Racer of
the year.

A season that changed the trajectory

Toby arrived at the 2013 World Championship Snowmobile Hill Climb with a solid season behind him. He left Jackson having swept all three Semi-Pro classes—a performance that made him the clear favorite for the season’s top honor.

The year had built steadily. Two class wins at Afton were followed by Semi-Pro Stock, Semi-Pro Mod and the Semi-Pro King of the Hill title at Pinedale. Then came Jackson—the biggest stage on the circuit—where Toby swept the Semi-Pro classes.

He was the only Semi-Pro racer to reach the timing lights at the top of Exhibition Run in both the Improved Stock and Mod finals, and one of only two Semi-Pro riders to finish the Stock final. The sweep meant there was no separate Semi-Pro King runoff, but it left little doubt about the performance that defined his season.

“I was incredibly honored to be named RMSHA Racer of the Year.”

— Toby Shepherd, in the original feature

The award carried added weight because Toby was still racing in Semi-Pro. The magazine noted that he was the first Semi-Pro in recent memory to receive the honor. After the season, his fellow racers voted him RMSHA Racer of the Year over an established field of professional racers. For Toby, the recognition was less a finish line than an invitation to prove himself in the Pro classes the following season.

The interview also captured what sat behind the results: weekends commuting from the University of Montana, work at Shepherd’s Garage, the support of family and the Polaris program, and the influence of Keith Curtis as Toby developed as both a racer and a backcountry rider.

Most importantly, it recorded the meaning of No. 22. The number had belonged to Toby’s father, David, and was reserved for Toby’s use when he began racing. The 2013 award was a breakthrough in Toby’s own career—and another chapter in the Shepherd hillclimb legacy he was determined to carry forward.