Mancos Mush - sled dogs

2008 Mushers
Wendy Davis is from Lander, Wyoming and has been running dogs since 2000. She began racing with Caribou Creek in 2003. In addition to racing she teaches mountaineering courses for the National Outdoor Leadership School. She plans to apply for veterinary school
Clint Hallam of Lyman Wyoming works with his brother who owns Hallam Construction. In the summers he trains and shoes horses, camps and hunts in the fall. He has been mushing since 1995 and has raced in the Beargrease, Race to the Sky, the Wyoming Stage Stop, the American Dog Derby and the Hill City South Dakota Race for Gold.
Ted Schanen is a local Colorado skijor and pulka racer, with trips up to 40 miles. He is a 6th grade science teacher at Cedaridge Middle School. He got started in mushing by training free trial beagles in Wisconsin. He then transitioned from beagles to skijoring with pointer crosses and other assorted mutts.
Jerry Bath resides in Lander, Wyoming and has been racing for nine years. He is self-employed and his hobby is - you guessed it - dogs. Races include Ashten, Idaho, Dubois, Wyoming, Black Hills, SD and My Shasta, CA.
Kate St. Onge is a registered nurse, but currently just runs dogs. This is Kate’s third year running the Mancos Mush. She started running dogs in 1984 in Massachusetts. She has been racing in the Northwest states since 2000 – usually multiple day races. Her most difficult race to date was the IFSS World Cup in Bend Oregon in 2005 where she took 2nd place – just 17 seconds short of first.
Krista Halsnes is 14 years old and attends Steamboat Middle School. She has been mushing since she was 9 and has raced in the Norwood Classic, Green River Classic and the Grand Lake Classic. In addition to mushing, she enjoys horseback riding, skiing and plays a variety of sports. She’s “another one of those people diagnosed with dog fever”.
Lloyd Gilbertson hails from Michigan where he operates Caribou Creek Sled Dog Kennels. He is 59 years old, has been mushing for 30 years and does both racing and expeditions.
Rick St Onge is a recently retired orthopedic surgeon. He and his wife Kate have been running sled dogs for over 15 years and have successfully completed most races in the Inter- Mountain mush circuit, including West Yellowstone, Ashton, Wyoming Stage Stop, Ataboy, Dubois, Cascade and Pinedale-and of course the Mancos Mush.
Mark Wood is from Horsefly Mesa, a little place near Ridgway, Colorado. He has been mushing for 23 years and has raced in the Beargrease 190, Race to the Sky, the Seeley Lake 100 and the Ashton Dog Derby. He is the owner and operator of Wintermoon Sled Dog Adventures in Telluride. He is married to Chantal and has three children Nahani, Teale and Lander.
Gregg Dubit has been mushing for 12 years. He runs a dog sled tour business in the winter months and scoops poop year-round. 2007 was his third Mancos Mush. Additionally he has run smaller mid-distance races and sprints such as the Wyoming Stage Race, the Beargrease 100, the Seely 100 and the Race to the Sky. He is the father of Hayden and Lydia.
Daryl Gruet started running dogs in 2005 with Red Runner Dog Sled Tour in Steamboat Springs. He has run a few sprint races, but the 2008 Mancos Mush in the first year he has run his own dogs in a distance race. Daryl is an electrician by trade, and enjoys fishing, hunting and reading..
Butch Austin is from Fruita and has followed distance mushing for the last 10 years. He became involved in sled dogs in 2004 . He is retired from the US Postal Service. His other interests include raising and training border collies for trials and ranch work, horse training and big game hunting.
Carol Bloodworth has been mushing for 18 years and is an operator for Red Runner Dog Sled Tours in Steamboat Springs, CO. She has done several mid-distance races in recent years including First Places in Glenwood Springs and Casper Mountain. Carol runs Alaskan Huskies.
Matthew Maurer presently lives in Golden, CO but hails from Utica, New York. He works in sales for Cintas Corporation. Mushing experience has been mostly on ungroomed back-country Colorado trails and race experience is limited to local races in the Colorado/Wyoming area. His goal is to create a tough team of Seppala Siberian sled dogs.
Laura Crocker has been racing for 6-7 years, starting with mid-distance and moving up to distance. She has raced in Idaho, Washington, Colorado, Oregon, California and South Dakota. Races include the Siskyou 135, the Eagle Cap 100 and Eagle cap 200. Laura has three children and six grandchildren and presently lives in Oregon.
John Chmelir is from Grants Pass, Oregon. He is married to a wonderful woman named Nikki Sargent. They have no children, but do own three dogs. He works as a general contractor in a family-owned and -operated construction and development business in Grants Pass. He has also served in the Army National Guard for many years as a Blackhawk helicopter crew chief.
Dave Wurts works at the Spacecraft Technology Development Laboratory. In his “spare” time (between work and dogs), he has experience as a Lieutenant firefighter with Inter-Canyon Volunteer Fire Dept. including activities such as structural and wildland firefighting, auto extrication, and high angle-rescue. He has been happily married to his lovely wife, TC, since 1993. They live in the foothills southwest of Denver with 17 dogs, 4 cats, and a small flock of chickens. Besides caring for their furred and feathered family, they enjoy hiking, camping, canoeing, skiing and dreaming up future adventures.

