCaulou

Deep snow, hilly terrain, and bad visibility put Streeper's sprinting team in fifth at the end of the day.

The conditions also wreaked havoc on Alfalfa musher Rachael Scdoris, who has succeeded in the field despite being legally blind.

Winter storm conditions made visibility even more difficult at Hoodoo.

The snow pack tried to swallow Rachael's sled and flipped it over. At one point her guide also fell victim to the snowy depths on his snow machine (Alaskan for snowmobile). He crashed while trying to inform Rachael she was off course. These mistakes placed her 23rd.

Wes Raur from Powell Butte collided with Mark Stamm of Riverside, Washington at Hoodoo.

The trail at Three Creek Sno-Park was compacted, which is what Streeper is used to training on.

Streeper took first on Wednesday on his way to the overall Atta Boy 300 2004 championship.

Streeper's philosophy about winning: "It's no short cuts and no secrets. Everything is hard work and dedication. This is what separates the winners from the losers."

It certainly helps when you've been breeding sprint class dogs for 30 years, as Streeper's family has done.

According to Libby Riddles, first woman Iditarod winner in 1985, dog breeding tempered with experience and good strategic planning is the key to a winning team.

"I have pedigrees on my dogs that go back 14 or 15 generations and certain breeders are known for certain dogs, which makes a pretty tight knit family tree," she said.

"People are getting faster, like the Iditarod record that was broken in 2003. I should say dogs, rather," Riddles added. "There are new hybrid crosses between short-haired pointers and village husky that are fast dogs."

Rachael Scdoris, who placed 27th overall this year, says her dad, Jerry, acquired their powerful team 10 years ago when Jerry's old partner gave him a few dogs for a previous favor.

Rachael said, "They're fast! The dogs are what I love the most about this (racing). It's just so fun seeing them do what they love."

The race made for some elite sports competion seldom seen in Oregon's outback.

Swiss-born musher Mike Salvisberg told The Nugget, "I don't know if Central Oregonians realize that they have the best dog sled teams in the world running around in their back yard this week."