We attended the wedding of fellow Pennsylvania Sled Dog Club members Jessica Givens & Chris Bannister this past weekend. They left the wedding ceremony on a beautifully decorated gig and drove their 7 dogs to the reception hall, where they were greeted by friends and family.

The weather co-operated and gave the new couple a few precious hours of sunlight for the wedding and dog-drawn ride to the fun-filled reception. Jessica had described her dream sled ( with touches of her signature bight pink color ) to close friends before. Doug & Joh Heitz, Johnn and I were thrilled to be able to make her dream into a wedding presnt.

Why is it almost every so-called “dryland” event turns into “wetland” ?  I’m almost done washing clothes, harnesses, etc - but I’m not a mud fan. I still need to wash muddy paw prints off the van.

Other than some wet weather, we had a great weekend !  Johnn won two classes ( 4 dog rig & 2 Dog Scooter) - beating out the multi-ISDRA medalist teams from the Dittmar kennel in Wisconsin. He and Rusty even placed second in the 2 dog Bike-Jor. Not bad for one dog and a 60+ year old musher.

The two yearlings from Ken & Lori Chezik’s kennel are progressing wonderfully. They both ran on the 4 dog rig team - with Henry running at lead both days. Attending these dryland races have given him lots of confidence and experience.

The Ohio Dryland race had 50 entries from Ontario, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, New York and, of course, Ohio. Because of the involvment of the Greater Clevland Siberian Club, we saw a real cross-section of sled dog people - from just beginning recreational teams to the pros like the Dittmars. A well organized, fun race.

Our next event will be the Fair Hills Challenge organized by the Pennsylvania Sled Dog Club in Fair Hills, Maryland on December 6 & 7. We are signed up as vendors, so contact us early for any sled deliveries. We will also have plastic and gift certificates (THINK CHRISTMAS) available there.

PS - I did not fall or get injuried in Ohio. I’m healing rather rapidly. We’ve been watching the black/blue/purple/now some yellow color just below my eyes - real attractive !

After a successful and fun week in Gettysburg, PA at the National Siberian Specialty I arrived home Friday night about 10 PM.  We took out sleds, put in dog carts, generally re-organized the van and got a few hours sleep before leaving Saturday morning about 5:30 AM for the Can-Am Sledders race in Sinnemahoning PA.

We had a great time and the dogs went really well ! We’re real proud of the boys. Johnn ran the pups - Billie & Henry on the 4 dog team. Henry even ran double lead on Sunday.He’s getting more confident every weekend.

Johnn won the 4 Dog Rig class, the 2 dog scooter, and 1 dog bike with Rusty. He was even featured on the local TV station at 7 PM & 11 PM Saturday night.

I, however, stole the spotlight Sunday. While leading Johnn’s team back to the van after crossing the finish line, I tripped and fell, head first onto asphalt. Since the dogs were still pulling me, it was a major crash. I lost most of the skin on my forehead, and scrapped up the bridge and both sides of my nose. The right knee is also skinned up; andI have  a hair-line fracture on my right thumb. I’m just hoping that when all the new skin grows back on my face, it’ll be wrinkle-free.

We will be packing up in a few days and heading for the Ohio Dryland Race.  We hope that Johnn has more successful runs and I have an uneventful weekend.