Tell it like it is....

I subscribe to, Fugly Horse of the Day, and I gotta say that is the best blog I have ever read. This blogger tells it like it is and no BS. No matter what kind of animal is your thing, there is always the same underlying politics and more importantly the issue concerning the care of the animals. We all know the "guy" that talks a lot of crap with no substantive action to back it up. If you ever find yourself confused on what separates the good guys from the bad guys, Fugly Horse of the Day a good place to start!

Canines for Charity 2009

Another great Charity event came and went. Canines for Charity is a HUGE supporter of the ARC of Natrona County. The ARC is probably one of the most loving organizations we have ever known. They truly deserve any fund-raising that comes there way. Probably the best part of the whole event was the disability dash. The joy pasted across the faces of those kids is truly priceless. I stole this picture from sister's blog, but she said she was going to make me a disk with all the pictures anyway, so I will use this preview until she follows up :-)

The event in general is so much fun! The unusually warm weather was nearly t-shirt weather...not ideal for the dogs, but exceptionally pleasant to enjoy they day--with NO WIND. Days like that in Wyoming are so rare, we were very grateful the chance to enjoy it. TJ and Lindsey of Cold Canyon Sleddogs, bunked at our house and Lindsey had her first race with her most beautiful dog, Marki! She ended up getting second place...way to go Lindsey! We also got to spend time with some of our other very good friends and family. Even my Uncle Gary and his wife, Marcie, came out to cheer on Taylor. We even took a little break to go see his cabin he built himself...quite impressive!


The race itself was full of excitement but nothing disastrous (remember Steve Riggs and the pack of attack Mules on the trail last year...). Allan was the only one in his class, but his times were what he expected so he felt good about his run. Taylor had a wreck the first day due to the icy conditions of the trail. She decided to drop a dog the second day to reduce the power going down the ice trail. Her times certainly showed it, but it wasn't too terrible. Allison's race wasn't ideal either, she had tangle-trouble both days. The second day she came to the finish line entwined with 2 other teams, it was quite the sight to see.

I opted out of racing this weekend because I had been "sicker than a dog" with the flu the previous week. I was just getting some energy back on race day and figured I better not over do it. I had already missed more work than I wa comfortable with. I was a little sad to see everyone leave the starting lines without me, but it was truly nice to get to relax and visit everyone, something I never really get to do at the races. Poor Tyler even tagged along despite he was hobbling around on crutches. He got quite handy at maneuvering up and down the hill that goes from the parking lot to the starting line...what a trooper :-)

All in all it was a great weekend. We sold a few dogs, bought a few dogs, told dog-truck stories(the kind of stories you embelish around a campfire) and thouroughly enjoyed the day :-)

Dubois 2009 and Upcoming events!

Allan and Allison did what the set off to do--THEY WON! CONGRATS! Now we are on the down hill side of the race season! Next weekend is the Canines for Charity Event...a fun and fabulous event that raises TONS of money for a good cause! I love this event because, (1) it is home turf and we don't have to drop dogs round the clock, (2) There is an ice cream social/mushers meeting Friday night AND the Berge family LOVES ICE CREAM!, (3)The banquet on Saturday is all you can eat at one of the best hotel restaurants in town! Also, on banquet night there is a silent auction and a live auction...we lost out on the pig last year, but this year if there is another one...let's just say he will come to a loving home--not slaughter!

As much as we enjoy going to the races, there still comes a certain kind of relief when they are over. Getting to plan our weekends around fun runs, extra time to work with the dogs individually, and no dropping dogs around the clock usually top my list. We'd still like to plan an ISSSC fun run this year, but with the poor economy it looks like that may not be an option. But who knows maybe something will turn up that is convenient for everyone. Since tax season is coming into fully swing for me, it looks like the last race that Allan and the girls will attend is Ashton, ID. I hope they do well!

Updates to previous posts

I just wanted to let you all know, I updated the previous posts with pictures. Hope you enjoy!

Life's Idiosyncrasies

Allan and Allison are racing in Dubois, Wyoming this weekend--my all time favorite race! Unfortunately, I am needed at home to help our oldest and only son who broke his ankle in a wrestling tournament last weekend. Late this week, he had surgery to insert screws and wires to hold it together. This sudden turn of events meant someone had to stay home this weekend to monitor his medication, cart ice packs back and forth, and handle the extra chores. And good grief, since we have so many helpers with the chores, I did not realize how much work all the chores require. We usually have them split between 4 or 5 people, and today there was just me!

Allison is running her 3-dog Alaskan team in the 3 mile race. She just called with a tall tale of events that occured on her first race day (I am wondering if she is going to take after me with bad race luck). First, she hit a tree, lost her team, hitched a ride with her competitor, caught her team which had turned back and almost went right past her, and then follow a moose into the finish line! Whao! I would be a mess after all that, but at 10 years old, Allison takes it all in stride and is rarin' to get back on the trail tomorrow morning. She is such a trooper! I love that kid. Here is a picture of her in Pindale...those goggles crack me up, they remind me of a giant Fly and she won't leave home without them!