 

Past Mushers
John Barron has been running dogs for a while – mostly long distance races. He is a “rookie” at short & mid-distance runs. His wife Katherine is his #1 handler and Smokey is his truck dog. He has run the Iditarod 27 times as well as the Yukon Quest. He won Beargrease in ’99 and 2000 and the Race to the Sky twice in the last few years.
Dave Turner is a software engineer from Sandy, OR. He has been running dogs for about 10 years, mostly helping friends. He has been racing competitively for the last three seasons with his own dogs in California, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. He enjoys training his dogs, working on his property and mountain biking.
Mark Hatch lives in Glenwood, CO. He repairs and restores antique furniture and does some architectural and commercial photography in the Aspen/Vail area. He started mushing in 1991 to help with a local race. The race organizers let him borrow a sled and a couple of dogs and the rest is history. Currently president of Colorado Mountain Mushers, he runs Siberian Huskies. His racing career is mostly local.
Dave Peters is a physical therapist. In addition, he has worked for the Durango Dog Ranch as a guide. He has extensive experience in loading, harnessing, feeding and cleaning up after dogs. He is well known for dumping guests off sleds – usually on corners or at high speeds.
Justin S. Harris lives in beautiful Bend, OR and has been running Alaskan Huskies for approximately 6 years in the Cascades of central Oregon. “Since I’ve been running K-9 athletes, it has changed my life in a positive way. Having two beautiful daughters, Sarah & Olive, around the kennel allows me to teach and share the sport of dog mushing to them.” Besides local races, he’s run the Cascade Quest,WA, American Dog Derby, ID, & Cache Valley K-9 Challenge, UT. He says a special thanks to all who make the races happen, and last but definitely not least to his wife Dawn for allowing him the time to train for his goals.
Grant Beck owns and operates the largest sled dog tour operation in Yellowknife, NWT Canada with 180 sled dogs. He has been racing sled dogs for 4 decades and started mushing at 6 years old! The sport of sled dog racing has been in his family for many generations. He has won hundreds of races in Canada, U.S. and Europe. His major races have been 1st in Pirena, Spain; 4- time Canadian Champion; World Champion; 2nd place in European Alpirod; La Grand Odyssee, France (3rd in 2005). He also placed 3rd in Attaboy 2004 and 3rd in IFSS World Cup in mid-distance 2004.
Randy Brennick is from Sturgis, South Dakota. He has been running dogs since 1992, and entered his first race in 1994. He has raced in Minnesota, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Colorado and Idaho. He runs Alaskan Huskies and keeps a small kennel of 14 dogs. A funeral director at a family-owned funeral home, he is married and is a father of two. He has been around dogs his whole life, and believes traveling by dog team is the best way, and cheaper than a plane ticket.
Brian Bond is from Blacksburg, Virginia, and has been mushing for several years. He is a college professor at Virginia Tech, where he has had the pleasure of teaching, conducting research and assisting the wood products industry. Beyond mushing, his hobbies are mountain biking and woodworking.. If you're ever bored one evening, you can learn more about him and his kennel by clicking here.
Larry Natzke lives and works in Pine, Colorado, as a software engineer. He has been racing sled dogs since 1993 and focused on mid-distance mushing for the past 10 years in the Rocky Mountain region. He is a past president and board member of the Colorado Mountain Mushers Association. His other interests are in hockey, skiing, spending time with his family and coaching youth hockey. His best advice is to "Never have a hobby that eats."
Casey Boulter is from Pinedale, Wyoming. He has been mushing since the spring of 2002 when he received his first 6-dog team of Alaskan Huskies after handling for Rob Valli of Wild Dog Mushing Company in Midway, Utah, during the 2002 Winter Olympics. Since then his kennel has grown to 26 Alaskan Huskies (including puppies). He has competed in the 6-dog class at West Yellowstone, 8-dog class at the Ashton Dog Derby and the Cache Valley K9 in his hometown of Pinedale, Wyoming. When Casey isn't racing, he enjoys the outdoors and playing the guitar. He enjoys spending time with his family and daughters, hoping one day to have a son. His goal is to run distance races with the Iditarod being the ultimate goal in 2008.
Irvin Perry works as a carpenter in Inuvik NT Canada. He has raced in the Attaboy 300, Wyoming Stage Stop, and Elkford Wilderness Classic. He has 50 dogs, girlfriend Charlene, and 2 kids: Courtney, 7 and Flynn, 5.
Jason Smith from British Columbia, has been mushing for over 10 years and has raced mostly in Canada and Wyoming. His races include: Fort Nelson, B.C. Canadian Open, Elkford, B.C.; Fort St. James, B.C.; Prince Albert, Saskatchewan; La Ronge, Saskatchewan; Mackenzie, B.C.; DuBois, Wyoming. He is a tour operator in the winter and a forestry silviculture contractor in the summer. He operates tours in Lake Louise, Alberta and Golden, B.C. His interests include dogs, gardening and woodworking.
Danny Phillips is the trainer for an iditarod race tream, and tour guide from Glenwood Springs, Colorado. He fell in love with dog sledding after getting into it to stay in shape for motocross during the off-season. He now focuses year-round on his racing career and enjoys every day of the experience. He also spends a good deal of time on the river, rafting, kayaking and fishing.
Martin Koenig is a self employed machinist from Seeley Lake, Montana. He started mushing in 1992 and now keeps a 40-dog kennel. In 2006 he placed 1st in the Snow Dog Super Mush at Conconully, WA.
Gordon Ninde is a registered nurse and is married to Claire. Aside from mushing, his interests include skiing, fishing and rafting. In 2002 he raced in the Iron Dog in the 6-dog sprint class. He has been on the Board of Directors of the Adaptive Sports Association and trains with the Durango Dog Ranch.
Ernie Bailey is from Gillette, Wyoming and has been mushing for 28 years. He has raced in the Beargrease, Race to the Sky, American Dog Derby in Ashton, Idaho, the WyCola race, Hill City in South Dakota and races in Dubois, Wyoming. His occupation is that of a Welding Supervisor. His hobbies are mushing, hunting, and motorcycles. He is married with three grown children.