Aurora Farm's Dog Racing
Our kennel was started in 1984 with Don moving onto Joe Redington Sr.'s dog lot, building a cabin, and collecting sled dogs. He got a *crash and burn* lesson in mushing and proceeded to race and finish the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in 1986 and 87. From there he ran numerous mid-distance races from 87 through 94 and usually placed in the top 5. Janet joined the kennel in 1988 and began handling, caring for, and racing also. Due to family obligations and time restrictions, we slowly started switching out the type of dogs we were running for sprint Alaskan Huskies. We've raced anywhere from limited class (4-8 dogs) and open class (unlimited dogs),and the Womens World Championship in 1995. We've bought many dogs and breedings from top kennels to achieve this purpose. In the last few years, we've trimmed our kennel down to 20 dogs and concentrated on the kids racing, with a few adult races in between. After having a kennel as big as 60 dogs, we've come to the conclusion that quality, not quantity, counts. This has been achieved by very selective breeding and buying good dogs. Even having only 20 dogs and racing them is a full-time commitment. We start training them in Sept., and finish up racing in March. The dogs are on a regular conditioning schedule of runs several times a week and adjusted throughout the race season. We feed a mixture of high quality dry dog food, meat (chicken,beef,liver, etc.), and plenty of water. In addition to the basic care, there's shots, worming, etc. We really enjoy our dogs, especially since the number is down, and can give them more individual attention. They really love it!
On the right is one of Frosty's pups who was a leader on the winning 1998 Open North American team.
On the right is Flash. See his pedigree
here.
Out on the trail.
On right, Don running 4 dog team in Big Lake.