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Dallas returns to the race he loves - part 2

Dallas Seavey (34) has a strong group of 34 dogs this year consisting of the best from his father's kennel and the best from his own kennel. In March, he will return to Iditarod, the race he grew up with and the one that means the most to him.

In 2021, Dallas is back on the race format he is familiar with. He is excited to see how much has changed during these last three years while he hasn't participated.

READ: DALLAS RETURNS TO THE RACE HE LOVES - PART 1

“It was a really valuable education for me”

Dallas believes that competing in the Finnmark's race has made him a better dog musher. He raised in Norway in 2018 and in 2019.

“I've always wanted to go to the Finnmark race and it was fun to do something different with dogs. New experiences like this make us rethink how we do things and not just follow the routines and habits we've always had with the Iditarod. I feel like there's a lot of experience gained in visiting other mushers and kennels while in Norway, Sweden and Finland and it's a lot of just thought provoking conversations that I had with different mushers over a cup of coffee or visiting their kennel. I know that I am a different musher now for having had those experiences."


Finnmark 2019 Dallas QRILL Team



He also spent quite a bit of time being a reporter for QRILL PAWS commentating on the Beargrease race in Minnesota, the Femund race in Norway, the Volga Quest in Russia and then on the Iditarod last year.

“That was a neat opportunity. I think it was a good educational experience for me. The chance to get to follow these races at a time when I didn't have anything to do really. I was able to spend the entire event focused on how the mushers were racing, what they did well and what I felt was a mistake that they made.”


Runs a tourism business

In addition to running sled dog races, Dallas has a large tourist kennel that he manages. He has seven employees this season. They keep track of the practicalities of the tourism business, while Dallas himself does all the office work and planning ahead.

“We have about 120 dogs in total at the kennel, and that’s the most dogs I've ever had. It takes a lot of people to take care of that many dogs properly. We have a tourism business that runs both summer and winter. I don't personally guide any of the tours. I might say hello to the guests when they are here at the kennel, but I'm not the head guide for any of those tours, so most of my work with the tourism business is from a managerial perspective.”


Dallas & Sled


Bees, chickens and pigs

Many people know Dallas as one of the world's best dog mushers, but what you may not have known is that he also has bees, chickens and pigs, and that one of his hobbies is to grow his own food and make wine.

“I have about a hundred acre farm here in Talkeetna. We had made a massive garden this last summer, mostly root vegetables, potatoes and carrots and rutabagas and things like that. It's just something fun to do with my daughter who is 10 years old. We also have chickens and a couple of pigs for pork and bacon and whatnot. One of those pigs I'm going to be keeping through the winter and then breeding her, so that we can have piglets in the spring”.


Dallas is also hoping to grow the bee farm or the apiary over the next few years, together with the berry garden with blackcurrants and strawberries and raspberries which turns into delicious homemade wine.

“It’s very rewarding and fun when you sit down to have a meal and you can look at your plate and almost everything on it it's grown here or it was the meat or the fish that we caught or the eggs that came from our chickens”.

READ: BASIC NUTRITION OF OUR BEST FRIEND, THE DOG: LET'S TALK ABOUT DIGESTION

A team that can win

There is only one race on the calendar for Dallas this year; Iditarod. His last participation in that race was in 2017, when his father won. Dallas came to Nome in second place that year.
The goal for the 2021-race is the same as always.

Dallas arrive in Nome (final)


“I cannot hope for anything better than to show up at the starting line in March with a dog team that is capable of winning the Iditarod. That is always my goal. I want to bring out the best in each dog individually and then I want to meld them into the best potential dog team that they can. I believe if I do that, they will be capable of winning the Iditarod”.

 

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