Valley Funale 2006

The Valley Funale was again, a fun time with good food and lots of fun. Manny ran our team in the 10 dog class, finishing the 27 mile loop in 2:11, which was good for a 4th place finish. He said that the dogs were running strong at the start, but he quickly caught his first team within the first 2-3 miles. That team had a 2 minute start on Manny, so he knew that the team was running a tad fast for the beginning of a race; he started riding the drag after a nice pass. He said he held them back until they hit the river, which was soft, slow going...at this point, he just let the dogs run and set their own pace. He quickly caught more teams and attempted a pass, but when the dogs went off trail to go around, they soon floundered in deep, soft snow. Manny attempted to walk the dogs through, but he too fell in the snow. Later, he'd leap frog with another team, passed a few more teams, ended up with a tangle after a bad pass with another team (the driver had no snowhook to hook down that team, so couldn't get off the runners to help untangle that team from our team), etc. Our dogs usually pass alright, so Manny was a little frustrated with the tangles, but all in all, he said it wasn't a big deal. I guess Manny was out there helping a few other teams when they needed it. That's my hubby though...always one of the first to offer assistance if it's needed. :o)

Even with some of the bobbles, Manny said the team ran well and looked strong. It's nice to have a decent finish at the end of what has been a rough season for our kennel. Manny will be taking this team and racing them in his qualifiers next season. They are a nice group of dogs and we're looking forward to our first season of full bore training (thanks to a new job for Manny which allows him winters off...YEAH!!).

Devlyn raced in the 2 dog and had a rough run. His dogs were fresh and STRONG! He ran Herod and Munchkin, and they were almost too much for him. The soft trail did Devlyn in, as he tried to kick and ended up on his knees because his boot punched down in the trail and he lost his footing. He held on, until the dogs hit the turn which flipped the sled. But, Devlyn got up, and ran to catch his team. He finished the run on his knees yet again, as he tried to run and help his dogs up a small hill. Those same 2 dogs went on the run for 2 other juniors, giving one girl the 1st place ribbon and the other girl a 4th or 5th place ribbon. Devlyn ended up with the 7th place ribbon...still, not bad for his rough run.

I'll post pictures as we get them developed. Now, I'm just letting my back heal, and we'll be working with our yearlings and pups until the snow is all gone. Manny plans to take the team out for a 20 miler today, to enjoy the sunshine and this great team. It's a shame that I got hurt and they got sick on our last race, as they are a nice, strong running team. That's alright...we're now focusing on next season. We are very excited to take the things we learned this year and apply them to our training regimen next season. Stay tuned for updates throughout the spring/summer/fall. :o)