Phoenix – Female, 50 lbs. Age 13½. Leader. Retired since 2007. (Newt x Legs) She is by far the best dog I have ever run. Phoenix finished her first Iditarod at 3½ and then finished 8 consecutive top 20 Iditarods in lead every time. She has 4 Last Chance Sweepstakes wins. She is a true people lover, the melt in your arms type. She really wouldn’t pull until she was 3. On a training run I caught her working, ran up to her and gave her a big hug and loved her up and she has worked like a champion ever since. Phoenix was leading the team when I caught Jeff King at mile 195 for a Tustemena 200 win. At the finish banquet Jeff said he thought he was being caught by a snow machine because the headlight was moving so fast. To me she is the epitome of a Super Dog. Never dropped, voracious eater, human lover, good feet, sound, fast trotter, incredibly fast loper and willing to work Rondy style anytime of the run; even 1,000 miles into a race – no joke. Phoenix, Babe and Dude come from my dad’s main line of dogs that he has bred over the years. She has many pups and grandpups on my main team.Babe – Female, 45 lbs. Age 11. Main leader. (Scout x Legs) Babe has 9 Iditarod starts. She ran her first Iditarod as a 2 year old and has had 8 consecutive finishes after that. Babe is the best leader I have ever had. She has finished in lead in every race she has run. She was the 2008 Golden Harness Award winner. Babe also swam her way to a 2nd place finish in the 2008 Kusko. She can responsibly lead a 26 dog team, has an undying attitude, willing to give every last ounce of herself for me and is always barking to go. She is a ½ sister to Phoenix. Extremely intelligent. Obviously she is my favorite dog and owns my heart. When she was 8 months old she would follow the team out of the doglot and go on 40 mile runs. She would always run ahead of the team. She would be so tired afterwards that I would hand feed her saying, “Here babe, eat this piece of meat” and that’s how she got her name. I could fill these pages with stories about Babe. She has won numerous races, only dropped once and always gives 100%. Babe is as tough as they come. She started and finished Iditarod even after a moose attack ended up breaking several ribs during a training run. She is a true Super Dog!Dude – Male, 55 lbs. Age 11. Team/Wheel. (Scout x Legs) Brother to Babe. Dude has had 9 Iditarod starts and 7 finishes. He has the craziest attitude for hard work and running I have ever seen in any dog. Barks and growls to go at every stop on the way to Nome; even in White Mountain. He definitely wins the Toughest Smyth Dog award.Hera – Female, 55 lbs. Age 4. Team. (Bear x Phoenix) Littermate to Thor and Zeus. Hera has had 2 Iditarod finishes and finished the All Alaska Sweepstakes along with both of her brothers. Very dominate, sweet and fast trotter. She loves people but is certainly the meanest dog in the lot ready to fight (males and females) at the drop of a hat. The other dogs have learned to leave her alone. Exceptional athlete. Emelia – Female, 48 lbs. Age 6. Team. (Andy x Babe) Littermate to Scott. Emelia has 3 Iditarod finishes and ran the Sweepstakes. She is used in lead occasionally. Incredible endurance, but can be a bit sour sometimes. She gets bored easily, so new trails and races keep her spirits up and that’s when she works the hardest. It was a family affair in the 08 Iditarod; Emelia got to finish with mom (Babe), uncle (Dude) and brother (Scott). Blue – Male. 68 lbs. Age 4. Leader. (Bought him from my brother Cim for $40 ) Blue has 2 Iditarod starts. I’m convinced that every screw in Blues head has rattled loose but he goes like hell. Absolutely insane when the team is getting hooked up. Great leader, takes commands and has no problem heading into the deep snow even if there isn’t a trail. He just likes to go. Does well even with lots of distraction and will find the best route around or through obstacles. Flame – Male. 70 lbs. Age 8. Team. (BJ x Phoenix) Littermate to Fire. Flame has 6 Iditarod starts and 5 finishes. He works too hard. He will lead when asked. Definitely the alpha male of the kennel. Fast trotter, hard driver, likes to go and doesn’t cause trouble. He jumps 3 feet in the air lunging to go; even at Shaktoolik. Thea – Female. 48 lbs. Age 8. Very dedicated leader. (Smyth and Willis cross) She has 6 Iditarod starts and 3 finishes. She is extremely affectionate and will do her very best for anyone who runs her. Loves to eat and loves the couch but her first passion is traveling down the trail. She is not as mentally tough as the other females on the team and needs extra praise to keep her confidence up. She can roll right along though and is physically very capable and suited to long distance events. Thea is the mother to Pawn and Bishop, both young leaders on my current team. Sand – Male. 60 lbs. Age 10. Swing. (Squire x Wobie). Nephew to Phoenix. Sand has 7 Iditarod starts and 5 finishes. Next to Dude, he ranks right up there as one of the toughest dogs I have ever known. Dedicated worker, wants to go on every run. He is crazy about traveling and racing. Barks and growls when on the line and likes to get everyone riled up. One of the main guys I can count on time and time again. Fire – Female. 