Fort Nelson team celebrates dog sledding championship victory

FORT NELSON, B.C. — A Fort Nelson dog sledding team is celebrating following a win at a race in Alaska.

Blayne “Bud” Streeper of Fort Nelson – representing Streeper Kennels Racing Sled Dogs – competed in the Lotto Alaska Open North American Championship for dog sledding which took place over several days in the northernmost American state.

The event is a gruelling competition, in which teams of canines and a human guide race over three stages, each encompassing at least 20 miles (32 kilometres) across frozen grounds.

Dog sled racing – otherwise known as ‘mushing’ – is something that has been shared over generations of the 44-year-old Streeper’s family.

“Dog mushing has been part of my family since long before I was born,” said Streeper to Energeticcity.ca. “I grew up in a dog mushing culture, a dog mushing family, which is very similar to rodeo…. I describe it as kind of like horses, but in the winter, we use the dogs.

“The care, the commitment and time with them…it is quite similar.”

Similar to bicycle stage racing, the winner is the racer with the lowest total encompassing time.

Streeper opened up the competition on Friday, March 20th by finishing the first stage in a time of 63 minutes and 39 seconds. 

The strong performance continued in the next stage, where Streeper finished the third leg of the stage two course with a split time of 10 minutes and one second, the second-best time in the section.

Finishing the second stage with a time of 64 minutes and 29 seconds put him in the overall lead with a total time of 128 minutes and 8.9 seconds, ahead of Quebec’s Anny Malo – a lead Streeper would not relinquish.

He finished with a total time of 220 minutes and 4.2 seconds across the three legs. 

In fact, the top three performers in the competition – Streeper, Malo and Edmonton’s Mark Hartum – all hail from Canada.

The win was Streeper’s 12th time on the top of the podium at the event, and Streeper said he’s won 65 races over his career. 

“It is a life that I’ve created and been fortunate and been blessed with,” said Streeper. “To find something that I was really passionate about, to find something that I really care about, and to find something that I’m extremely skilled at.”

The competition had representation from all over the United States and Canada, including entries from Alaska, Michigan, Minnesota, Utah, Wyoming, and the Northwest Territories.

The Lotto Alaska Open North American Championship took place from March 20th to 22nd in Fairbanks, Alaska and was sanctioned by the Alaska Dog Mushers Association. 

Visit the event’s website for more information.