by Scott Sacry
It can be challenging enough just to cross country ski or ride a mountain bike down a trail, now imagine doing it being pulled by a dog who can run 25 mph. That’s exactly what local skijor and bikejor athlete Teresa Petterson does. Dogs pulling sleds has ancient roots around the world, and the sports of skijoring and bikejoring are growing in popularity in the states. In simple terms, dog skijoring is when a cross-country skier is pulled by a dog or team of dogs and bikejoring is when a biker is pulled by a dog or team of dogs.
Teresa Petterson is a Veterinarian at the Burnt Fork Veterinary Clinic in Stevensville and has been skijoring for over 15 years. She always skied and loved dogs, so after watching a skijoring race she knew she had to try it, and when she tried it she was hooked. She currently has five dogs that she uses for events. Brothers Oslo and Bjorn are German Shorthaired Pointers and make up her two-dog skijor team, while Oslo is the main dog on her one-dog skijor team.
“It’s a team sport with your dogs,” Petterson said. “We live together and train together and have a great connection.”
She recently competed in the Flathead Classic in Olney on February 26th & 27th. The Flathead Classic is a Northwest Montana sled dog race and non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of working sled dogs.
Petterson took first place in the one-dog and two-dog skijoring events, and finished second in the two-dog bikejor, and fourth in the one-dog bikejor.
“Some of the top racers in the country were there,” said Petterson.
“Four of them had qualified for the world championship, so I was super excited to win those events.”
In the two-dog skijoring race, Petterson’s team broke the course record. “It was a very technical course,” she
said. “You’re flying downhill, navigating 90 degree turns, back and forth. There’s a fine line between going fast and wrecking.”
The training involved can be extensive.
First I have to train myself as a skier,” said Petterson, “then I have to train my dogs for strength, endurance, and obedience.” Petterson and her dogs are out most of the weekend and many times a week. “Yeah, we train a lot,” she said.
One of the things she was most proud of was winning the “Best Cared for Team” at the Flathead Classic. “They didn’t even know I was a Vet,” she said, “so it was a great honor.”
Asked about her future goals with racing, Petterson said, “I want to have fun, but I want to be competitive. I’m racing against some much younger racers, so I want to do as much as I can while I can still compete at a high level.”
In the fall she hopes to travel to the midwest to compete with some of the best racers in the country and see how she compares.
Several other Bitterroot Valley residents, many part of a group called the Bitterroot Mushers, also competed in the Flathead Classic. Brandi Williamson of Corvallis finished 6th in the four-dog sled class. Jenny Howard of Hamilton finished 10th in the four-dog sled class, and Ryan and Jana Roberts finished 9th and 11th respectively in the four-dog sled class.
Jenny Howard, who started racing around five years ago, said of the event, “The Flathead Classic was a great event with a big turnout. They do a fantastic job – it never disappoints.” Howard also trains three or four times a week. “Where we live in the Bitterroot Valley makes this a very accessible activity. It’s a beautiful thing to do,” said Howard.
For more information about the Bitterroot Mushers go to bitterrootmushers.org and for more information about the Flathead Classic go to flatheadclassic.org.