Where the heck is the snow?

It is already December 4th and really no snow to speak of, just a few inches. It seems like maybe last year it was late coming as well, but once it started we were hammered with more snow than we'd seen in years. Hopefully, it dumps soon as the races are all fast approaching. West Yellowstone is just a week away. Although, we won't be heading up there this year, our thoughts, sympathies, and prayers go out to all friends and family of Rodeo. His sudden passing was very sad news and we will alway remember him. May Rodeo's race be a HUGE success and serve as a celebration of his passion and life!

Our race, the Green River Classic, in Pinedale, WY is just around the corner--January 2nd and 3rd. Entries are rolling in. We may not have all the extras (like the tent) this year, but we were extremely happy to have BP at the top of our sponsor list providing the $8,600 purse. I've always liked the GRC because there is always such a variety of entries from all levels of compititon and it somehow still seems so FUN!

On other kennel news, we are happy to announce the arrival of 4 healthy girls and 1 boy from Seppaltas Griffen of Windyridge x Hope of Seppalta. I have been thinking about this breeding since I began in Seppalas, but the reality of it set in just over 2 years ago (since Hope came to live here). And now they are actually here :-) They are just over a week old and seem to really be thriving. Hopefully, they will prove to be as well rounded sleddogs as their parents! If you have any name ideas, please feel free to comment. I haven't had much time to put a lot of thought into it yet, but whatever we come up with, it'll be special!

Jena's puppies are just over 3 weeks and they are growing fast. They have exceptionally outgoing personalities and are very beautiful. We are quite happy with their progress. They are getting to that age that their personalities are forming and they just want to PLAY!

Who's the best?

People often ask us, 'who are your best dogs?' It is never as black and white as one posing the question seems to think. There are so many factors that make up the best dog.  Just like people they each have qualities that make them stand-out. Generally speaking, our best dogs are the ones that have a consistant run most every time, the ones that are well built and angulated, the ones that don't have disruptive habits, the ones who get minimal injuries, the ones that drink and eat when put in front of them, the ones that have an easy nature and super tempermant, the ones that are team players, and the ones who consistantly make the team year after year. I think I could go on and one with more qualities that make the "best".

It is often said by racing naysayers that race dogs are only crazy machines and all that matters is speed, speed, speed. The implication that all other factors like health, temperment, and husbandry are secondary is utterly ridiculous and an extremely naive theory.  I think most kennels that are successful in the long-term know that more goes into "the best" than MPH. I often like to say "Performance First". While some take the phrase quite literally, in the context that I use it, the phrase is meant encompass all those *secondary* factors--when well balanced in these areas, performance will follow more often than not!

So back to the question on who is the best?

I suppose the answer is the retiring and aging dogs, atleast in this kennel.

New friends, Old Friends, New Seppalas, New Seppala Owners!

We've had an exceptionally busy weekend! Wednesday brought a very beautiful, healthy Seppala litter (Corcoran's Junior x Deer Creek's Jena) including 4 males and 2 females. We managed to get their due claws done and mother settled in the living room with them so we can keep an eye on them and handle them regularly. They will probably stay inside the first two weeks, then we will gradually acclimate them to the whelping pen just behind the house. I can't wait until they are 3-4 weeks old!

We were finally blessed with cooler weather late this week and during the weekend (but, only a very thin sheet of snow Friday morning). I managed to harness break all the March puppies that had yet to be put in harness. This is one of my favorite parts of mushing. The Seppala is so natural in harness that harness breaking puppies is not much different than taking out my older experienced team. The first mile is usually a little bouncy and I try to maintain a very slow, steady speed while they think about what is happening to them. By the end of the first mile they usually have figured out I simply want what they want...to run! The majority of them find pulling as natural as running. By mile two, everyone was properly lined out loping a slow steady pace. The picture is hard to tell but I mixed 7 older dogs in with the yearlings. 16-Dog team front to back: Griffen and Eden, Brody (yearling) and Java, Rustov and Oquirrh (both March pups), Leticia (yearling) and Gambit (March pup), Ismene (March pup) and Bristall, Rhea (March pup) and Junior, Hoodoo and Russia (March pup), Leroy (Yearling) and Hank. Rock Stars!

