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Photo by Eric Engman

FAIRBANKS — Teamwork helped Sebastian Schnuelle come from behind to win the Yukon Quest, and his Golden Harness Award-winning huskies even assisted one another on the Finish Banquet stage Saturday night.

In honor of their “loyalty, endurance and perseverance,” Schnuelle selected males Inuk (born in 2004) and Nemo (born in 2003) to each eat a raw steak on the Carlson Center stage. Nemo wolfed his down, but Inuk, who was not quite comfortable being inside, still had a chunk left after a few minutes. Nemo was more than willing to lend a mouth, and it vanished.

“Nemo is the greedy one,” Schnuelle said after the 4 1/2-hour program ended. “On the trail, it’s usually the other way around.”

The Golden Harness Award was one of seven main awards spread among the 18 finishers of this year’s 1,016-mile race.

Winning the coveted veterinarian’s award for exemplary dog care was Michelle Phillips of Tagish, Yukon.

“I had a beautiful team, and I think it showed by the way they finished,” said Phillips, who took fifth. “It felt amazing to run behind them.”

Newton Marshall of Jamaica, who took 13th, won the Challenge of the North Award for best exemplifying the spirit of the Yukon Quest.

“I’ll be the first to admit when I saw his entry I didn’t think it was much more than a publicity stunt,” race marshal Doug Grilliot said.

Marshall was beaming but at a loss for words while accepting a polished caribou antler.

Brent Sass got the Sportsmanship Award for helping William Kleedehn over Eagle Summit, then said he only did what any other musher would have if the opportunity arose.

“That’s the best part of the Quest. ... We’re there to help each other,” he said.

Kleedehn got the Dawson City Award, 4 ounces of placer gold, for being the first musher to reach the midway point.

The Rookie of the Year award went to Martin Buser, 50, who has won four Iditarods in nearly 30 years of mushing and took fourth in his first Quest.

And Iris Wood Sutton, the final finisher, was happy to receive the Red Lantern Award that commemorates the tradition of keeping a light on for all mushers still out on the trail.

But the closing of the 26th Quest was about more than awards.

Kleedehn, a fan favorite who just finished his 12th Quest, used the stage to announce his retirement from the race. Kleedehn seemed primed to win his first Quest before a lead dog in heat stalled his team at the base of Eagle Summit. He heartbreakingly slipped to sixth.

“I would have to say that this was definitely my last Quest. I’m going to go for a new deck of cards somewhere else,” said the German-turned-Canadian who lives in Carcross, Yukon.

Like most mushers, he then thanked a list of those who had helped him.

“You’re welcome to support me in the future, too, but it won’t be here, so good-bye,” said Kleedehn, a longtime favorite among fans and fellow mushers.

Hugh Neff finished a career-best second place, winning $22,000, then announced he was giving nearly half his winnings away.

Neff said he will donate $5,000 to help rebuild the recently burned McCabe Creek dog drop facility and another $5,000 for the purse of a new 300-mile race in Fort Yukon this April.

Colleen Robertia of Kasilof gave perhaps one of the longest and most humorous speeches, which included how she and fellow “triplets” Marshall and Englishman Mark Sleightholme helped each other get over Eagle Summit in the dark.

“Those are some of the best memories that I’ll have in my lifetime, really,” Robertia said.