The Continental Kennel Club becomes our “Wheel Dog” Sponsor.
Everyone knows the value of a great lead dog. What few understand is the value of a strong and courageous wheel dog. While the leaders initiate the turn on the musher’s command, it is the job of the wheel dog to enforce that new direction on the weight of the sled. This is why you […]
BREAKING NEWS: I’m Alaska Bound
I love reading the biographies of the great explorers of the great age of exploration. One thing that is constant with all my heroes is their agility. Their ability to take advantage of slight changes in weather, an unexpected lead that opens in the ice during the night, or, as Roald Amundsen did, completely shift […]
Douglas Willett: 1937-2022
REMEMBERING A MUSHING LEGEND On behalf of the board of the International Seppala Siberian Sleddog Club, I want to honor the passing of our club founder, Douglas Willett. Doug Willett will forever stand as a legend, not only in the Seppala community, but in the mushing community as a whole. As a breed steward, he […]
The Late, Great Lance Mackey: And how he helped me find my compass again
With the passing of the great Lance Mackey, I see lots of folks sharing their stories about him. And there are a great many folks with greater stories to tell of him than mine — but I’d like to share mine as a way of memorializing him today. In 2010, after losing a son, a […]
Summer Rant: Kennel Update. Counterfiet Seppalas? AKC Seppalas?
**Kennel Update** Summer has been a busy time for us. We are continuing the build on our new 50-acre kennel, with a log shelter cabin and a second larger puppy pen in progress. The days are getting shorter and before we know it, we will begin our season conditioning and training runs with the […]
A Maine Mushing Legend Passes: Darlene Farr
Here’s the cleaned-up version: — Maine has lost a legend. Mushing has lost an advocate. Seppala Siberians have lost a supporter. We have lost our dear friend. *__Darlene with Poland Spring’s Hazel__* Darlene Farr, and her husband David, have had a passion for mushing for many decades. In the past several years, Darlene served as […]
Mushing Maine, From End to End, in 1941.
In my ongoing quest to finish what Perry Greene started in 1951 — ascending Mount Katahdin by dog team — I received a big surprise. A few weeks ago, Peter Richards gave me a phone call. He is the grandson of Perry Greene. What’s more, Richards — now in his 80s — was one […]
Dual Registering Seppalas is Unsustainable. J.J. Bragg & Doug Willett were both right. Here’s why.
Those who are new to the world of Seppalas are often confused by the fact that, while most Seppala Siberians are considered Siberian Huskies by the American Kennel Club, most Siberian Huskies are not considered Seppalas by the ISSSC, ISA, or the Continental Kennel Club. But it really isn’t that complicated once one stops to […]
Moose Attack on Dogsled Team: A First Hand Account
We were wrapping up our final training run of the season in a snowstorm, just two nights before the big race. Caleb was running our eight-dog team. We only ran 20 miles on this final run — the dogs were peaking and we wanted to keep it that way leading into the Can-Am Crown International […]
Summiting Mount Katahdin by Dog Team
Ascending great summits by dog team is a long-standing tradition in history. In 1926, Arthur Walden and his team of Chinooks summited New England’s tallest mountain — Mount Washington. Walden was appointed lead musher on the Byrd Antarctic Expedition the following year. A handful of mushers have since repeated the feat, including the most recent […]