On Thursday, we finally had the opportunity to meet our new friend Heinz Bieber. He flew over from Germany to pick up his new Seppala, Kaya. Having only phone and email contact with Heinz over the past several months, we really didn't know what to expect from our visitor, but it was quickly evident we had a new life-long friend. Heinz was able to spend quite a bit of time with our family and Kaya. We even found time to take the team for a couple runs with Kaya to see what she was made. And of course, being a suberb Seppala, she was SO GREAT! We were so happy to have Heinz spend his time here with us and we are looking forward to his next visit with his wife Antje. We also intend on taking him up on his offer to visit his second home in Sweden!

Finally our good friends, Danny and his daughter Kayla, showed up on Saturday to spend the weekend running our trails and to socialize. Kayla and Taylor are both intend on running the Junior Race to the Sky this year, so they have both been working very hard to get the kind of conditioning on their dogs they need to be successfull. We LOVE it when the Corcoran's visit! The first pic is Taylor with her Seppala team. 2nd picture is Kayla and her Alaskan husky team. And the 3rd picture is Danny Corcoran with his Seppala team.

You can click on pictures to view bigger.
Taylor's Team front to back: Ophir and Aargon; Marshall and Google; Alanta and Trixie; Iris and Queche; Gaia and Heph


Kayla's team front to back: ? and Echo; ? and Rookie; ? and Otis; Opal and ?; Stoner and ?


Danny's Team front to back: ? and Oreo; Uther and Unik; Timber and Yeti; ? and Layla; Rodeo and Waldo

Happy Birthday Hope and Hoodoo

Thursday was Hope and Hoodoo's 10th birthday! They are so loved here and they are still such GREAT sleddogs! I wanted to post this on Thursday, but I just ran out of time. This picture was taken just this last spring. Always loyal, reliable, and adored.

More Seppalas Spreading out...

It has been a busy summer and fall with Seppalas moving about the country! Balancing the number of dogs and pedigrees in our kennel is always a tedious uncertainity. But every year it seems that our small network of mushers are able to spread a few dogs around. Everyone seems to have slightly different goals in mind, so finding teams that better fit a dogs style, wether it be to bring one in or send one away, is always interesting and fun.

Earlier ths summer, we sent Angel up to Doug Willett who in turn bred her to Rambo as she awaited her new owner, Elsie Bobby, to come get her and take her back to Alaska. We are also very excited for Elsie to be able to start her new Seppala Kennel with such and exceptional breeding. We have a BIG soft spot in our hearts for Rambo! Congrats Elsie!

TJ Shrader took a Marshall x Madonna female, QT, who I know is going to be such a wonderful girl and likely a leader--she is very driven. I love sending dogs to TJ because I know I get the see them often :) Matt Maurer took a Marshall x Madonna male who I am sure will be one of his next great leaders. Quaker is the spittin' image of Marshall. Marshall being one of my all time favorites, I know I will regret it in the near future :-) But on the positive side, Matt absolutely adores Quaker (inspite of Quaker's strong desire to constantly reproduce...hahaha):-)

And the lastest to leave was Oakie and Quizno. Peter Duncan was kind enough to add a leg to his long journey across the US and back to Alaska in order to pick up them up. I hope that as they get to know each other, he sees the exceptional qualities in them that I see.

What a fabulous weekend we had!

This weekend Dee Dee Jonrow came to Casper to speak about her self, her team, and the Iditarod. Her original itinerary was to speak to one of the Casper schools on Friday, but through some connections, Pam Dunn (Grandma Pam at our house) of Timbermist Tracks and head of the Canines for Charity Sleddog Race was able to organize an event on Casper Mountain slated for Saturday afternoon.

