Following the Iditarod from home can be almost as exciting as being out on the trail. It brightens the month of March considerably for spectators in the northern hemisphere who are anxiously awaiting spring. The fantastic Insider crew has new videos up for your enjoyment so make sure your insider subscription is up to date. Race guides are available from the Iditarod store, order yours ASAP! Lastly, get to know the mushers through the race guide or their biographies available at Iditarod.com.
To help you become familiar with the 2025 rookies, I’ve done research on all of the rookies and combined facts from their bios, their personal webpage and collected information on the races they’ve run this season then combined them into a short but detailed profile. With sixteen rookies, there will be several parts to the Rookie Review posted during the week prior to race day.
The first group of rookies would be considered second year rookies. They have attempted Nome previously but scratched along the way. Quince, Brenda, Calvin, Connor and Bryce are not TRUE rookies in that they have seen some of the trail during a previous race. None of these second year rookies would be eligible for rookie of the year honors. So, let’s meet the five of the sixteen 2025 rookie class.
Quince Mountain and his wife, musher Blair Braverman, call Mountain, Wisconsin home. Quince attempted Iditarod in 2020 but scratched in Unalakleet. This year he looks forward to seeing the entire coast for the first time. Braverman is a veteran of the 2019 Iditarod.
Quince never expected to become a musher but when he was dating Braverman and it snowed, he found himself on the runners and felt joy and exhilaration, emotions he feels even now after eight years behind dogs. Mountain will be running huskies from BraverMountain Mushing, a kennel he and his wife own and operate.
Quince is the first openly trans Iditarod competitor. In so doing, he has helped pave the way for other trans competitors. Mountain also appeared on Naked and Afraid. Both are extremely grueling outdoor contests and neither segregate by gender. What matters is skill and resourcefulness. Iditarod has always been known for men and women competing side by side.
Brenda Mackey, a second year rookie from Fairbanks is back to earn the coveted Iditarod finisher’s belt buckle. She attempted Iditarod in 2021 but scratched in Nikolai. Brenda, her husband Will Rhodes own and operate Mackey’s Alaskan Distance Dogs out of Two Rivers. Rhodes completed his rookie Iditarod in 2024.
Since the age of five when her father captured Iditarod gold, Brenda has held the dream of running The Last Great Race On Earth. Brenda began running one-dog kid’s sprint races at the age of three. One year after her father won the Yukon Quest in 1997, Brenda who was 19 years old entered and finished her first 1,000-mile race. Brenda who has grown up with dogs developed a passion for breeding dogs and has been doing so since the age of 13. She enjoys selecting breeding pairs and raising the pups to be championship athletes.
To say the least, the Mackey family has a very storied history in Iditarod. Since the beginning of the race, 53 years ago, there has been at least one Mackey racing in 47 of those 53 races. Between grandfather Dick, father Rick and Uncle Lance the Mackey’s own 6 Iditarod Championships! That makes for a lot of bragging rights and likely great conversation at family dinners. All eyes will be on Brenda and her uncle Jason as they carry on the family’s legendary Iditarod history.
Calvin Daugherty of Eagle River was just 12 years old when he helped his father train for the Iditarod and he’s been mushing ever since. In 2020 at the age of 17 he ran his rookie Jr. Iditarod with a team of Northern Whites under the tutelage of his father Larry Daugherty and veteran musher Jim Lanier. He’s wanted to do the Iditarod ever since reading about it as a kid.
Watching his father leave the start line on his Iditarod runs has really fueled Calvin’s desire to make the 1,000 mile run to Nome himself. He says, “I love the sport of mushing. It’s all about the dogs for me.” Daugherty entered the 2024 Iditarod but scratched in Shaktoolik so in 2025, he’s a second year rookie running Mitch Seavey’s two-year-old puppy team.
Calvin enjoys ice climbing, rock climbing and mountaineering. He grew up in Eagle River, AK and graduated from Chugiak High School where he participated in wrestling. Calvin earned 10th in the 2024 Copper Basin 300. Calvin extends his sincere thanks to his mentors and sponsors who have helped him get to the 2025 Iditarod start.
Connor McMahon lives in Carcross, Yukon Territory and operates Feral Racing Dog Sled Tours. Connor grew up in southern Ontario and was introduced to working dogs at the age of fifteen. While managing a kennel of security dogs he learned the importance of proper training and happy dogs. Early on he learned how to instill confidence in dogs through positive reinforcement. He says, “Through carefully observing the dogs in their environment, I was able to see the world through their eyes and learn how they relate to their surroundings.” After acquiring a Malamute, Connor built a sled out of skies and scrap wood. The Malamute, Chumie was his lead and only dog. From their very first run, Chumie and Connor were hooked on sledding.
Feral Racing Dogs Tours is home for twenty-plus dogs and Connor has been racing 5 years – Yukon Quest, Percy DeWolfe Memorial Mail Run, Canadian Challenge and Caledonia Classic. Earlier this race season, Connor placed 6th in the Yukon Quest 450 and 24th in the Copper Basin 300. McMahon has handled for Canadian musher Aaron Peck and appreciates his mentorship. McMahon is a second year rookie. In 2024, McMahon reached Galena on the Yukon River before scratching.
Bryce Mumford watched a television series about the Iditarod back in 2009. He thought he’d like to try mushing. Living in Preston, Idaho he was able to connect with an Iditarod veteran, Sue Morgan. After one ride, he was hooked. He began to acquire sled dogs and mushing became a three generation family affair – Bryce’s daughter and his father have all taken to the runners, help in training and compete. Mumford is a veteran of multiple races including the Eagle Cap Extreme 200, Race to the Sky 300 and the 100 and 300 mile Idaho Sled Dog Challenge.
Bryce works as a full time mail carrier for the United States Postal Service. There is a well-documented connection between mushing and mail delivery that spans many decades. Iditarod mushers carry trail mail to commemorate mail delivery to the gold mining towns as well as remote Alaska villages by sled dogs. In Minnesota, the famed Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon is named after John Beargrease – a mushing mail carrier. Of course we can’t forget the relay of mail carriers who transported the serum back in 1925. Mumford is a second year rookie after scratching at Unalakleet in 2024.
Comeback tomorrow and meet another handful of the 2025 rookies. In the meantime, I offer congratulations to Emily Robinson who has set a new Jr. Iditarod record by winning her fourth Jr. Iditarod. After the 2024 Jr. Iditarod, Emily was previously tied with Tim Osmar at three wins. Osmar achieved his wins in 1982, ’83 and ’84. Check out the story at Eye on the Jr.
