The Yukon Dog Mushers Association (YDMA), the territory’s oldest mushing organization, hosted its premier race, the FirstMate Babe Southwick Memorial Race Saturday and Sunday at the Ibex Valley trails.

Babe Southwick, who the race honours, was a musher in the 1965 Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous dog races.

Southwick drew bib #8 as her starting position and her team finished in the top five of the 15-mile race.

That night, Southwick died of a heart attack. On day two, 10 mushers lined up at the starting gate, all donning a black armband. Southwick’s racing number eight was withdrawn.

Her brother-in-law, Alex Van Bibber, took her Destruction Bay team around the course for the final two days of racing.

Van Bibber did not win, instead, that honour went to a then-unknown musher from Carmacks, Wilfred Charlie.

After the race, the number eight remains retired. In continuing to honour Southwick, a sled with the number eight sits between the start and finish chute of the Ibex Valley trails used for the modern races.

Despite the frigid temperatures, the racers and volunteers toughed it out to make it an unforgettable event.

Four races were held Saturday and five on Sunday. The Kids Race was only run on the final day.

The six dogs, eight-mile category; 10 dogs, 15-mile race; skijor, five miles; and four dogs, five-mile race were run on each day. The mushers competing in each division got times for both days which were added together to give them their final placing.

Results:

Mathieu Devred had two consistent runs in the six dogs, eight-mile race. On the first day, he and his team ran the course in 23:21. He shaved off two seconds the next day for a total time of 46:40.

Alex Rochat earned second place with an accumulated time of 49:37. Mandy Johnson rounded out the top three.

In the 10 dogs, 15 mile race, Hans Gatt posted the fastest times both days for a total time of 1:37:39. Not far off the winning pace was Armin Johnson, 1:39:04 and Mandy Johnson found herself again in third.

Virginia Sarrazin was the only musher in the skijoring, five-mile race to have times sub-seventeen minutes. Her accumulated winning time was 33:08.

In second was Magnus Kaltenborn, whose time was three minutes, seven seconds behind Sarrazin. John Berryman had a strong Sunday on the course to secure third.

Mandy Johnson found herself in the winner’s circle after two third-place finishes.

Her total time of 30:50 in the four dogs, five-mile race was good for first. Laura Vinnedge, 32:34, and Sarrazin, 33:55 were second and third respectively.