<p>Enterprise 10-year-olds Jadon Garland, left, and Ronny Morello, pet a sled dog during the Enterprise vet check Wednesday, Jan. 25, prior to the running of the 2012 Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race.</p>

JOSEPH – Billy Snodgrass of Dubois, Wyo., found himself in familiar territory at the end of the 2012 Eagle Cap Extreme: that of 200-mile race champion. He won the race three times in the past.

This year he shared the podium with an unlikely musher: 16-year-old Jenny Greger of Bozeman, Mont., who cruised to victory in the 100-mile race.

Snodgrass has a wealth of mushing experience, including multiple runs in the Iditarod and Yukon Quest races. He is backed by a kennel of 200 dogs, which makes him a formidable opponent in any race.

An engaging storyteller and ambassador for the sport, Billy shared some advice with the youngsters in this year’s field. “When you spend a lot of time with the dogs, you really get to know each other. It’s a trust. It’s so important to run the race your dogs are capable of running…not too fast, not too slow.”

Snodgrass, who finished the extreme course in 35 hours and 57 minutes, also won the local sled dog race in 2010, 2009 and 2006, when the race was stopped at the halfway point because of blizzard conditions.

Mark Stamm of Riverside, Wash., a 35-year mushing veteran and past Iditarod and Yukon Quest participant, had a fast team and gave Snodgrass a run for his money. This was Stamm’s first visit to the ECX, and he quickly made the necessary adjustments to compete for the title. The notoriously challenging and scenic course left quite an impression.

“I was calling this the Eagle Cap’ before I got here. Now I know why the name is Eagle Cap Extreme’. I won’t make that mistake again,” said Stamm after the race. His 38 hour and one minute-effort was good for second place in the 200-miler.

Laura Daugereau of Port Gamble, Mont., another Iditarod veteran and long-time musher, placed third. Laura raced a young team, primarily two-year-old Alaskan huskies. “The race was a challenge, but my dogs did great,” said Daugereau. “They reminded me that my job as a musher involved a lot more than standing back on the sled and enjoying the ride.”

Daugereau echoed Stamm’s assessment of the course, which features more than 25,000 feet of elevation gain and loss: “Man, do you guys have mountains here!”

Steve Riggs of Wash.,Olney, took home the Red Lantern Award as final finisher in the 200-mile event.

Bend resident Bino Fowler, a ECX veteran, and Morgan Buckingham of Garrison, Mont., scratched part way through the 200-mile race. Buckingham and her team of Malamutes, a clear crowd favorite, completed the 100-mile course several hours after the last finisher in that race.

100-mile ECX

Years of experience or mushing in big, long-distance races had little bearing on the 100-mile race results. Sixteen-year-old Jenny Greger beat the field by 40 minutes, smiling through her braces the entire way.

If race spectators were surprised, Jenny’s father, Bob, knew she had what it takes to win this race. When asked about his thoughts on Jenny’s performance, he said, “I’m not too surprised. Jenny trained really hard for this. She loves her dogs. She’s a great kid.” He told the Chieftain that his daughter has been mushing since she was about six years old; she is a veteran of the Junior Iditarod in Alaska.

For the third straight year, Dee Ogden of Idaho City, Idaho, was the 100-mile runner-up. He was followed by another teenager, third-place finisher Garret Warren, 18, of Council Idaho. Monte Pearson, Tim Curley, and Rick Katuki rounded out the 100-mile field.

This year’s ECX featured a new event, a 31-mile race run by six-dog teams. Iditarod veteran Scott White, from Woodinville, Wash., took home the winner’s trophy. True to form for the 2012 ECX, the runner-up was a teen-ager, Trevor Warren, 14, of Council Idaho, the youngest competitor in the event.

Perhaps the most coveted award for mushers is that of “Best Kept Team”. Race veterinarians grant the award to the mushers whose team shows the highest level of care in each event. This year’s 200-mile Best Kept Team winner was Mark Stamm; the 100-mile winner was Jenny Greger.

The ECX is a 501c(3) non-profit organization, and is put on each year with the help of nearly 200 volunteers.

For more information, visit the Eagle Cap Extreme website at www.eaglecapextreme.com or visit the ECX Facebook page.

2012 ECX Results

Following are times of finishes for each ECX musher:

200-mile: first, Billy Snodgrass, time 35:57, finished 12:57 Saturday; second, Mark Stamm, 38:01, finished 3:01 a.m.; third, Laura Daugereau, 43:49, finished 8:49 a.m.; fourth, Steve Riggs, 45:10, finished 10:10 a.m. No time: Bino Fowler, Morgan Buckingham.

100-mile: first, Jenny Greger, 16:22, finished 5:43 a.m. Friday; second, Dee Ogden, 17:04, finished 6:25 a.m.; third, Garrett Warren, 17:40, finished 7:01 a.m.; fourth, Monte Pearson, 19:12, 8:33 a.m.; fifth, Tim Curley, 20:16, finished 9:37 a.m.; sixth, Rick Katucki, 22:15, finished 11:36 a.m.

31-mile: first, Scott White, 3:22, finished 5:27 p.m. Thursday; second, Trevor Warren, 3:29, finished 5:28 p.m.; third, Hugo Antonucci, 4:19, finished 6:21 p.m.; fourth, April Wood, 4:25, finished 6:22 p.m.