Notes from the North: How It All Started - Part 4: Getting My Own Seppala's

So where are we in the “How I Got Started” adventures? It’s been a while since the last “episode” of how I got started so I thought I’d do a recap. Fortunately, I found a “historical” email from that time – which also flushes out the dates for things (it’s amazing how much I’d forgotten already).

Below is a letter I wrote as a 12 year old after seeing a bulletin on the International Seppala Siberian Sled Dog Club (ISSSC) website. On the humorous side, when we went to our first ISSSC meeting, they thought my mom was the musher – even though I put my age in the letter!

I’ve copied the letter here (as exactly as I can – without any editing, where I could help it – so you get the feeling as it was then!):

*****

Sent: Thursday, august 03, 2006

Subject: Applying for Seppala Siberian Sled Dog Pups

To whom it may concern,

I am writing to apply for a Seppala Siberian Sled Dog puppy that is in the program mentioned on the ISSSC website as being sold at minimal cost or given away free. The bulletin mentioned that this program is a good opportunity to get top racing Seppala Siberian Sled Dogs if you are a newcomer to Seppala’s and that to apply I should e-mail or call with my credentials.

Sincerely,

Hello, I am 12 years old and this is my 4^th year since I STARTED my dogsled “Journey.” I had always wanted a sled dog and in 2003 I got my first sib. She was a show dog and would pull but was a lot better at other canine sports. I really wanted to dog sled so in 2003 and 2004 I went to Priest Lake dogsled races and watched, asked questions and learned. During those years I met several Mushers’ (Suzie and Jim who have Malamutes and Jill and Bob who have Alaskans and Samoyeds) who sat down and answered a lot of my questions. I was also involved in a 4-H dog sledding project and learned a lot from that experienced- I got some sled dog training books and trained my show sib. I was still trying to find someone who raised Siberians because the Malamute musher’s used Siberians to speed up their team and I did not want Alaskans. Well, right before Priest Lake sled dog races 2005 I ran into MJ- Holding a Seppala pup at the vet office. We lived in town in Idaho at the time so after Priest Lake I went and visited Sepp-Raptor Kennels. Over the summer I visited Sepp-Raptor kennels several times and then was invited to help with the dogs while learned the care, the time it takes and what to feed. I also learned about puppy care since the G litter of 7 puppies was a few months old when I first visited Sepp-Raptor. That summer (2005) my family and I moved to the country in Idaho. There we put up kennels and a dog run. The fall in 2005 I was invited to help train dogs on a 4-wheeler. There I learned that you keep to schedule and run even in the slush and rain. I learned how to tell if a dog was pulling or just keeping the tug-line straight and a lot of terms & meaning, how to train and how to care for them afterward. After one of the training runs Curt said that Ella of Sepp-Raptor (Bambi of Seppalta X Sepp-Stars Eddie of Seppalta), a leader was for sale. I instantly said yes and agreed to pick her up after the season was over. I was able to help run dogs right up to the time I got Ella. In January 2006 I was invited to the Snow Dog Super Mush in Conconully, WA as a handler for the Sepp-Raptor dogs. I saw some Seppala teams; one was a 12 dog team and the rest were 6-dog teams. Before Conconully I had signed up for the Priest Lake 3 dog Class. I was using my show Sib, Trapper (Sepp-Raptor), and was still looking for a 3^rd dog. At Conconully I met Amy Hanley- who started out a few years ago and has one of Ella’s brothers. She gave me Cruiser, a Siberian husky. So I had my 3 dog team! Although I had an interesting team- 1 show husky, 1 seppala and 1 Siberian husky-cross (Cruiser is not a Purebred although he looks it) we won the race and came home with my first sled which I bought from Amy also. After and before the race I ran Cruiser and my show Sib together a few times. Later that spring I bought Quest of Seppalta (Hudson of Seppalta X Articsky’s Avior of Seppalta) from Amy. I did not get Quest in time to run him this spring but ran Ella, Cruiser and my show sib together.

My goals for 2007 are to fill out at least a 4 dog team with all Seppala’s. I’m already halfway there! I also plan to race in 3-4 races. I would like to add to my dog run either down the hill or on the flat as well. By next summer I would like to have a 6 dog team of all Seppala’s. I would also like to become a better driver, especially if I have a faster or bigger team.

If you need any more info please contact me.

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That letter was a turning point for me because I was invited to the fall ISSSC meeting in Seeley Lake, MT and from there, made contacts and eventually got Quest's brother, Chase. Later, I got a half-Alaskan named Wonder Woman and ran Ella, Quest, Chase and Wonder...Cruiser had already become too slow. Also, because of going to the meeting I applied and received sponsorship from the Continental Kennel Club for my first season.

At first it seemed a big deal to have non-AKC purebreds and I won't deny there's a lot of politics in it all but I was just a young musher who wanted to run Seppala's. For now, I ignored it all and just enjoyed the dogs...it would catch up soon enough.

That first fall I had little idea about what I was doing on my own and trained the 4 dogs 5-6 days per week around our house. I could go about 3 miles with lots of turn-around's and did this up to 4 times for a 12 mile run. Poor dogs! They must have been bored but they never showed it. We had a blast!

Throughout the fall, I kept it touch with Doug - the Seppala guru of the area - and he kindly responded to my numerous e-mails with questions about Seppala's and dog mushing in general. Looking back, some of the questions seem rather redundant but I really had no idea what I was doing - it's a whole lot different doing it on your own versus helping another musher who has their "system" down.

I also immersed myself in everything Seppala. I kept track of all the Seppala kennels and scoured their websites for dogs for sale, bloodlines and anything else out on the web. It was a blast - I have no idea how many hours I spent on it.

Here's some pictures of my first team:

Quest - "the best!"