Laura Neese, 23, was raised on a small farm in Newark, Ohio. She and her oldest sister raised Boer goats, and she also participated in 4-H for eight years, training and showing their five family dogs. She says she fell in love with the sport of dog mushing and long distance racing at the age of nine, when her family followed the Iditarod as a home school project. After four years of learning about the sport, she started a small kennel in Ohio and began running shot races in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. She graduated from high school at age 16 and then went on to receive an Associate’s Degree in Veterinary Technology at Penn Foster College in Arizona two years later. In 2014, she moved to McMillan, Michigan, to pursue her dream of long distance racing at Nature’s Kennel in the Upper Peninsula. She says, “I have been blessed with the opportunity to train and race our Nature’s Kennel team throughout North America for the past five years. 1,000 mile races are my favorite. The 2020 Iditarod will be my fourth. In addition to my rookie Iditarod in 2017, I have completed two Yukon Quests and finished third in 2018. My team and I are looking forward to returning to the Iditarod this year.” Laura lists her hobbies as Maple Syrup, fishing and playing in the woods.