Iditarod: Thank You

I did it again! I entered the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 2021. I have dotted my i’s and crossed all my t’s and my Official Entry to the 2021 Race has been received. Sign up has been available online since June 4th. But in our ever changing and unpredictable world, I chose to wait to sign up until today. This past week, Iditarod CEO Rob Urbach and Race Director, Mark Nordman hosted a Virtual Iditarod Town Hall. They laid out three approach plans for the race under various global pandemic conditions. I very was pleased that they put much thought into future layout and planning. Of course, the race is over 8 months away and anything can happen.

As Allen and I look forward to this coming mushing season, we have to admit that SP Kennel continues to evolve. Allen does not plan to race either the Yukon Quest or the Iditarod. After 10 Quests and 11 Iditarods, he is done. This, of course, will be my 21st consecutive Iditarod and my 24th consecutive year of racing a 1,000 mile race. This Fall, our dog population will be a comfortable 24 individuals. This will be the perfect number of dogs that Allen and I can train and enjoy together.

We still have an amazing group of canine individuals who are genetically fabulous and spiritually motivated. Over these summer months, we will retire several more select dogs to people best suited as a forever homes.

Today, after my entry to the Iditarod was sent, I found myself looking down a long paw print path into the past but going on ahead into the future. As many of you know, some fantastic dogs – truly the hearts and souls of SP Kennel – have retired and/or passed away in the past five years. When I look down this paw print path I see these wonderful dogs and I see the amazing places that they have taken me. I see the incredible life that I have now and I am forever grateful that this hearty team of huskys have drug me here. I see ChaCha and her “Car Litter” pups, I see Dingle and Pud, I see Biscuit and his offspring, I see Waylon and all the Honeytonks, I see Ash and her Spice pups, I see the Candy Bar litter. When I look way down the trail and I see: Pedro, AJ, Pingo, Rosco, Roger, Rubia, Roller, Flood and Fats. Of course I see Quito leading all of them. These dogs (and many more) have lived life large, gone on tremendous journeys and have been with me during some of the most special moments of my 50 years of life. I thank them all tremendously for simply… being my dogs.

Now, let’s look forward toward the 2021 Iditarod…

I took a moment to look back and one of the final acts of the 2020 Iditarod is to try to thank everyone that helped us. Thank you seems such a little thing to say when you all contributed so much to us but… here goes:

Firstly, thanks to all our canine friends. The Iditarod team of Amber, Bruno, Chevie, Cloud, Decaf, Dutch, Five, Jefe, Junior, Kodiak, QT, Rodney, Spark and Violet were amazing. Thanks also to all the other dogs at the kennel as each one of them helped get the team to the start line and their contribution was just as big as those that made the team: Bronze, Cayenne, Champ, Chipper, Clyde, Commando, Driver, Gold, Iron, Mismo, Nomex, Peach, Perky, Razz, Sanka, Scooby, Bill, Gravy and Wu with support from Nacho, Olivia, Scout, Tig and Zip.

Thanks to the SPK crew: Karolyn who was unwavering in her support for us this year and spent hours and hours caring for, training and loving our dogs. Thanks Karolyn. We had hands-on help from so many people through the season including Ryan, Linda, Padee, Lisa, Wendy, Wes and Moira. You are all awesome!

Heartfelt thanks to our sponsors and supporters – we couldn’t do this without you. We appreciate our long-standing friends at Matson of Alaska for financial and moral support, to Joanna at Headlites for the amazing light-up collars we use out on the trail, T Rose Vet for her love and care for our dogs, Ivana at Howling Dog Alaska for our excellent harnesses, the team at North Pole Vet for being amazing, the guys at Kenai Satellite Phone Rentals for the use of their technology, Lisa at AB Consulting for her support and Jeanne and Bob Huston who are ‘always on board’.

We always thank the race officials and volunteers but this year presented extraordinary circumstances. The way you were able to be fluid in your approach this year, and keep all the competitors and locals safe in the face of an unprecedented global event was awe-inspiring. It is a difficult job to stage this race in the best of years so this year was a triumph.

Over the twenty years we have been doing this race, we’ve learned so much from race veterinarians and vet techs and this year was no different. We really value the relationship with the entire vet crew and your dedication to the canine athletes is plainly evident. Thank you for all you do to help us keep our dogs in the best shape.

One of the best parts of racing the Iditarod is to visit the villages that host our checkpoints along the way. We appreciate all you do for us from setting up pop-up checkpoints, cooking stews and soups and baking bread, welcoming us into your village and wishing us well as we leave. and look forward to seeing some of you again next year.

We’d also like to thank every single one of the race sponsors. It’s sometimes tough being an Iditarod sponsor and we acknowledge all the race supporters for sticking by the race. Please if you feel inclined, send them an email or Facebook comment to thank them for supporting the Iditarod. You can find a link here of race sponsors.

Thank you to our fellow competitors. It was a tough one for extraordinary reasons and it was awesome to be out there with y’all.

Iditarod fans are a dedicated, enthusiastic bunch and we love you! Thanks for supporting the race, now more than ever.

Special thanks to all our Red Team members: Leanna Anderson, Julie Atkinson, Lisa Barricella, Sam Bolick, John & Karolyn Bristol, William Burkel, Cathy & Laurie, Lila Cartledge, Timothy Clark, Cindy Cowling, Marilyn Cozzens, Joe D & Dorothy M McCain, Sharon D & Susan P, Marilynn Davis, Nancy Diersen, Fergus & Hamish Emerson, Timons Esaias, Kathy Ferrell, Freeman Family, Bill Gates, Girlee & Dorothy, Erica Giuliani, Jill Graff, Helen Gross, Marti Guarin, Debbie Gunter, Kathy & Jay Henningsen, Chica Hopwood-Dean, Kate, Badger, Tracker & MooMoo, Lynn Knowlden, Stephanie Kuhns, Layman Crew, Diane Lillis, Rae Long Memorial, Kari Longshore, Val Lycette, Lyn MacDougall, Kenny & Lisa Mace, Merric Machak, Vivian & Greg Martin, Lisa McDonald, The McIntosh Family, Karen McGillivray, Gaye Morgan-Walton, Bob & Jane Nelson, Nessmuk & Shanti, The Orlandi Family, Becky Pacas, Lezlee Pardo, Juleen Payne, Aaron Phelps, Heidi Phillips, Tommy Poelker, Shannon Powell, Angela & Bob Pressley, Louise Rathswohl, Ruth Robertson, Frankie Geno Rocco, Mary Lynn Roush, Donna Scarlett, Cindy Schaus, Jeanne Seward-Wallberg, Midnight Steiner, Ann Stephenson, The Straw Ladies, Tammy, Sue, Willow & Palmer, Toni Tadolini, Sue Thelen, Barbara Thompson, Andrea Trzaskos, Tuff, Bismarck & Tart, Marji Venden, Nina Watson, Penny Webster, Crystal Windgassen, Diana & Harry Workmon, Maryellen Wright, Bill & Sue Wyman & The Pack, Ashley & Courtney Zirkle, Carolyn & John Zmyewski. Your support directly helped the team to the start line and beyond.

We’d also like to thank all our individual dog sponsors, SP Kennel Champions, Black Team members, Dog Fan Club members and other supporters. You are all very important to us.