2012 MUSHERS

Hugo Antonucci

Hugo is a Sr. Configuration Analyst for Rockwell Collins for 31 plus years and lives in Adin, California with his wife, daughter and 20 dogs Siberians and Alaskans Huskies.  I have been Mushing for fifteen years and racing for 12 years.  I own and operate R & R Huskies, a kennel consisting of rescued and re-homed Siberian and Alaskan Huskies.  I have been involved with Siberian Husky rescue for all most 20 years now. My team consists mostly of rescued/rehomed huskies. Our most recent race was the Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race in Oregon. I have raced in Oregon, Washington, California and Montana. Our goal at R & R Huskies is to build a dog team consisting of these strays and unwanted dogs. I choose to run rescue dogs because I think it’s a bigger challenge than just buying a dog from a racing kennel. I want everyone to know that with the proper care and patience these dogs can be as competitive as any team.

My lead dogs for this race are Sitkee and Sparkee

I am sponsored by: Northwind Sleds and Expedition Outfitters

Desired first heat start position = 1st (our first entrant – Jan 20)

The Seawolf (Tahoe) sled dogs are owned by Preston & Anne Springston. Preston, a retired civil engineer, has over 19-years of mushing and sprint racing experience. He is a member of the Sierra Nevada Dog Drivers and the International Sled Dog Racing Association. He has extensive experience in obedience training, canine weight-pulling and sled dog sprint racing.

Anne assists in individual dog and team training, puppy rearing and socializing, and in daily management of the kennel.

Preston’s mushing experience started, oddly enough, in the southern California community of Silverstrand Beach near Oxnard. The mushing world was revealed to him by Czar, a Siberian husky, that he adopted from the local Humane Society shelter in 1991. After a year of obedience training (basic & advanced) it was evident that Czar was born to do only one thing – run. Preston’s first teams were comprised of Czar coupled with neighbor’s dogs to form a team that was trained by pulling a small wheeled cart on the beach. The Seawolf team name derives from the Siberian huskies’ resemblance to wolves and training by the sea. The uniqueness of this “neighborhood” team led to a video story on CNN network news, a segment on Nickelodeon and several articles in the Los Angeles Times newspaper.

The Seawolf (Tahoe) kennel is now located at 6000-ft elevation in the Sierra Nevada mountains about 10-miles north of Truckee, CA. The team trains in fall and winter on trails in the Tahoe National Forest. Annual snowfall ranges from 5 to over 12 –ft in our local area. The team starts training in October using a Quad ATV. The dogs work on muscle conditioning and command recognition. Training switches to use of a sled once there is about a foot of packed snow on the trails. The team trains for sprint races in the “limited” 6-dog or 8-dog, sled classes – typically a 6 to 8 mile long course is run over two days. Each season the team makes about 100 training runs that cover 300 to 500 miles depending on weather and trail conditions.

This year’s race team is comprised of Alaskan huskies primarily from Whitten/Boaz sprint lines. The lone exception is the yearling female co-leader, Tess, who is from Jeff King’s Iditarod distance race line via Jo Watkin’s kennel in Truckee, CA. Tess is descended from notable Iditarod race leaders Laurie (Jeff King), Yucksi (Susan Butcher), Jenna (Mike Holz) and Zorro (Lance Mackey). This will be Tess’ first race and she is joined by two puppies that are racing for the first time. The main team leader is Dozer, a 3-yr old male, running in only his fourth race. The Siskiyou race will provide good experience for this relatively young and inexperienced team.

Kim Thomsen – Carson City, Nevada

Position Desired = 1st (our second entrant – Jan 23) = Second Start Position

My name is Kim Thomsen. I have been running purebred Siberian Huskies for 13 years both recreationally and in races. I adopted my first Siberian and the rest is history. My fur kids and I live in Dayton Nv. with my boyfriend Michael and his 2 sons Branden and Austen. I also show my dogs in AKC all breed shows and will be running a couple of my Champions this year.I also compete in Rally obedience.I am greatly looking forward to running this race again this year. I would also like to thank all the volunteers and others who make this great sport possible. Without you there would be no races.