Part II of the Rookie Review introduces the mushers who’ve listed Fairbanks and Two Rivers as home. They may have all had front row seats for the alternating start and finish of the Yukon Quest as well as the Iditarod Fairbanks starts of 2003, 2015 and 2017. Many of them have participated in 100 and 200-mile races sponsored by the Two River’s Dog Mushers Association.
#22 Joanna Jagow – Fairbanks
At the age of seven, Joanna Jagow was following behind her dad with a small team of dogs while he ran his trap line on the Porcupine River. The family lived a subsistence life style of hunting, fishing and trapping. That experience sparked her dream of having her own race team. She bought her first sled dog when she was in high school and thereafter had her first litter of pups – a race team is born! She found time to train and participate in a few mid-distance races in the Two Rivers area while in college and working on her degree in nursing. She completed her degree in 2016 and currently works as a pediatric nurse at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. Over the past six years, she’s been active in the mid-distance circuit with her eye on long distance. She’s completed the Yukon Quest 300, the Percy De Wolfe and Kuskokwim 300. Her dogs are a mix of Mackey, Kleedehn and Cadzow lines.
#19 Christopher Parker – Fairbanks
Once Christopher started mushing, he was amazed by the ability, attitude and resilience of the sled dog. As he started to push them and push himself, he saw depths of energy and strength that he never knew existed. During the 2021 Gold Trail Loop, Parker wants to test his own limits and see with his own eyes what the canine athletes are capable of. He has built his own long-distance dog team while working for racing and touring dog kennels. He’s run several mid-distance races. Chris prides himself in being devoted to each individual dog, knowing the dog and maximizing its potential.
#30 Joshua McNeal – Fairbanks
Josh McNeal grew up in Washington. He’d never had any experience with sled dogs until he went to school in Fairbanks. During his senior year of college he worked for Iditarod veteran Ken Anderson. Josh helped Ken train his team for his 17th and final Iditarod. Josh took a job in southern Alaska and moved to the Kenai Peninsula then bought a house in Kasilof. Anderson decided to sell his team and Josh decided this was his opportunity to acquire quality dogs that he was familiar with. Thus, Crooked Creek Kennel was born. Josh has qualified for Iditarod with the Kobuk 440 and the Kusko 300. According to Josh there is no better feeling than traveling down the trail with his dog team enjoying the rugged outdoor life and the stunningly beautiful state of Alaska.
#5 Jeremy Traska – Two Rivers
Jeremy Traska was born and raised in Meridian, Idaho. He moved to Alaska to study math but his attention was soon diverted to sled dogs, summer style. Jeremy took a job with Gold Rush Dog Tours out of Juneau where he introduced sled dogs to tourists through dry land mushing. Dogs are just as spectacular on bare ground as they are on snow. Soon he realized college would not prepare him to do what he most wanted to do in life, MUSHING. He started his own team and began training with aspiring Iditarod musher and ever-smiling Shaynee Seipke. They married and Shaynee Traska completed her first Iditarod in 2018. The couple operates Howling Ridge Kennel. They have raised all but one of the dogs in their kennel from birth and together they live their dream of exploring the Alaskan wilderness with their 43 kids. During the summer, Jeremy works with sled dogs at Alaska Icefield Expeditions on the Mendenhall Glacier.
#15 Brenda Mackey – Two Rivers
Brenda is a third generation Mackey musher and the only (so far) woman in the family to take to the runners on the Iditarod trail. Along with kennel partner and husband, Will Rhodes, Brenda owns and operates Mackey’s Alaskan Distance Dogs. Since the age of five when her father captured Iditarod gold, Brenda has held the dream of running The Last Great Race On Earth herself. Brenda began running one-dog kid’s sprint races at the age of three with a dog named Fritz. One year after her father won the Yukon Quest in 1997, Brenda who was 19 years old entered and finished the 1,000-mile race. To say the least, the Mackey family has a very storied history in Iditarod. Since the beginning of the race, 49 years ago, there has been at least one Mackey racing in 43 of those 49 races. Brenda brings that number to 44! Between grandfather Dick, father Rick and Uncle Lance the Mackey’s own 6 Iditarod Championships! That would make for a lot of bragging rights and great conversation over Thanksgiving dinner. All eyes will be on Brenda as she carries on the family’s legendary Iditarod history. The great Insider Crew has interviewed Brenda Mackey, subscribers can click her name to view the interview.
