Local racers shine at Western Pleasure Snowshoe Roundup
(Photo courtesy) Pam Hewitt (left) and Carol Wright high five after finishing the women's 10K race at the Western Pleasure Snowshoe Roundup. Wright is 77 years old and will be running her fifth Boston Marathon in April.
Four youngsters who participated in the Buckaroo race at the seventh annual Western Pleasure Snowshoe Roundup on Feb. 8 pose for a photo after completing the course.
(Courtesy photo)
(Courtesy photo) The top three finishers in the 10K women's race at the Western Pleasure Snowshoe Roundup pose for a photo after completing the course. Pictured (from left): Alicia Douglas (third), Myla Houlihan (first) and Andrea Wells (second).
The seventh annual Western Pleasure Snowshoe Roundup was held Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Western Pleasure Guest Ranch. This event featured a variety of distances for snowshoe racers including 10K, 5K, one mile and a short Buckaroo race for kids 12 and under.
An overnight and early morning drizzle greeted racers on race morning, creating soft, challenging snow conditions. However, by race time scattered clouds with patches of sunshine prevailed. A total of 48 racers from Idaho, Washington and Canada participated.
In the 10K race, women outnumbered men. Local racers took the top three spots in the women’s division with Myla Houlihan (56) of Sandpoint placing first with a time of 1:12:00, Andrea Wells (49) of Dover second in 1:16:27 and Alicia Douglas (35) of Sandpoint third in 1:18:13. Deanna Vick (56) of Clark Fork was fourth in 1:21:19, followed by Carol Wright (77) of Sandpoint, and Pam Hewitt (59) of Clark Fork in 1:38:58.
In the 10K men’s division, racers ranging from ages 35 to 77 competed. Mike Ehredt (58) of Hope placed third overall with a time of 57:33.
The most senior racer was Carol Wright of Sandpoint at 77. This was Carol’s fifth 10K finish at this event as she prepares to participate in her fifth Boston Marathon in April.
The 5K race had an interesting twist. Brent Nicholson and his wife, Kara Brissette, from Kimberley, British Columbia were overnight guests at the ranch. They had won a stay at the ranch as part of a promotional campaign by North Idaho Bed and Breakfast Association and had planned to do some cross country skiing. While eating breakfast, they learned of the snowshoe races as event volunteers were setting up. After a brief discussion, they were able to borrow two pair of racing snowshoes and entered what was to be their first race of any kind.
It goes without saying that snowshoe racing is not a particularly easy endeavor, especially as a first race, but Nicholson (36) took first place overall in 34:43 and Kara (37) captured sixth overall and fourth in the women’s division with a 37:34.
Local 5K finishers included Tim Douglas (61) of Priest River who placed third in the men’s division with a time of 39:53, followed by three racers from Sandpoint led by Tom Riggs (75) in 48:03, Georgia York (69) in 1:02:29 and Catherine Ford in 1:02:29.
The snowshoe races are open to all ages and abilities. Participants in all races ranged in age from 3 to 77 with half of the adult racers over 50.
The Western Pleasure Snowshoe Roundup continues to be a regional qualifier for the U.S. National Snowshoe Championships and is sanctioned by the U.S. Snowshoe Association. This year’s championships are being held in Leadville, Colorado.
