The three Iditarod rookies introduced in this segment of Rookie Review include Jed Stephensen who lives in Idaho, Eddie Burke Jr. who grew up in anchorage and Hunter Keefe from Michigan.  all live in the lower 48. 

Jed Stephensen who lives with his wife and twin sons in Sandpoint, Idaho, grew up in Germany where his father served in the Army.  Adorning their home was a set of moose antlers that traveled with the family from Alaska.  The antlers and books about mushing by Gary Paulson  and Jack London that Jed’s father read to him were the call to the north for Stephensen.  Jed wanted those stories to be real life experiences for his boys so with the blessing of his wife he bought his first sled dogs.

To further his dream of Iditarod, Jed has worked with Iditarod veterans Billy Snodgrass and Linwood Fiedler.  He has participated in the Eagle Cap 200, the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge 300 and Montana’s Race to the Sky 300.  He is one of only 4 people who have finished the Rocky Mountain Triple Crown which consists of 800 miles of racing over three and a half weeks.  He’s been honored with a Sportsmanship Award and ‘Best Cared for Dog Team’ Award.

Jed says that the journey to the Iditarod has been a pilgrimage into his soul where he has discovered the value of family, grit, loyalty and God.  Stephensen an ER nurse, is building the family homestead and enjoys running ultra-marathons and gardening.

Eddie Burke Jr. is taking over the Wildstyle Racing team for Aaron Burmeister.  Burmeister, born into a mushing family has finished 21 Iditarod runs with eight finishes in the top ten.  After the 50th Iditarod, Burmeister announced he’d be stepping off the runners in favor of spending time with his family.  The leader of Wildstyle Racing says he will always have dogs and will continue to enjoy the sport of mushing with his children but for the time being he is turning the sled over to Burke.

In 2020, Eddie took on the job of handler at Wildstyle Racing.  A year later he took a young team to his and their first race.  That first season included several challenging races.  The last race of the season was the Ididn’trod 200 Invitational.  Burke and team claimed gold in the race, a very proud moment and reason to celebrate all they had accomplished that season.  He has participated in the Kobuk 440, the Kusko 300, the Yukon Quest 300 and the Willow 300 as well as several other races.  Burke claimed 3rd place in the 2023 Kusko behind Peter Kaiser and Matthew Failor. 

Eddie is very grateful to mentor Tony Browning and to mentor and sponsor Arron Burmeister.  Burke has been training the Wildstyle team on trails around Nenana.  Burke who grew up in Anchorage says, “There are things in life that find you, even though you were never expecting them.  That is how I feel about dog mushing.  This sport and lifestyle is not for everyone, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.  When not training dogs, Burke enjoys spending time with his daughter.       

Hunter Keefe has dreamed of becoming a musher since he watched he was 7 years old.  Keefe who grew up in Michigan calls himself an Iditarod freak saying, “I watched every Insider clip and every mushing movie I could find.”  During middle school he started running dogs at a Michigan kennel near his home town.  

Hunter moved to Alaska in August of 2018 to work for the Girdwood Mushing Company.  Since arriving in Alaska, he’s worked with Nic Petit, Raymie Redington, Ryan Redington and Robert Redington.    Keef has a couple dogs of his own but will be running Raymie Redington dogs throughout the 2023 season and for Iditarod.  Just recently, Hunter earned 2nd place in the Willow 300 following Nic Petit to the finish line.

Keefe hopes that the 2023 Iditarod is the beginning of a long mushing career.  His goal for the 2023 Iditarod is to realize the potential of each dog and finish with a healthy happy team.

Comeback soon to meet the final three rookie mushers participating in Iditarod 2023.