2005 International Sled Dog Symposium
Speaker Biographies
Sponsored by the Alaska Dog Mushers Association and the Fairbanks North Star Borough Parks & Recreation Department, Pioneer Park
In alphabetical order, these are some of the speakers who'll be presenting at our 2005 International sled Dog Symposium. Biographies are added as we receive them. For more information, email Andrea Swingley or ADMA, or call 907-457-6874.
Ken was born in Minnesota. He says he began mushing at birth, as his parents had a recreational team. He came to Alaska in 1993 to be a musher and study biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He’s been running the Iditarod since 1999 and took fifth place in 2003. Also in 2003, Ken took third place in the Atta Boy 300 Stage Race and fourth place in the Wyoming Stage Stop. Ken is married to Gwen Holdmann, also an Iditarod veteran.
Jodi began with horses on the East Coast, but moved on to sled dogs and Alaska right after college. She began skijoring, but as the numbers of dogs grew, she moved onto a sled. She has been active with dogs for more than 9 years, and is now a partner in a medium-sized kennel, raising and training dogs for mid- to long-distance races. Although she is a recreational musher, she has experience in mid-distance races and in handling for the Yukon Quest.
Grant Beck is from Yellowknife Northwest Territories, Canada. He has been living and working with sled dogs all of his life. His ancestors used sled dogs traditionally as a way of life for many generations. Grant has raced in many classes during his career and presently enjoys mid-distance and stage races. Grant has won hundreds of races including: Pirena in Spain, The Canadian Championship Dog Derby, many of stages of the Alpirod in Europe, Seeley Lake, Montana, The Defi De Lac in Quebec, and recently placed 3rd in the inaugural Grande Odyssee 2005 in France. He was ranked 3rd in the 2004 IFSS World Cup Mid Distance Program. He owns a kennel of 170 dogs, which includes all of the dogs he uses for his tour business that provides tours to thousands of Japanese clients each year.
Miki and Julie use dog teams to run their 80-mile trapline in bush Alaska. They have written extensively about their experiences at Lake Minchumina, and are authors of the book Dog Driver: A Guide for the Serious Musher.
Jeff came to Alaska in 1980 and got his first dog in 1983 to pull a small sled during family ski trips. This somehow evolved into competitive limited- and open-class sprint teams. Jeff is a biologist and has compiled the Open North American Sled Dog pedigrees since 1987. In 2005 he won the ISDRA bronze medal in the 10-dog class.
Sara has been an avid skijorer for seven years. A competative cross-country skier in high school, she had "retired" from skiing until she adopted a sled dog puppy from the Animal Shelter. He took to skijoring like he was born to it and they've been at it ever since. Sara added two additional huskies to her "kennel" and discovered that 3-dog skijoring was the most fun to be had on snow. She is on the board of directors for the Alaska Skijoring & Pulk Association (ASPA) and has been the Treasurer for the past 5 years. She has raced over 100 times at ASPA sponsored events and Alaska Dog Musher's Association events. She is "sponsored" by her husband, David, and his Savannah cat, Jasper.
Lester Erhart is an Athabascan Indian born and raised in Tanana, Alaska. He has grown up with sled dogs as a staple in his life using them for a subsistence lifestyle in trapping and fishing; as well as becoming a top breeder. As an adult Lester started competed in sprint sled dog races, being a top contender in all the major sprint races in Alaska. Besides raising a slew of kids, who have carried on the Erhart name in sled dog racing, he has also mentored many successful long distance mushers including: Joe Runyan, Stan Zurray, Hugh Neff, Ramy Brooks, and Charlie Boulding; as well as contributing dogs to winners in the Open North American Championship and the Anchorage World Championships.
Julie found dog mushing in 1999 while working as a tour guide during a leave of absence from her corporate life in Chicago. She worked for several large tour operations before coming to Alaska to handle for Fairbanks mushers Ken Anderson and Gwen Holmann at Windy Creek Kennel. For two years, she was able to handle for and assist in the training of a highly competitive team in a wide variety of races including mid-distance, sprint, stage, the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest. Last year, Julie started building her own kennel with the dogs she fell in love with at Windy Creek Kennel. She still trains yearlings for Ken and Gwen, mixing them in with her seasoned veterans to compete in mid-distance races and venture out on camping trips. In May, Julie became the Executive Director of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race where she is able to blend her experience and skills with her passion for mushing.
