WildRide Sled Dog Rodeo

Feb 28, 2010

Dallas Seavey loves his dogs. As the youngest musher in history to participate in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the Anchorage, Alaska, resident owes a lot to his pups. The Seavey family has been racing in the Iditarod for three generations and, in the off seasons, Dallas and his wife Jen run the WildRide Sled Dog Rodeo — an interactive, Iditarod-themed attraction in downtown Anchorage.

Because Dallas and Jen have both raced in the Iditarod, the WildRide Sled Dog Rodeo eschews tourist kitsch and, instead, presents an educational but entertaining overview of the Iditarod.

Hugo, the star of Snow Buddies, acts like a musher during the WildRide Sled Dog Rodeo.

Upon our arrival, we enjoyed a delicious roast beef dinner while watching footage from last year’s race. We were then given one-on-one time to converse with Dallas and Jen, who spoke of their own experiences on the trail. Dallas — who at 21 years old placed sixth in the 2009 Iditarod — was able to give us a personal account of the pressures in championship competitions. Jen spoke of guiding a team of younger dogs during their first start in the competitive sport.

After dinner, we were led to the “rodeo” area — an arena with bench seating and a gravel track. At first, it felt a bit strange to see the dogs racing on gravel, but they had no problems with the lack of snow. Dallas explained, however, that much of the rodeo training took place at a slower pace in comparison to the Iditarod race because the dogs aren’t used to competing in the warmer weather.

The program then turned into a battle of sorts, with Dallas competing in the rodeo against one of his staff members, while Jen narrated. The race was presented in a lighthearted way that had our group laughing but, at the same time, it demonstrated the extreme care the mushers must take with their dogs every step of the way.

The program was exceptionally informative and cleared up a few Hollywood-made misconceptions I had about racing. A common misconception is that most “sled dogs” seen in movies are actually Siberian Huskies (often considered to be the cuter canine) when, in fact, the huskies are not physically able to pull sleds. We then met Hugo, one of the stars of the Disney film, “Snow Buddies.” While not qualified to pull a sled, Hugo did an excellent job as a “malamute musher,” standing up on his hind legs and riding in back of the sled, much to the delight of the spectators.

More surprising to me was observing that mushers don’t spend the entire race sitting on the sled. The sport is an incredibly physical one for both the dogs and the musher and, because the sled is packed with canine supplies, the mushers actually spend much of the race running alongside or standing on the tracks of the sled.

What stood out most, however, is just how much the sled dogs love to race. Their excitement was palpable and, no matter the challenge, they couldn’t wait to start competing. A case in point was when we watched a team of 16 dogs succeed in pulling a 10,000-pound truck behind them.

Upon completion of the rodeo, we were allowed to pick up and play with the malamute puppies. Despite how much I enjoyed the events of the day, the puppy pen was still my favorite part of the evening. As I cuddled my puppy, however, I did have a new appreciation of the champions these dogs would be when they grew up.