PACK LEADER: Jan Haring, a sled dog musher for 38 years, was happy to talk about her sled at a program at the Stafford Branch of the Ocean County Library. Keeper said, ‘Aren’t I supposed to be at the front of the sled?’ | Image/Article: Rick Mellerup, TheSandpaper.net - New Jersey
There’s more to sled dog racing than the Iditarod and the wilds of Alaska. In fact, sled dogs and sled dog races can be found even in New Jersey.
And while we’re at it, let’s quickly dispel a couple of other myths about sled dog racing.
First of all, sled dog drivers don’t command their teams to start racing by yelling “mush.” The proper term is “hike” – take that, football! Mush, which originated from the French word marche, which means go or run, is too soft of a word to use on the trail, despite sled dogs’...
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In this March 6, 1999 file photo, soap opera star Susan Lucci takes a ride in the sled of musher Rick Mackey at the start of the 27th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska. | Article: Mark Thiessen, AP - Photo: Al Grillo, AP - Alaska Public Media
Rick Mackey, the winner of the 1983 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, has died of lung cancer, his daughter told The Associated Press Wednesday. Mackey, who died Monday, was 71.
The Mackey name is closely tied to the history of the Iditarod, the grueling race that takes mushers and their dog teams 1,000 miles across the Alaska wilderness to the finish line on the Bering Sea coast. Rick’s father, Dick, won the race in 1978, and his late brother Lance won an unprecedented four straight championships from 2007 through 2010.
Rick Mackey was diagnosed with lung cancer two...
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