This is the final segment of Rookie Review. Starting position was determined last evening in front of 1,100 race fans at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage during the Musher Banquet. Tonight, snow will be dropped and spread on 4th Avenue and Cordova Street creating the in-town portion of the 11 mile ceremonial route. On Saturday, thousands of spectators will line the route seeking a glimpse of their favorite musher and the chance to wish him or her well. At 10:00 Jr. Iditarod champion, Stanley Robinson, will transport the representative of Honorary Musher Mary Shields to the start banner and along the route to Campbell Airstrip. On Sunday the Restart takes place in Willow at 2:00 pm.
Joey Sabin an animal lover since he was a kid, grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Starting in 2017 as a handler for Sven Haltmen, he’s been running dogs for nearly ten years. Since then he’s spent many summers on the glaciers working for Alaska Icefield Expeditions and in Seward for Dallas Seavey. In 2020 he started building his own kennel in Voyageur National Park in northern Minnesota. Wanting to focus on racing, he moved back to Alaska. He met his partner Willoe Maynard who at the time was working to establish her own kennel. Together they establish Voyageur Outdoor Adventure in Two Rivers. They have 32 sled dogs, a Jack Russel Terrier named Stevie Nicks and a fearless cat. Joey’s race resume includes the Copper Basin 300, Yukon Quest 300 and the Yukon Quest 550. Joey told Northernwolf reporters that Iron Will was his favorite movie when growing up. He figured out ways to bike, rollerblade and skateboard using his pet dogs as the power source. In grade school, Joey’s teachers used Iditarod as a theme for projects. Sled dogs and running the Iditarod have been on his mind for a very long time.
Adam Lindenmuth was born in Portland, Oregon and raised in east Texas. Now he lives in Caswell, Alaska with his 26 dogs at Sojourn Kennel. He’s been mushing for nearly 10 years and began racing in 2019. Adam was pursuing a career in engineering when he decided to return to guiding and soon he was called to sled dogs and racing. Adam has a connection to the Iditarod National Historic trail through hiking on other national trails – the Continental Divide Trail, the Arizona Trail and the Pacific Quest Trail. He established his own kennel and began building his team with the idea of breeding, raising and training his own pups to run the Iditarod. Lindenmuth has run the Copper Basin 300, the Yukon Quest 300, the Knik 200, the Two Rivers 200 and the Goose Bay 150. He’s also handled and raced dogs for Kathleen Frederick. He appreciates the advice he’s received from Iditarod veterans Matt Hall, Jessie Holmes and Robert Redington.
Sadie Lindquist was born and raised in Moose Pass, Alaska. She is a lover of animals and the out-of-doors. Sadie grew up around mushing as her father and Iditarod veteran Mitch Seavey are longtime friends. Sadie’s father Dave, entered the 1998 Iditarod with a Seavey team but scratched near mile 800. Her own mushing career started when she was 16 with the unglamourous job of poop scooper (aka handler). She returned year after year and worked her way up in the Seavey Ididaride organization to be a guide, and tour manager and in the past few years has fully directed her efforts at the Seavey kennel to training and running the puppy team. This year, Sadie will be running the Seavey yearling team to Nome. Sadie says, “I’m running Iditarod because I love these dogs, this lifestyle, my wild parents, my home state and its history. This race is how I will live that love to the fullest.” Sadie also credits Iditarod veteran Calvin Daugherty for both inspiration and mentorship for this Iditarod journey. Besides the winter sport of mushing, Sadie is an avid hockey player and snowboarder. Through mushing, Sadie has experienced a bond with her dogs that goes far beyond what most people have with their house pets. She says, “The musher depends on the dogs and the dogs depend on the musher which requires an enormous amount of mutual respect and trust.”
