I might be in the Iditarod.

[gaited horse]

Quote:
That's ok I'll rake your brain later.

 

[Wildsky]

Wow snowy! Just wow! Amazing to hear it all from someone who's been there!

 

[dacjohns]

Snowydiamonds,

What a great post.


Your dad didn't listen to George Attla, maybe the best musher ever?

 

[gudrin]

I have no advice to give, having never raised huskies for sledding. However, may I recommend some books by Gary Paulsen? He has quite a few books out about racing the Iditarod. Easy reads too, and I laugh at some of his descriptions of his dogs, owning two sibes as pets.

 

[PotterWatch]

My advice is to start small. Find a group near you that runs dogs. I run with this group every weekend and have my dogs entered in a race on this coming Saturday:
www.urbanmushing.com . Most of the people on the yahoo group are from So. Cal, but there are people from other regions. There are plenty of people who compete in races throughout the year. Check out the link to the yahoo group, you will be able to pick a lot of peoples' brains on there.


Snowy, it was great to hear your story. Brought back lots of memories from my childhood. I watched the start in Anchorage more times than I can remember. Susan Butcher was one of my heroes when I was small (still is, frankly). I still remember watching her red suit go by and remember crying when I heard about her team being devestated by the moose when Libby won that year. I have always loved to watch those dogs run with all their heart and soul...

 

[PandoraTaylor]

I personally know Gerald (Jerry) Riley...1976 Iditiarod winner! lol
I have known him & his family since I was a child. We live in the same town.

Good luck to you

 

[farrier!]

One of my best winter memories is of a time we were cross country skiing. We ended up near a turn for a sled dog race. We stayed long enough to watch 5 teams do the turn. We saw everything from the handler running to the lead dog and picking it up placing it on the correct trail to a smooth moving team that turned to a call of the handlers.
So...my only advice is to go out there and watch the lower levels of competition and see a lot of mistakes you want to avoid!

All the dogs we saw were having a grand time. Looks like a very fun sport even at the low levels of competition.

 

[chris_m90731]

cool

 

[jafo]

Nice ta dream,,,,,,,,,ain't it,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[michickenwrangler]

You may also wish to speak with some endurance riders. The sports are superficially similar but they can give you an idea of being out in all kinds of weather, how important it is to take care of your animals, riding into the wee hours of the morn, importance of conditioning and how to do it. In Michigan we have the Shore-to-Shore ride, 250 miles from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan over 5 days. Very few people complete 50 miles a day, 5 days on 1 horse. Especially since you go from deep sand to swamp to rocks to more deep sand. Plus, it always seems to have severe thunderstorms that weekend that are both a blessing/curse.

Good luck. There's a lot of dog mushing in our U.P. A lot of dogsleds are manufactured there. Buy one! You'll help our almost nonexistant economy!