Libby Riddles is an American dog musher….who was the first woman to win the world famous Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1985……as Riddles was born in Madison, Wisconsin and moved to Alaska from Minnesota just before her 17th birthday…..when she saw a dog sled sprint race and fell in love with mushing. Her first race was the Clines Mini Mart Sprint race in 1978….in which she won first place….then after finishing 18th and 20th in the 1980 and 1981 Iditarod races…..she decided to breed her own sled dogs in order to advance…..and then she moved to Shaktoolik, Alaska to work selling fish for a short period while training her dogs…..then moved to Teller, Alaska….where she met Joe Garnie and they became partners in breeding and training dogs together.
On March 20, 1985 Riddles won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race….thus becoming the first woman to do so…..which opened the door to writing three books about her adventures…..and also became a professional speaker…..when in 2007….her Iditarod Trail Race victory was inducted as a “Hall of Fame Moment” into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame.
