The Dog Powered Sports Association of Yukon (DPSAY) hosted its first race, on snow, the Poker Fun Run, this Saturday off Fish Lake Road.

Musher and DPSAY board member Nathaniel Hamlyn said in his time as a DPSAY member, he has never seen the amount of mushers come out.

“Local stuff is awesome, I was really impressed,” said Hamlyn. “People are thinking better get to these events because there might not be another, there isn’t a lot going on elsewhere.

“DPSAY and other mushing organizations I think will be popular this year.”

The trail was called the McIntyre Loop and began just behind Icy Waters. Mushers travelled 25 miles through varying terrain.

“There was a bit of everything,” said Hamlyn, who was doing the loop for the first time. “There were road crossings, soft snow and it was windy at the top.”

DPSAY announced in early December they will be hosting the Yukon Journey 450, an inaugural race from Dawson City to Whitehorse.

Hamlyn said these shorter races are good for training.

“They are a good way to train younger dogs or less experienced dogs,” he said.

“They see other teams, get the excitement of passing and see other people on the trail.”

Hamlyn also said the shorter local races are great for new mushers to try their hand at the sport.

Results:

Twenty-one mushers and their teams left the start chute on Saturday.

The quickest was Mathieu Devred, who finished the 25 miles in two hours, eight minutes.

It was only a solitary second that separated second and third. Martine Le Levier completed the distance in two hours, 21 minutes, while Hans Gatt was only a nose behind to come third.

The next DPSAY race will be the Carbon Hill once the calendar turns to 2021.