The turn-out was great. One of our local racing clubs, CMM, decided to coordinate their annual camp out with the event as well and contributing to the event. The ISSSC, another club we belong to, also decided to hold their annual meeting in coordination with the Dee Dee Jonrow event. So needless to say we had a lot of other mushers was more fun than I anticipated. It is always a lot of work to go anywhere with the dogs, but camping with them was not quite the same. I think it is something we'll do more often in the future.

The weekend started on Friday when we arrived mid-morning. We opted for a spot a few miles away so we could run a little easier from our camp site on longer trails. After setting up, Allan and I had to make a couple trips back down the mountain to get our kids all coordinated and tie a few loose ends, but we were finally all settled in before sundown. Some people ran the 7 and 10 mile trails and other decided to take the shorter 3 mile trail twice a day. We got see see how the other teams are looking and developing.

Barrie Raper brought her rockin' team that are unbelievably strong. She also brought part of the best entertainment, Casey...she has quite an arm for 2! Emily Wade came to run Bud Light back and forth to Allan. Lanette Kimball with Sepp-Lok also made it out to share all her insight with us over the campfire. Danny, Jocie and Kayla Corcoran (aka "the griswolds") were most of our entertainment. Next time you see Danny ask him how you hook a snow hook to your sled. TJ Schrader and Lindsey Owen brought those wonderful little Boogie pups...and yes, Grux is the best! Matt Mauer and Sue Crawford brought the best cook ever, Isabella, and it was her birthday...Happy Birthday Isabella! Matt's little Angela also came along for the trip and she was an absolute doll, what a trooper!

Dee Dee discussion was very open and candid. She was an amazing speaker and very "real". We very much enjoyed her and her views on mushing, dog care, determination, and obvious love of her dogs. The day was in the high 80s and the sun was bright. The food was plentiful and everyone was so nice.

We arrived home mid-afternoon on Sunday and TJ and Linsey had decided to stay another night. We got unloaded, the chores done, and ate dinner when we decided to take a team out for a run just before dark. TJ and I decided to run my main Seppala team since it was only the yearlings and older dogs I took camping. And as luck would have in that short 3 miles, we ending up getting caught in an unannounced *monsoon* rain storm. The rain drops stung as they pelted us. We didn't know what to do, but keep forging ahead and laughing at our bad luck. Thank goodness my team felt the same way and they forged ahead like it was another day in the park. When we arrived back to our shop at what felt like an eternity later, the dogs (and us) were drenched to the bone. I must had been holding my breath the whole way back, because I suddenly had a huge headache. But the dogs, in all their drowned-rat appearance, were very upbeat and happy despite an incredibly fast run home.

Thanks all of you that made this a great weekend, we had a blast!

Gearing up for training season....

It looks like the mild summer is going to make training season come a little earlier this year. Allan has already hit 5 mile runs with his Alaskan team. Several stops and a big drink of water the dogs come home feeling good and ready for more, although he is having to wait until almost dark. I wouldn't be surprised to see him jump to 10 miles by mid September. Usually unheard of in our fall climate.

I think this weekend, I will give the Seppalas a run on the three mile and see how it goes. If I go after dark, with a breeze, we should be OK with several breaks and lots of water. I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised as Allan was by how his dogs took off in the warmer temps (60 degrees F) with no issues. Of course, my dogs have are much heavier coated than his. I can't really think of one of his that has a heavy coat right now. The Sepps have had an odd summer in terms of shedding, by now we are usually on our second round of brushing coats out. I think the cooler summer and a TON of rain, made it hard for them to really shed. I still have 4 that are almost done and 1 that is really just getting started. But it seems to be working itself out.

I am excited to get started though. I had some really promising yearlings last year that I can't wait to see what they will do this year. The attitude of the entire kennel is good and it is obvious the dogs are *feeling* the imminent season looming over them. In the early cool mornings the kennel has become a consistant alarm clock even before the sun rises. I love their morning welcome!