Hans began his career in dog mushing 17 years ago in Austria. In 1990 Hans moved to Canada and began building sleds on his homestead in Atlin, BC. Hans has had an illustrious career as a competitive musher in sprint, mid-distance, and distance races. Hans is a four-time European Sprint Champion; once in the 3-dog class, once in mid-distance class, and twice in the open class. In 1992, he was the IFSS world champion in the open class. Hans won the Rocky Mountain Stage Stop four times between 1996 and 2001 and came in second place the other two years. He is the only three-time winner of the Yukon Quest and has finished the Iditarod six times.
Megan Hedgecoke lives in Two Rivers, is 15 years old, and has been in two Two Rivers Junior 100s and two Junior Yukon Quests. She has raced in all of the Two Rivers Dog Mushers Association’s races and is on the juniors committee for TRDMA.
Jim began skijoring with a black Lab upon moving to Fairbanks in 1992. A board member of the Alaska Skijoring and Pulk Association since 1996, Jim also served two years as president. Jim and Carol Kaynor successfully petitioned for skijoring's first World Championship appearance—in 2001. Jim skijored in the 2001 (Fairbanks) and 2005 (Dawson) World Championships, and also ran the 4-dog sprint class in Dawson.
Baillee Holt is from North Pole, is 17 years old, and has five years of experience running dogs. She has been in the Junior Yukon Quest, Junior Iditarod, and the Junior North American.
Elizabeth is 17 years old. She was the winner of the 2005 Junior Quest. She has participated in three Junior Iditarods and two Junior Quests as well as numerous other Junior races. In 2004, Elizabeth ran her team with her father (Eric the bush vet) from Manley to Kotzebue. She lives with her family at Chandalar Lake in the Brooks range. She does her own dog training and often travels alone by dog team on overnight/ extended trips. Elizabeth has been helping her father with veterinary work "since she was born."
Dr. Jayne is a former mixed animal veterinarian from rural Iowa. He has been a dog musher for 7 years. Eric practices in rural Alaska, travelling to 45 villages on a regular basis. He sees/ treats sled dogs over a wide geographic area and is able to see disease patterns from a different perspective then a veterinary practice that is is a single location. Eric also gains insight from mushers around the state; this insight is one of the most valuable resources a veterinarian can have.
Eric was introduced to mushing through his brothers at a very young age. He grew up in Michigan racing Samoyeds and Siberian huskies and then eventually Alaskan huskies. In 1995 he moved to the dog-mushing capital of the world with just eight dogs and the dream of becoming the top unlimited-class musher. Although he has not yet become a champion of the Open North American (ONAC) or the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous, he has become one of the top competitors, placing second in the 2005 ONAC and winning several other races. Currently, he and his wife own and operate their own construction company and racing kennel. Together they hope to one day fulfill Eric's dream.
Dr. May describes himself as a Catholic dog musher, dad, husband, and, finally, veterinarian. He came to Alaska in 1974, received his undergraduate degree from UAF in 1989, and his DVM from Colorado State University in 1995. Dr. May has competed in the Iditarod, Yukon Quest, and numerous other races. He has seen and run the fastest, toughest sled dogs in the world, which are in Alaska, at some point in their life. He has frozen their semen, fixed their bones, drawn their blood, and researched their DNA. His current area of interest is answering the question, "What does racing have to do with running sled dogs?"
Ivana was born in the Czech Republic, and has been living in Salcha, Alaska, since 1992. She started mushing in 1988, first with Siberian huskies, shortly after that with Alaskans, and since 1996 with pointer crosses. Ivana specializes in sprint racing, including the 8-dog, 10-dog, and short open-class events. She designs sled dog equipment and owns Howling Dog Mushing Supplies.
Jacques was born in France. He started running dogs in 1980 while he was a medical student in Paris. After graduating, and while working in the medical field for a few years, he ran his first Iditarod in 1985. He became a professional musher and gave up medicine in 1988 when stage racing started in Europe with the Alpirod. Since, he has been involved in every aspect of the sport, participating competitively in races ranging from skijoring, limited class sprint, open class sprint (ONAC, Fur Rondy), mid-distance, stage racing, long distance (Iditarod). He also took a dog team to the summit of Mount McKinley in 1992, and has been working as a tour guide for Alaska Icefield Expeditions on the glaciers above Juneau and Skagway during the past 3 summers.
