There is no record of there being sled dog racing in Quesnel until the late 1970’s. There were certainly dog mushers in both Quesnel and Wells, and there had been sled dog races in both Wells and Williams Lake in the 1950’s and 1960’s, but no races in Quesnel. In 1978 the Quesnel Lions Club got behind the idea of a race and members worked hard to punch through a trail that ran from Troll Ski Resort, beside Highway 26 to the Beaver Pass [2400] Road and then beside this road to 4 Mile Lake where teams circled the lake before returning to Troll. The snow in this area is very deep and there are open springs in the meadow at Beaver Pass; putting in the trail was not an easy task.
This successful race ran for five years [1976-1980] and the winner’s name was added to a trophy that had been purchased and donated by J.W. [Jimmy] Dyck logging. The trophy started out as a fairly “traditional” one, with a 6 inch wooden pedestal base topped with a 14” high golden cup and sled dog, this trophy always seemed to be a bit unstable. Sometime in the very early 1970’s, local craftsman Lorenz Gradnitzer created a beautiful base for the trophy. Made of juniper wood, this addition increased stability and also allowed organizers to fasten a unique carved sled dog team and toboggan to the base. This carving had been made and purchased in Jean Marie River, a very small First Nations community in the Northwest Territories.
When this race ended, the trophy languished until it re-invented itself to be used to recognize the winners of the 365 km. mid-distance race that was part of the Gold Rush Trail Dog Sled Mail Run established in 1993. As part of this re-invention, Peter Romanchuk of Caryall Books agreed to put up some money to support the Mail Run and organizers added a second plaque to the trophy pedestal, recognizing this fact. This mid-distance event ran from Quesnel to Kruger Lake return for three years [1994 - 1996] before this part of the Mail Run was discontinued and was replaced by a format that saw the running of shorter stages ending in Barkerville.
In 2002 there was another shift in the Mail Run, with the emphasis being placed on participation rather than competition and the trophy re-invented itself once again, this time to simply document the number of sled dogs teams and dog mushers that participated in the Mail Run each year. Fortunately there are four sides to the original pedestal, for another plaque was added in recognition of the fact that the trophy was now being used to recognize participation. However, in 2010, a new participation recognition trophy was created which allowed the actual name of each dog mushing participant to be engraved on a brass plaque which in turn was mounted on a hand-crafted wooden plaque made in the shape of a sled dog….the original trophy had once again lost its reason for existing.
But with 2012 comes new life for the trophy! As part of the 20th anniversary celebration of the Mail Run, an actual competitive race will once again be part of the event. In addition to the traditional non-competitive Mail Run, there will also be a 235 km. Stage Race, and the winner’s name will be engraved on this venerable old trophy. The participation plaques from 2002 - 2009 have been transferred to the new participation trophy and a plaque recognizing the new Stage Race has been added to the fourth side of the pedestal.
Over it’s 36 years of existence, this trophy has resided in several “homes“. For years it was displayed in the entranceway of what is now the Wee Chippie Restaurant [previously the Country Haven]. For some time it also resided in a clothes closet in a member’s home. For the past five years it has resided in the lodge at Troll Resort, where it is proudly displayed with the other trophies that are part of the quite impressive Mail Run collection. In 2012, in addition to the new Stage Race plaque, the trophy also includes a refurbished and rejuvenated dog team. Over the years, this fragile trophy has had some mishaps but with the wonderful help of local wood carver extraordinare Ted Stahl, the dog team now numbers 5 strong with a new [and younger] lead dog and a much happier swing dog which now has a new leg. Ted even supplied a couple of “young pups” for the team and these will be safely kenneled until they might be needed.
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Two more stories about sled dog trophies....
Story #1
2012 is the 100th anniversary of Ottawa's Chateau Laurier Hotel. A number of special activities are planned to commemorate this centennial, one of these is a desire to repatriate any items or artifacts that were once part of the hotel but which might have been removed from the hotel in one way or another.
The amnesty was inspired by the hotel's 90th anniversary program. Hotel management put out a plea to Canadians requesting the return of a Dog Derby trophy that once sat in an ornate custom-built cabinet in the hotel lobby. The trophy, awarded to the winners of a dog race which began in 1930, had been missing for a few decades. Anyone who returned it would receive a complimentary overnight stay in a presidential suite with dinner and breakfast - no questions asked. "It was returned to us from Toronto two days before the 90th anniversary. The person never claimed their prize."
Story #2
During the 1960's and once in the 1980's, a dog race took place between Fort Chipewyan and Fort MacMurray Alberta. Each year the winner's name was placed on a very special perpetual trophy. In 2011, a version of this event, The Three Forts Sled Dog Race was once again staged, but alas there was no trophy. Word is that the trophy had been stored at the Native Friendship Centre in Fort Mac, but no-one knows for certain just what might have happened to it. If anyone has any information about this trophy, please come forward. Items like this are a significant part of our dog mushing heritage....they tell a special story. It would be great if this trophy could once again take its place somewhere in the communities of Fort MacMurray or Fort Chipewyan
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