Former Mink Farmer Wins Iditarod Race

Doug Swingley, a former mink rancher, won the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in March 2000 finishing in 9 days and 58 minutes. He defended his 1999 title and finished more than one hour faster than his 1995 record win. Swingley won $60,000 of a $525,000 purse, a new pickup truck and became the fifth musher to win the Iditarod more than once.

Before he became a full-time sled-dog racer, Swingley was a mink farmer in the Simms, Montana area. From 1976-1991, Swingley raised 3,500 Alaskan Ranch Wild females, which are a longer nap, reddish mink. Today the former mink farmer raises Alaskan Huskies and trains them to run sled-dog races. He has about 100 dogs in his kennel and sells about 50 dogs a year of various age groups to other racers. He's been involved in sled-dog racing since 1989, and sold his mink farm so he could devote all of his time to the sport.

Good Genetics and Fine Breeding

In an article focusing on breeding the best dog, Swingley offered that the really functional sled dog is trim, light on their feet, and athletic. "I am finding now that the best dogs, female or male, are about fifty pounds. I don't try to race with dogs more than fifty-two or three pounds at the most. The bigger sixty-pound males can really be impressive, but eventually the physical challenges of keeping up with the lighter built dogs are too much. I see a lot of mushers with great teams of bigger dogs, but when it comes down to crunch time later in a race like the Iditarod, they just can't compete with the lighter built dogs. You really have to watch your breeding program. If you wake up one morning two years later after your nice pups grow up and realize they are sixty pound dogs, you have a nice team, but not a winning team."(1)

Swingley also won Minnesota's Grand Portage Passage Sled Dog Race in January 2000 and is a two-time Beargrease Marathon Champion (1994 and 1996). He is a member of the Montana Mountain Mushers and the Iditarod Trail Committee (ITC), and lives in Lincoln, Montana.

Iditarod History

The Iditarod Sled Dog Race commemorates a life-saving run from Nenena to Nome, Alaska. In 1925, the town of Nome was threatened by an outbreak of diphtheria with bad weather grounding airplanes while the diphtheria serum for vaccinating the townspeople against this life-threatening disease ran low. To save the town, dog teams ran the serum from Nenena to Nome, a distance of 675 miles, in 127.5 hours. The wonders of medical research were carried by canines, man's best friend, to the outbacks of Alaska, saving a town from disaster.

The commemorative Iditarod Sled Dog Race begins in Anchorage during the first weekend in March. From the first 20 day run in 1973, the times have fallen to under 10 days. At the end of the race, Nome becomes quite a center of activity. Scheduled activities include a potluck dinner, several crafts shows, the race awards ceremonies including an opportunity to meet the mushers, and an Alaskan sized basketball tournament (over 50 teams attend the competition). There is also the Ice Golf Classic and a darts tournament. Visitors planning on attending the finish of the race should make advance plans for accommodations, as last minute planning is usually not viable.

--- with thanks to Fur Rancher Magazine which reported on Swingley in their Summer 2000 issue.

NOTES:

(1) "August l999 Conversation with 1999 Iditarod Sled Dog Race Winner Doug Swingley and a September 1999 visit to the Swingley Kennel", with photos, all by Joe Runyan, at Joe Runyan's Iditarod Updates.

Official Iditarod site is at www.iditarod.com Photos of Doug Swingley at www.iditarod.com/00-album/thumbs-2.htm Race results for Iditarod 2000 at www.iditarod.com/00-updates/latest.html Bio for mushers, including Swingley, at www.dogsled.com/musher_bios/swingley-d.shtml

For further information contact: Teresa Platt, Executive Director, Fur Commission USA, PMB 506, 826 Orange Avenue, Coronado, CA 92118-2698 USA, (619) 575-0139, (619) 272-2467/fax, furfarmers@aol.com, www.furcommission.com. See also Teresa's blog and Facebook.

To take a cyber-tour of a fur farm, visit FCUSA's Fur on Film.

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