Wes is a physical therapist of 30 years, and a certified manual therapist. He was the Oregon state representative for veterinarian physical therapy, and has presented at the National Physical Therapy Symposium in Seattle on spine disorders of canines. Wes worked on Ken Anderson and Gwen Holdmann’s team before and after the Atta Boy 300 race in Oregon and before the 2003 Iditarod.
Joee is part of a long-time mushing family and has been around sled dogs since he was five years old. Raised around Knik, Alaska, he has been running dogs since 1948, and completed his first race, the Junior Fur Rendezvous, in 1956. His first adult race was the Fur Rendezvous in 1962, and he competed in his first Open North American in 1963. Joee completed his first Iditarod in 1974 and placed 3rd in 1975. Joee moved to Manley, Alaska in 1977, where he currently resides.
Ray Redington, Jr. lives in Two Rivers and is a 3rd generation Iditarod musher. He has been in the Iditarod five times, finishing 25th last year. Ray won the Klondike 300 Championship in 2004 and 2005. Also in 2005, he placed 3rd in the Copper Basin. Ray was in the Junior Iditarod several times and is a member of the Two Rivers Dog Mushers Association.
Dr. Reynolds is a veterinarian and a canine exercise physiologist and nutritionist who also competes in open-class sprint races. He received both of his doctoral degrees from Cornell University. He says racing started as his doctoral project, but has become his job and life's passion (second to wife and kids). Dr. Reynolds has studied the relationship between diet and performance in sled dogs for more than 10 years in his laboratory and on the Alaskan sled dog trails.
Dr. Rose is a veterinarian at Aurora Animal Clinic in Fairbanks. She earned her DVM from the University of California Davis in 2002 and moved to Fairbanks in 2004. She has worked as both a large and small animal practitioner, and has a strong interest in the sled dog athlete.
Mitch was born in Minnesota and moved with his family to Alaska in 1963. He began mushing in 1964. Mitch's dad, Dan, ran the Iditarod in 1973, so he decided he wanted to run the Iditarod some day. After running eleven Iditarods, Mitch won the 2004 Iditarod. Mitch and Janine are the parents of four boys, three of whom have also run the Iditarod. Mitch's dogs wear a harness of Mitch's own design with great results.
Frank has been mushing for 20 years, and has experience with sprint, distance, and touring. He finished the Iditarod twice, the Open North American Championship, and the Fur Rendezvous World Championship. Frank used the Buggy harnesses in the Iditarod and the Fur Rendezvous, and won the Don Bowers 200 in record time with his dogs wearing Buggy harnesses.
Bud has been mushing since 1955 and is still involved (if in no other way than producing good mushing offspring!). He ran the first Iditarod (1973) and started six more times (including doing it once incognito). Bud helped organize the first Yukon Quest, not only helping write the rules, but also putting in the US side of the trail.
Art Stoller was the Race Marshal for the Two Rivers Dog Musher Association Junior 100 race in 2005 and is a member of TRDMA.
Frank has been involved with sled dogs for more than 25 years, and has run the Yukon Quest 22 times. He and his wife operate a year-round sled-dog tour business. Their emphasis is on values and ethics with respect to the relationship between humans and sled-dogs.
Kim began skijoring after wandering into Alaska Mill & Feed one day in the winter of 1992 and seeing Beverly Stevens there showing a cool video of skijoring. She knew this was for her and took off from there, however she had one large, unruly dog and could not ski. Kim's mentor was Jon McCaskey and, before she knew it, she had two dogs, joined the North American Skijor & Skipulk Association, and began teaching skijoring to beginners. She now has six dogs, was proud to participate in two World Championship skijoring races, and began sprint mushing in 1999. Kim is very proud of her small kennel as they have done well in both skijoring and sledding.
As a young girl, Roxy dreamed of running dogs like her father, Gareth Wright. She entered her first Women's North American at the age of seventeen and went on to win the race in 1972. She is tied with Kathy Frost for the most Women's World Championships. Roxy began running in the Open Rendezvous and Open North American in 1976. She became the first woman to win both of these races in 1989. Roxy won them both again in 1992 and 1993. Besides winning just about every major sprint race in the state of Alaska, Roxy ran the Iditarod in 1983, finishing 23rd, and won the Alpirod Sled Dog Race in 1990. Roxy retired from racing in 1996 to have more time with her grandchildren. Her son, Ramy Brooks, carries on the family tradition. Roxy continues to run dogs, helping out Ramy occasionally and working with Arleigh Reynolds.