52 lbs. Age 8. Leader ( BJ x Phoenix). Littermate to Flame. Fire works too hard. She is a very intense and somewhat shy dog. Very quirky personality but flawless in lead. She is a lifetime loper but just decided to start trotting this season. She prefers long distance travel to training runs, she likes to camp and get in the groove of things….it helps her relax. Fire has started 5 Iditarods with 3 finishes. Pawn – Female. 41 lbs. Age 4. Leader (Dude x Thea). Littermate to Bishop. Sensitive but driven. Pawn is pretty happy-go-lucky most of the time. She is fast and lopes along quite effortlessly while putting in a good hard days work. Doesn’t seem to get tired. She didn’t get Dudes toughness but certainly has his amazing endurance. A picky eater, but will eat anything my daughter feeds her even straight bonemeal. Great feet.Bishop – Male. 70 lbs. Age 4. Leader (Dude x Thea). Not quite as sensitive as his sister, but certainly not a ‘tough guy’. Honest, good-hearted and the fastest trotter in the kennel. I think he even surprises himself. Sets a fast pace and is always looking ahead, ears perked, excited to see what’s around the next corner. Coke – Male. 58 lbs. Age 4. Swing. (Bear x Ash) Coke’s mother was a littermate to Flame and Fire. Pretty much the invisible dog. Just keeps working hard, easy keeper, few injuries, and fantastic attitude. He is working his way up the ladder and is an upcoming main team dog.Queen – Female. 49 lbs. Age 5. Team. (Lester Erhart bloodlines; owned by Lloyd Charlie). Queen ran the ONAC for the Erhart family. She gives 100%. She has started Iditarod 3 times. She is quite shy but gets along with every dog in the kennel, never causes trouble and is a great eater. I camped the team between Ophir and Cripple, it was 55 below, and I woke up to find Queen had dug up a wolf and was chewing on a leg bone. Lopes full time.Scott – Male. 55 lbs. Age 6. Leader. (Andy x Babe). Littermate to Emelia. A real power-house! His hard driving attitude packs a punch. As soon as I say ‘hike’ you can hear Scott yelping for a few seconds until he gets the team up to the desired speed; fast! He finished the 07 and 08 Iditarods in lead alongside his mom, Babe. Zeus – Male. 66 lbs. Age 4. Trail leader. (Bear x Phoenix). Littermate to Thor and Hera. Zeus is one of the sweetest dogs in the kennel and he also drives the team like a freight train when he’s in lead. Zeus = speed (thanks to his mothers super genes). Lopes, trots and paces. Went to Elim in 2008 Iditarod. Ran the Sweepstakes race in lead for my brother Cim. When loose, he likes to walk right by your side to be sure and get petted as much as possible. Thor – Male. 60 lbs. Age 4. Team. (Bear x Phoenix). Thor has by far the best attitude for long distance racing. He is very dedicated to his job, doesn’t let anything bother him and he is always happy with whatever is going on. I haven’t seen him tired yet. Finished last year’s Iditarod tail wagging and checking out the spectators to see what kind of adventure was going to happen next. Lucky for Thor, he also got to race the Sweepstakes. Great eater, great feet. Yoshie – Male. 55 lbs. Age 5. Leader. (Lloyd Charlie bloodlines). Loves to be in lead. Yoshie is a very hard worker. Finished 2007 Iditarod and went to Koyuk this last year. He is fun loving and a true opportunist for having a good time; any trail is a good one. Pays attention to everything; from watching me pack my sled to putting the lines and harnesses away. A complete character. Outside of Rohn, Yoshie decided to circumvent the glacier by climbing the cliff. That was quite an experience for the team.Barley – Male 58 lbs. Age 2. (Flint x Ash). He is an upcoming Super Dog. Barley is from a crop of 2 year olds that is turning out to be absolutely phenomenal. Both of his brothers are on the main team too. He may get his chance to run Iditarod this season. He is incredibly tough, has amazing fortitude and is a really nice guy.Flint – Male, 58 lbs. Age 12. Team/Wheel. Retired since 2007. (Sir x Crusher). Flint has finished all 6 Iditarods that he has entered, even leading the team under the burled arch one year. He pretty much has all the characteristics of a distance sled dog; good feet, good appetite, fast, good endurance, loves to race and manages to stay uninjured. He has a bit of a sour attitude towards training, but I’ve never had a problem with him in race. He’s the father to several of our good 2 year olds and many of our yearlings. These days Flint stays in shape by running along in the puppy team.
