The Good, the Odd, and the Not-so-famous
November 6, 2002

Seavey's Iditarod Racing Team--Sterling, AK
By Tyrell Seavey

Warm and Rain Rain Rain.  That’s the forecast for south-central Alaska for eternity, or so it seems.  While us musher types are constantly hoping for a big dump of snow, we are actually fairly fortunate compared to our counterparts farther north, whose training is being hindered by freezing rain that has created a layer of ice that is unsafe to train on.  So, for the time being, we are content to keep on training in the “temperate zone.”

The last several updates have focused primarily on young up-and-coming lead dogs.  The reason for that is because these slow, “controlled” runs with the four wheelers are perfect for training the young stars, so that has been our main focus over the last few weeks.  Of course, for every team that goes out with two lead dogs, there are 16 dogs behind them actually getting the work done.  So in this update, I am going to take this opportunity to write about two dogs from the “not-so-quick-and-famous” category. 

One of the biggest shocks to me so far this year is, Basil, a 2 year old German Short-Hair Pointer cross.  His father is a purebred German Short-Hair and his mother is a regular sled dog, but Basil definitely took after his father.  We bought Basil to use as a breeding stud, so we could start to mix in some of the Pointer blood that the sprint mushers have been having so much success with.  When we started training the 2 year old team this fall, we decided to run Basil for awhile just to keep him in shape, expecting that as the runs got more difficult he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the better-bred huskies.  So far he has been putting all my doubts to rest.  We have now gone up to 12 mile runs at increasingly high speeds, and the happy-go-lucky Basil has excelled every time we go out.  I cannot realistically expect him to make it into the Iditarod teams this spring, but he is certainly proving himself as a capable long distance sled dog.

And then there’s Oscar, who is appropriately named after the Sesame Street character, except that he lives in a 55-gallon drum doghouse instead of a trash can.  Oscar is a 5 year old Iditarod veteran that had his Iditarod debut with Jim in ‘99.  Since then he has been training with the competitive dogs, and started the Iditarod several times with my dad, Mitch, but he never took that last step to becoming a super star, so we transferred him to the puppy team this year--figuring that his experience and skills would be better utilized in the young team.  Oscar is an awesome athlete and has been a very good example for the young dogs.  He does have that Oscar attitude, though, and it is common for him to growl at his partners, or chase some pup back into its house as you lead him by if he feels particularly ornery.  He is such a good sled dog, however, that Jim and I are willing to over look the whole curmudgeon thing.   

For Seavey’s Iditarod Racing Team,

Tyrell Seavey

© 2002 Ultimate Iditarod, Snowcrest Racing Sled Dogs, Seavey's Iditarod Racing Team
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