The History of Sleddogracing.
The first races with sleddogteams where probably between hunters and golddiggers or between Eskimo´s, but to realy find out who had the fastest dogs, the first official races where in Alaska in 1908, by the newly establised Kennelclub in the city Nome, because that was where most people were. The First Alaskan Sweepstake was held over a distance of 408 mijl (650 km), from Nome - over sea-ice, through the tundra, over mountains and trough a valley where it was always stormy – to the goldrushtown Candle and back again. There allso where real racing rules:
- You had to be a member of the Kennelclub, who organized the race.
- All dogs entered also had to be registered by this Kennelclub.
- You where allowed to enter as many dogs as you wanted, but you had to bring all of them over the finish: or in the harnas, or in the sled.
- All dogs where marked at the start, so they could not be replaced by another dog along the trail.
- In case of two teams nearing each other in the same direction, you had to let them pass and offer help, if needed. This did not count for the end of the trail.
The second All Alaskan Sweepstake was held in 1909: there was a 10.000 dollar first prize for the winner. Scotty Allan won the race, followed closely by a team of Siberian Husky's with musher Louis Thrustrup, who finished third. The Siberian Husky was (is) a new, small, lightfooted specimen in the Alaskan Sleddogworld. Nine were imported from Siberia by the Russian fur dealer William Goosak. The Alaskan mushers did not believe in the timid lapdog, that was nice, but very flimsy compared to their, strong cargopulling dogs, but they had to revise their opinion when the raceresults came in. The dogs of Goosak who had a severe money problem at the time where bought by Captein Charles Madsen: the price for the team, the harnasses and the sled? The price of the journey home for Goosak to Russia! That is how the first Siberian Husky’s came to Alaska to put an enduring stamp on the development of the sleddogsport. The All Alaskan Sweepstake delivered, next to the fast spreading fame of the Siberian, famous names in the history of the sleddogsport for example: Scotty Allen, John 'Iron Man' Johnson and the most famous of all Leonard Seppala.
The participation of the United States of America the First World War in 1917 put an end to this first important episode of the organized sleddogsport, that had grown into Alaska´s National sport the participation and interest quickly spread to Canada and the rest of the United States: 'the lower 48's (the other States).
The races soon changed the format: the distances became shorter, the speed of the dogs faster. Special dogs where bred for racing, experiments with other breeds where carried out. That is how the Indian Johnny Allen won the Fairbanks Sweepstake in 1936, '37 and '38 with a team of dogs, that originated from crossing the native dogs with Irish Setters. The Alaskan Husky, at this moment in time the most popular sleddog by far in de U.S. began its entry into the sport.
It would lead us too far in this brief synopsis to report in detail about the stormy development sleddogsport in the rest of the U.S. and Canada. The Kennel Club of Nome kept going on organizing races till the end of the First World War. After that the interest of organizing more sled dog races was over in Nome and surrounding area. In 1983 the race was held once more in honour of the 75th birthday of the first Sweepstake. The Nome Kennel Club had saved up for years with all sorts of actions to collect money for this event. The entry fee was $ 1000 in gold. The winner received $ 25.000 as first price money. Because of this large price for the winner 23 teams where entered. The trails where well prepared, the used materials where much improved and there was a scientific approach to the feeding and training of the dogs. In spite of all these efforts the time John Johnson made in 1910 was not bettered, because the winner from 1983, Rick Swenson, took about 10 hours longer! The planning for 2008 is, exactly 100 years after the first All American Sweepstake to hold another last time race!
When in 1917 there came an end to the Sweepstakes, the first Musher Association was founded in the State of Idaho: de American Dog Mushers Association. In 1924 the New England Sleddog Club was founded, the oldest still excisting club. In 1927 the legendary Leonard Seppala came from Alaska to New England with a team that participated in the serumrace to Nome and again the little Siberians booked a great succes, where thanks to the famous team of Chinook-dogs from Arthur Walden; at that point in time the undefeated Champion of New England, was beaten. De New Englanders where so impressed with the Siberian Husky's, that in this part of the U.S.A. the victory of the Siberian sleddogs began. Eva 'Short' Seeley, a famous name in the world of the Sleddog, began to concentrate on breeding these dogs in the Chinook kennels witch she had taken over from Walden, and because of her the breed was recognized by the American Kennel Club officially, the American equivalent of our Raad van Beheer. Untill the present day you can find the name of Seppala's Siberians in the pedigree of many, also in the Netherlands used Siberian Husky's.
How much the impact of the sleddogsport is, was made obvious at the Olympic Wintergames of 1932 in Lake Placid, New York, demonstration sled dog races where held here for the first time, these where won by the Canadian Emile St. Godard; Seppala finished second. This victory proved that this sport had allso come of age in Canada.
The Second World War brought this stormy start to an abrupt end; the mushers and their dogs where forfilling their military duty´s, like Earl Norris, he trained dogs for the army. But a few months after the war he was organizing sleddograces in Anchorage, Alaska. Earl and his wife Natalie where and are enthousiastic promotors of the sport and the registered Siberian Husky’s from their famous 'Alaskan of Anadyr' kennels are the foundation of the breedingprograms of the Siberian Husky´s in Europe. That same winter the New England Sleddog Club also restarted the activities with the American Dog Derby in Idaho. The fast growth of the sport can be measured by the number of sleddogclubs and associations that where founded after the Second World War; at the end of the sixties there where circa 50 organisations who occupied themselves with the sleddogsport - in 1975 there were 115! The need for a stricter and more uniform organisation was strongely felt and developed in the founding of the ISDRA in 1966, de Internationale Sled Dog Racing Organisation.
In Europe the sleddogsport made its appearance in the 70´ties. The most important promotor was the S.K.N.H. (Schweizerischer Klub für Nordische Hunde). They were the first in Switserland to organize trainingscamps and races. Shortly after the first Dutch and German teams where training, and made their entry in the racingtrails, very succesfully. Now in the year 2005 in most countries in Europe there are sleddogclubs and sleddogorganisations, who deal with the interest of the sled dogs. Of course there was a need for a governing body of the sleddogassociations. And so the ESDRA (European Sled Dog Racing Assosiation) was founded. After a number of years the need for 2 categories of sled dogs became obvious: the purebred sled dogs (Siberian Husky's, Samoyeds, Alaska Malamutes en Greenlanddogs) and the non-purebreddogs, for instance the purpose bred Alaskan dogs. The purebred Clubs founded the FISTC (Fèdèration Internationale Sportive de Traineau à Chien). In the Netherlands in 1977 Mushing Holland was founded for (only) purebred dogs.
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