Allan said he had a good run in the 21 mile and said his dogs finished happy and strong. He was a little concerned because we haven't been able to do any running the last 10 days due to the broken ankle fiasco! Hopefully, he will hold it together tomorrow and will pull out a win. He said this particular 21 mile run is a bit steeper than the 15 mile run we traditionally run. In anycase, I wish them both luck tomorrow. As I said earlier, Dubois is my favorite race and the race organizers there are extremely thorough and do such a great job of putting it all together. We would be very sad to see this race ever end.

WYCOLO 2009

Another grand weekend was pulled off in Wycolo, Wyoming. Just outside of Laramie at about 9300 feet was one of the fastest trails we have ever ran on. The unusually warm Wyoming temps hit nearly 50 degrees F the first day and just slightly cooler the second day. Due to logging we had to split the day by letting the 12 mile classes run their courses before sending out the 18 mile. It did make it a little warmer for what we usually like to race in, but dense forest gave plenty of tree cover for a comfortable run. On the second day the 18 mile class ran the course, then the 12 mile class ran theirs. It actually worked out very well in terms of having plenty of help getting to the starting line!

Taylor ran a 6-dog Seppala team in the 12 mile class. Allan ran a 10-dog Alaskan team in the 18 mile class. I ran a 10-dog team in the 18 mile class with a mixture of breeds. Between bitches in heat and a couple sore pads the remaining 10 Seppalas with enough mileage had to be split between me and Taylor. So I ran 4 Sepps and 6 Alaskans.

The trails were well groomed and very fast. Our teams all held together very well. We are always conscientious of shoulder injuries when the trails are so fast, so we were all on our drags quite a bit. Taylor ran the 6 dog 12 miles, with a good clean run the first day and minor leader trouble the second. She ended up winning second place, beat by Leslie Fields who had a SMOKIN' team! Allan and I ran the 10-dog 18 mile race. Allan's alaskan team ran the both days without incident and he claimed first place followed by Ernie Baily, Matt Mauer, and me.

As my luck would have it, I did get off the trail in waist deep snow the first day. I likely lost 10+ minutes trying to get my team turned around. Thank goodness Jolene's husband was close enough by to hear the commotion and came to my rescue. Once we got back on the trail we were off and running without a hitch. I knew the team was running quite well, but was very surprised to catch up with Kayla Corcoran (8-dog 18 mile) and Matt Mauer on the second time around the loop. The next day proved to be an excellent run with the second fastest time.

We stayed with the Corcoran family and Matt Mauer in a plush little cabin at Woods Landing. The evenings were full of tall tales and good friends. Jocie Corcoran brough enough stew to feed an army an it was YUMMY! All and all, the weekend was great success! Next up...Dubois in two weeks.

Green River Classic

WOW! What a great weekend! We had a ball hanging out with our best sleddog friends and even making a few more! BP and the other sponsors from the Pinedale area sure know how to make a race first class! Really, shouldn't it be mandatory to have a heated tent at all races with free Chilli? I say yes! Did I mention it was 25 degrees below zero on Sunday, actually with the wind factored in, it was actually 40 degrees below...let me tell you that is freakin' cold. The thing about cold days like that (which completely amazes me) is the dogs thrive in those temperatures. I could actually see the smiles on their faces as we headed the start line. I wish I could have smiled, but I was afraid it would freeze that way and my teeth would get cold. I do still have a hard time getting my mind around the fact that once it warmed up to 9 degrees below, I was actually too warm and trying to shed some of my layered clothing...now that just doesn't make sense to me!

My sweet and beautiful little daughter, Allison (9 yrs old), has talked about getting to run the junior race for months now. She religiously checked the Green River Classic website to see if any new junior mushers had entered (she was the only entry right up until the night before). The really funny thing about it was she did realized I was the webmaster for the site ;-) She was determined to win and that she did. Continental Kennel Club had generously donated $500 so that we could host a junior event. The kids entered a 3-dog max class and ran out 1 mile where a volunteer on a snowmobile help turn them around sending them flying back to the finish line. I think Allison was just as happy to make her new friends, Julia and Katrina, as she was to win the race.

Taylor (13 years old) and I each entered the 6-dog class. I thought it best to split my team up between Taylor and I. She took the front 6 dogs and I took the back 6 dogs (of course that left me with marginal leaders). Taylor is as laid back & easy going as the come. She never gets upset and the dogs respond very well to her for that reason. She was able to pull off two clean runs and as Billy Snodgrass advised her, "don't worry about being fastest, just make no mistakes" So that is exactly how she approached her race. Taylor was able to pull off 7th place. The competition was stiff with some top Alaskan teams and Taylor held her own.

My placing was not as good as Taylor's, I had a little trouble the first day with another team. But that was ok...they ran very well the second day--showing a 22 minute difference in time. My two young dogs tired a little toward the end. I normally would not have taken my youngest dogs, but this race has such wide, flat trails...it was the perfect experience for them.


The big news of the weekend was Allan's success. He entered the 12-dog class (28 miles) where he was able to pull out a 3rd place, beaten only by Frank Teasly and Jerry Bath. We were all very proud of him because we know how hard he had worked to train his team this fall. In this year's training he has nearly doubled his training miles. The dogs are in such phenomenal condition and in very high spirits. In a couple weeks, Allan is going to see how he stacks up in Mancos at the San Juan Stage race...GOOD LUCK!

Deer Creek sends major THANKS to all the volunteers and fellow mushers for their part in a great weekend!

Tabby