Sled Dog Racing
By Doug Willett
Dogs have been used as draft animals for centuries. Early explorers of the
Arctic returned with drawings of dog teams pulling sleds with only a simple
leather thong about the neck of the dog as a harness. Centuries have passed
since then, and the reasons for dog driving, as well as the means for carrying
it out, have changed. Up until perhaps the early 1920’s, dog teams were the
primary means of transportation in the Arctic, but after that, their main reason
to be gradually took on a sporting and recreational veneer.
Sled dog racing in a personal context, “I bet I can cross this lake before
you can”, undoubtedly always was present. However, formal structured racing as
we know it today probably had its beginning with the formation of the Nome
Kennel Club in 1906. The main purpose of the Nome Kennel Club was to organize a
series of races to encourage the breeding and training of better sled dogs,
whose primary use still would be as transportation vehicles. The most important
race organized by the Nome Club was the 408-mile All-Alaska Sweepstakes, which
continued through 1917. The end of the Alaska gold rush, World War I and the
advent of mechanized modes of transportation brought an end to the Nome Kennel
Club and transportation as the main purpose of teams. Races in other Alaskan
villages continued and a new purpose, recreation and sport, became the focus for
sled dog teams.
Outside the Arctic, one of the first structured races was the Northern
Manitoba Trapper’s Festival Race at La Pas. The first race was in 1916 and was
won by Albert Campbell, well known as the major competitor of Iron Will in Walt
Disney’s fictionalized version of the 1917 Winnepeg-to-St. Paul race. Campbell,
in fact, also won that race, albeit Mr. Disney’s outcome made a more appealing
story. The first American Dog Derby ran 58 miles from West Yellowstone, Montana
to Ashton, Idaho. The 5 participants stayed overnight at a fish hatchery when a
blizzard slowed the course. The Laconia New Hampshire World Championship Sled
Dog Derby had its first race in 1929 with the winner being Leonhard Seppala,
about which more will be said below. The Laconia race is the major race that has
been won several times by purebred or almost-all purebred teams. Although
interrupted by wars and/or depressions, these three races still exist today as
premier races in their areas.
The most famous of the early Alaskan racers was a Finnish-Norwegian
immigrant, Leonhard Seppala, who won the All-Alaska Sweepstakes 3 years in a
row, 1915-17. Seppala used relatively small (35 to 60 pound) dogs of Siberian
origins. He later increased his fame by being the major transporter of the serum
needed to stop a killer diptheria epidemic in Nome in the winter of 1925.
Seppala’s leg of the relay required a 320 mile sled dog trip under the worst
possible winter conditions across some of the worst terrain. The modern day
Iditarod Sled Dog Race, which commemorates that memorable relay, is essentially
run over that same trail, about 1100 miles stretching from Anchorage to Nome.
After the serum run, Seppala and 43 of his sled dogs were given a hero’s
train trip across the lower 48 arriving in New England in January, 1927. There,
Seppala teamed up with Elizabeth Ricker to form the first “Seppala Kennel.” He
and Ms. Ricker bred and raced sled dogs up to 1931 when the partnership was
disbanded, and Seppala returned to Alaska. The dogs of the Seppala-Ricker kennel
along with two later Alaskan imports named Duke and Tuck formed the foundation
of the contemporary purebred Siberian Husky. Ten of the Seppala dogs, most of
whom were sold to Harry Wheeler of St. Jovite, Quebec in 1930-31, form the basis
of the contemporary purebred Seppala Siberian Sleddog. Harry Wheeler, who had
the second “Seppala Kennel,” bred strictly from these original sled dogs and
their descendents until 1950 when he dispersed his dogs to J.D. McFaul, who had
the third “Seppala Kennel,” and William Shearer III, who had Foxstand Kennel.
McFaul favored the short-coated dogs and Shearer the longer-coated ones. Both
had excellent racing teams in the New England-Ontario-Quebec region in the
1950’s and early 60’s, and both carried on the strictly closed breeding program
initiated by Wheeler.
Although the two breeds, the Siberian Husky and the Seppala Siberian Sleddog,
have a common beginning, their development in the 73 years ensuiing from 1931
followed very different paths. The Siberian Husky became a darling of the
purebred exhibition crowd, as well as an interesting, if not exotic, pet dog.
Cosmetic breeding dominated the selection process and the tenet “form follows
function” generated havoc on the physical and mental characteristics associated
with their ability to pull a sled rapidly. Attempts were made along the way by a
few breeders to maintain working ability but there were always interruptions
with breedings to show stock. Today, these dogs are often called “racing
Siberian Huskies” to distinguish them from their pure show cousins.
On the other hand, Harry Wheeler had a great disdain for dog shows. No major
Seppala breeder from Wheeler onward ever prescribed to cosmetic breeding. A
slight infusion, less than 5% of the contemporary Seppala, of outside blood,
strictly from the racing Siberian Husky, was bred into the Seppala Sleddog in
the 1980’s and 90’s. It can be safely said that today’s Seppala Sleddog is
strictly a product of breeding for performance.
The Seppala Siberian Sleddog and the racing remnants of the Siberian Husky
are the only purebreds remaining that can reasonably compete in modern sled dog
races. Today’s races are dominated by crossbreds and mongrels of a special
nature loosely referred to as Alaskan Huskies. In a sense these dogs are the
ultimate purebreds determined by a standard of merit rather than a standard
associated with conformation, type or cosmetics. Alaskan Huskies are the
descendents of dogs that have survived the harsh climate and tests of the
Arctic. They have the blood of the old northern draft dogs, the remnants of the
dogs of the Alaskan gold rush days, and are the products of breeding only the
toughest and best performers to each other, generation after generation.
Many forms and types of sled dog races exist today in the northern regions of
North America, Europe and Asia, as well as southern Australia, Argentina and
South Africa. Skis, scooters, trikes, carts, ATV’s (All-Terrain Vehicles) ,
toboggans and sleds are used in races and training. Races of distances from
half-a-mile to 1100 miles exist. Venues include continuous straight-through
races, multiple-heat races, time-enveloped races and freight races. Participants
range from a few serious contenders, whose livelihoods depend upon purse
winnings, dog sales and corporate sponsorships, to the week-end hobbyist. Dog
mushing is a country, as opposed to urban, endeavor, and, therefore, most
participants do it as an outdoor diversion with all the rewards associated with
being in the countryside with one’s best friends, surrounded by nature, clean
fresh air, quietness and sometimes wonderful scenery not otherwise easily
accessible in winter.