American Dog Derby

We made it! A few members of our local southern CA mushing group made the trek north to take part in the American Dog Derby in Ashton, ID. We pooled dogs to put together two 6-dog teams for the 24-mile "Everett Heseman Race". Knowing from the get-go, that our "working pets" wouldn't stand a chance to compete for a top finish, the question became, which one of our teams would win the red-lantern award? Contributors to the teams were Alpine Outfitters, Three Dog Bakery San Clemente and Arctis.
After a long hard-fought race, the award went to Rancy Reyes and his team, who finished just 3 minutes behind Bruce Stegmaier's team.



For all of us, it was the experience which mattered most, since none of our dogs had ever participated in a snow race before. They all did great and finished in good shape and excellent spirits.



We had a great time up there, enjoying the festivities in Ashton and the friendly people of Idaho, and we're pretty sure, that well be back for another run!

Our local newspaper, the Orange County Register, wrote up a couple of nice articles on our experience before and after the race.