A total of 12 rookies are set to take the trail in Iditarod’s Gold Trail Loop of 2021. There are three women and nine men attempting to complete the race for the first time. Ah you say, but what about Sean Underwood? He ran in 2020, so is he still considered a rookie?Sean scratched in Safety and because he has not finished the race, he’s still considered a rookie. By the way, only a first year rookie can earn rookie of the year honors. The rookie class is a diverse group and includes a cowboy, nurse, diesel mechanic, many wilderness guides, sled dog tour guides and full time mushers. To meet all the rookies, please read Parts I and II of the previously posted Eye on the Trail Rookie Review.
#47 Sean Underwood – Talkeetna
After graduating from college, Sean spent time in Central and South America getting to know relatives and becoming fluent in Spanish through cultural immersion. He ventured to Alaska in 2015 to commercial fish for sockeye salmon. He enjoyed summers so much he decided to stay for the winter and found work with Jeff King at Husky Homestead. Sean completed his qualifiers and when King had emergency surgery a few days before the 2020 race, Sean was able to take over the team. Sean scratched at the final checkpoint before Nome when the group of mushers he was with encountered serious overflow. Because he hasn’t finished the race, he returns in 2021 as a rookie. Underwood is now working with Dallas Seavey out of Talkeetna and will be running a Seavey team around the 2021 loop. His motto is “KEEP CALM, MUSH SEAN!”
#31 Susannah Tuminelli – Willow
A lover of dogs and the out-of-doors, Susannah grew up in Massachusetts. Right after college she moved out west to build hiking trails with the Montana Conservation Corps. Winters brought her to the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota where she began mushing and guided youth on winter camping expeditions. She says her life hasn’t been the same since taking to the runners during that first mushing experience. In 2018 Susannah moved to Alaska to live and work with Kathleen Fredericks at Shameless Huskies Kennel in Willow. Tuminelli has spent the past two winters qualifying for the Iditarod through mid-distance races including the Willow 300 and the Copper Basin 300. Susannah says she thrives in situations of true wilderness exploration, self-sufficiency and adventure.
#35 Sean Williams – Chugiak
Sean Williams lists his residence as Chugiak. He is an instructor with the Alaska Mushing School. He’s completed his qualifying races and will take to the Iditarod’s Gold Loop Trail in March of 2021. No other Biography information is available at this time. Good luck Sean!
#18 Chad Stoddard – Anchorage
While Chad’s first love might have been basketball, his passion has since transferred to the indomitable sled dog. He was born in Alaska but grew up on a small island in Washington State. After college he took his first job working with sled dogs at Alaska Icefield Expeditions. Since then he’s also guided tours out of Juneau at Gold Rush Dog Tours and in Wyoming for Iditarod veteran Billy Snodgrass. He has also worked in Alaska’s commercial fishing industry. In 2018 Chad went north to Fairbanks and has helped 4-time Iditarod Champion Lance Mackey at Comeback Kennel. Stoddard will drive a young Mackey team around the Gold Trail Loop. Chad loves the simple strong life, the dogs, the challenge, and the connection to the land and its people. He looks forward to following in the sled tracks of his great-grandfather who delivered mail in Alaska close to the time of the Serum Run.
#12 Hal Hanson – Kenai
Training and working with animals is who Hal Hanson is. He grew up on a ranch in Oklahoma helping his father take care of and train cows and horses. He became a full time farrier with a business that encompassed a five state area. He calls himself a cowboy who got tired of the heat common to the plains states and decided to move north to Alaska. His first endeavor was training sprint dogs with a musher who lived along the Yukon River in Tanana. With Iditarod in his heart since a young age, Hal decided to seek an opportunity in long-distance mushing. In 2017 he relocated to the Kenai Peninsula. He took a job with 3-time Iditarod champion Mitch Seavey at Ididaride Dog Sled Tours where he started out as a yearling handler. Hall will be running a team of two-year old Seavey dogs that he’s been training since birth for Iditarod.
