DAWSON CITY – The Yukon Quest held its YQ450 awards event last Thursday evening at Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall.

The event doubled as a fundraiser for the organization and included a silent auction and lots of awesome Quest swag for sale as well.

Dawson checkpoint manager Gaby Sgaga opened the evening by welcoming everyone to Dawson.

Anne Tayler, the Yukon Quest Canada president of the board, then thanked everyone who participated in the event.

“I’m particularly fond of handlers since I handled myself for 13 years, so I’m so glad to see that so many teams had great handlers this year,” she said.

Tayler added that she was really glad to be back in Dawson for the Quest.

She also drew a winner of an Air North flight voucher, Andrew Drys. The draw was for Yukon Quest members.

Next up were race marshall Jerry Joinson and head vet Dr. Kate Foster.

Sgaga commented that she had been a handler for Joinson for a YQ250 20 years ago.

“That’s the only time I ever handled for anybody.”

Foster, of Valdez, Alaska, introduced her team, including vet tech Anna Jordan (also of Valdez), and Dr. Jill Grogan, of Warrenton, Va., who attended the awards event.

Dr. Markus Barth of Cochrane, Alta. and Dr. Nira Hernandez didn’t attend the event in Dawson. Barth had been reportedly working his 11th Quest.

Hernandez is from the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the coast of northwestern Africa.

“She was excellent to have because she’s got a lot of experience with sports medicine,” related Foster.

Joinson then introduced the race officials in Dawson, including race judges Amy Wright and “hometown hero” Kyla Boivin.

The first award handed out went to Whitehorse’s Connor McMahon, who was the sixth-place finisher.

The fifth-place finisher was Louve Tweddell of Whitehorse. She thanked the volunteers, event organizers, her support team, sponsors and “one really amazing man from California named Jerrod.”

The fourth-place finisher was Aaron Peck, of Grande Prairie, Alta.

“I want to send out a thank you first and foremost to my beautiful wife and family back home, allowing us to be here.

“Secondly, I want to thank Mayla Hill for running another stellar race here with our dogs and being such a key player in our operations at Elevation Sled Dogs. Couldn’t do it without you, Mayla,” Peck said.

“I want to congratulate Michelle (winner Phillips) on an epic run here and she just showed us all how to get things done out there. It was really cool.

“My fellow competitors, being on the trail with you all, it’s so fun to be out there with other mushers and like-minded people,” Peck added.

“We’re out there with our dogs, loving our dogs and loving the trail and and having faith and believing in our dogs to get the job done. And the checkpoints along the way, just remarkable hospitality.”

Peck said he’s “getting a taste of what the Yukon Quest is all about.

“Makes you want to come back next time and do it all over again because it’s pretty special being out there and having all the communities in these remote checkpoints just being so welcoming.”

He said he can’t say enough about that.

“What stands out for me is the openness and welcoming along the trail and moving up the trail and just feeling a part of the Yukon.”

Peck also thanked his dogs, which he said did an “awesome job. We had some young dogs in there and they made it through and really impressed us.”

Peck said he looks forward to being back next year.

Next up was Peck’s protege, Hill, of Grande Prairie, the third-place finisher.

After reading about the Quest as a little kid, she said, this was like a dream for her. She also said that “coming into the checkpoints was a really cool experience,” and commented on the hospitality as well.

She added that she would also be back next year.

The second place finisher was Mille Porsild, a native of Denmark now living in Willow, Alaska.

“The Yukon is a magic place,” she said.

She added she was really impressed with how the race was put together this year.

“I absolutely love the format. I think everything about this race reflected that you guys have the dogs in mind first …. I hope that’s the future of dog mushing.

“The hospitality is absolutely crazy … it was sometimes hard to leave because of really nice beds, really nice people and fabulous food,” Porsild added.

“The trail is really magical, and it represents what I think of when I think of the Yukon.”

She had a funny comment about Phillips.

“All day I was like, ‘is Michelle a ghost or is she really racing? ’Cause I saw her at the beginning and then I saw her here. And I was supposedly the one closest to her, at least for the last half of the race.

“At one point, we’re running and suddenly there’s a (huge) tree across the trail and there was no tracks and I’m like, ‘how did she even get around this?’

“She’s just magical. She’s flying across this land.”

Porsild said the race had a “super-fun group of mushers that I’ve seen have an incredible heart for their dogs.”

She also thanked everybody, including her handlers, Sam Crawford and Baylie Barnes, for “carrying us to the start line and making us finish at the end with a big smile on our faces.

“I’m keenly aware that, you know, the dogs are the stars of the show, and we wouldn’t be standing on the back of the runners without a lot of incredible people around us. So thank you for that.”

Phillips, meanwhile, thanked her “beautiful dog team. Of course, no one gets a dog team like that without help.”

She thanked her husband, Ed Hopkins, and her handlers, who worked hard to create her team and “the team of people that are there supporting me mentally. Kicking me in the butt, telling me to smarten up.”

Phillips thanked all the people who “support us financially, our dog sponsors, businesses, and thank you to all the people that pulled off this Yukon Quest. It was a magical ride. It was such a pleasure to be back on the trail.

“I love the Yukon Quest,” Phillips added.

“I love the trail and such a special spirit. You know, it’s just so great to be out there.”

Phillips also thanked the vet crew and all the other people who spent “crazy hours” supporting her and her team.

Phillips, Porsild and Hill also received beautiful pictures for being the top three finishers.

The rookie of the year was Porsild.

McMahon won the Challenge of the North Award for exemplifying the spirit of the Quest and of course, the Red Lantern for being the final finisher.

McMahon said he “wanted to thank everybody that helped me through that rough spot out there. I appreciate it a lot. It’ll pay off.”

McMahon was referring to when he “hit the wall” before Time Station 3, the last time station before Dawson.

Tweddell won the Sportsmanship award.

The vet’s choice award went to Hill. Foster commented that Hill was “fantastic with her veterinary care” and even made extra notes in her vet book along the trail.

The Golden Harness for the winner’s lead dogs went to Phillips, as did the Joe Fellers award, two ounces of placer gold, for being the first musher to reach Dawson.

Phillips took home $8,850 in prize money; Porsild, $7,200; Hill, $6,300; Peck, $5,400; Tweddell, $4,050; and McMahon $3,600.