The Down East Sled Dog Club Maine State Championship Races were held at Sandy River Farms Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 22 and 23. Jake Turner of Jay finished third in the six-dog rig race. Submitted photo
FARMINGTON — Warm weather, Feb. 22 and 23, for the Maine State Championship Races was good for those watching the races and affected some dog teams more than others.
Organizer Joy Turner said 50 teams from Canada, New England, New York and Pennsylvania competed in the two-day races.
Because of the warm weather, everything was sped up on Sunday to help keep the dogs from overheating. Times between races were shortened and lunch wasn’t served until after the races were finished, Turner said.
“Some teams went slower than usual on Sunday,” she said.
Competing at the Maine State Championship Races in Farmington Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 22 and 23, was Abigaile Fox of East Greenville, Pennsylvania. She finished in second place in the eight-dog rig race, just under 15 seconds behind the winner. Submitted photo
Other teams had faster runs the second day.
In the one-dog skijor race, Jay Nutting of Vassalboro had the fastest combined times with just over half an hour. Sara Vanderwood of Oxford was second, Amy Craves of Windham was third, Shelley Joyce of Farmington was fourth and Nicholas Tessoni took fifth place.
Kathryn Marles of Steep Falls was the only entry in the two-dog competitive skijor race. Shauna Baillie of Ontario, Canada, completed the race non-competitively with a combined time of about 11 minutes slower.
The three-dog junior race was a nail biter with Ava Turner of Jay having a faster time on Saturday. In Sunday’s heat, Shauna Baillie of Topsham was almost two minutes faster, giving her the win with just over one minute’s difference between the two teams.
In the four-dog sprint, teams competed from Canada, Maine, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut. Kati Dagenais of Canada came in first while Rylee Turner of Jay took fourth place.
Dagenais also won the six-dog rig race. Jake Turner of Jay finished third.
The eight-dog rig race was another close affair. Jocelyn Bradbury of Oxford, Maine had a combined time of just under 15 seconds faster to take first place. Finishing in second was Abigaile Fox of East Greenville, Pennsylvania.
Several mushers competed in two events while others chose to race non-competitively.
A complete list of race results may be found on the Back 40 Events website’s race results page, https://my.raceresult.com/149654/results?lang=en. To see results of a specific race, click on the finisher list and scroll down to find each race results.
Kelly Berg of Ashland, New Hampshire, competed in the Maine State Championship Races held last weekend at Sandy River Farms in Farmington. Submitted photo
Stephen Davis of Richfield Springs, New York, competed in the eight-dog rig race, part of the Maine State Championship Races held in Farmington Feb. 22 and 23. Submitted photo
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