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20th of December
The Contest
for Jr. Mushers
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The ManMat company recently held a contest
for Jr. Mushers. We as mushers are well aware of
the high costs of the sport. We also believe in
promoting the sport and encouraging young mushers.
It was in light of these views that we wanted to
engage young mushers, offer encouragement, a chance
for them to be introduced to each other and the
mushing community, and to reward them for the hard
work and training they have already put into their
teams. It is also part of our mission to try to
find avenues to give back to the mushing community
and we thought this was a great way to involve the
youth, but also their families, in a fun and engaging
way.
To enter, each Jr. Musher had to submit a biographical
essay about themselves, their dogs, their mentors
and their inspiration for mushing. The point of
this was to offer them a chance to reflect on why
they are doing, what they are doing, in a way they
may not have considered before. It was also a chance
for us as judges to understand them in a more personal
way. Four of our new distributors, Joann Fortier,
Tim Looney, Al Magaw and Maggie Wey acted as semifinal
judges to select the top 5. We also had a celebrity
judge, Brent Sass, who volunteered his time to help
decide the winners.
While the contest was originally formatted to award
2 winners with ManMat sponsorships, we had a 3-way
tie and decided to sponsor all three. The winners
were Mandy Collins
of Michigan, Jenny
Greger of Montana, and
Dakota Schlosser
of Wisconsin. While these three winners are extremely
deserving, all of the participants offered compelling
and interesting essays. We wish them all success
in the future and know that they all have bright
careers as mushers ahead. The lessons they are learning
about sportsmanship, responsibility and competition
will bode well for them as they go from being Jr.
Mushers to adults, both in the sport and in life.
We look forward to introducing you to the newest
members of Team ManMat and hope that you will follow
along with their racing careers this season and
beyond. They are the future of the sport, and I
for one believe the future is quite bright!
Rodney Lovette
International Sales Manager
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Owner and founder of Wild and Free Mushing, Brent
Sass has been racing and training huskies
for over eight years. Originally from Excelsior,
Minnesota, Sass moved to Alaska in 1998 to attend
the University of Alaska Fairbanks before realizing
that dog mushing was his true calling. Since his
first time in competition, Sass has placed in
over 16 races, including several first place finishes
in some... of Alaska’s most competitive runs.
In doing so, Sass has established himself as one
of the premier sled dog racers in the nation.
He will be in his 6th Yukon Quest and first Iditarod
this season.
In the spring Brent guides custom dog mushing
adventures, and in the summer he speaks about
his mushing life to thousands of guests at Trail
Breaker Kennel in Fairbanks, Alaska. When Brent
is not training or talking about his dogs, he
is running his own small construction business,
Brentwood Enterprises, which specializes in cabin
construction, and remote field work, and property
rental.
http://www.wildandfreealaska.com/
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Mandy
Collins- Michigan, USA
Kennel: Snow Country Racing
Kennel
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Snow-Country-Racing-Kennel/112114685567128
My name is Mandy
Collins and I live in Kalkaska, Michigan with my
parents and three younger brothers. I am a junior
at Kalkaska High School and attend the Visual Imaging
Technology program (graphic design) at Traverse
Bay Area Career Tech Center. I started mushing when
I was eleven. My dad answered an ad in the paper
for some "free" sled dogs. My brothers
and I started out with three dogs, but we soon discovered
that we needed more, now our kennel has grown to
27 dogs. Thankfully my mom found Ken and Lori Chezik
to mentor us, and my mom and dad have become very
good handlers! I have raced in 3 dog, 4 dog and
6 dog classes. I won the bronze medal from ISDRA
in the 4 dog class in 2010 and placed 15th overall
in the 6 dog class last year. I help my brothers
train their teams too, Forest and Drake both won
ISDRA medals last year. My favorite race is the
Kalkaska Winterfest, which my parents help organize.
I created the banner and sweatshirt designs for
Kalkaska Winterfest. When I'm not running dogs I
participate in 4-H, my high school equestrian team,
and work at Kalkaska Animal Hospital.
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Jenny
Greger- Montana, USA
Kennel: Anduril Kennels
Website: www.jennygreger.com
Facebook page: Anduril
Kennels Sled Dog Team (Jenny Greger):
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anduril-Kennels-Sled-Dog-Team-Jenny-Greger/154328661334481
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My name is Jenny
Greger, and I am a 16 year old musher from Livingston,
Montana. I was born into the mushing world because
my dad has been a musher for over 20 years. However,
I didn't totally catch the "mushing bug"
till I got *my *first sled dog puppies from a sled
dog rescue in 2008 that our family and other mushers
helped out with. These puppies and their offspring
make up my kennel of 21 sled dogs. I started out
running short races with my dad's older dogs, but
as soon as I started training my new puppies, I
started running longer and longer races and fell
in love with distance racing. The last 2 years,
I've run the Jr. Race to the Sky twice, the Red
River Sled Dog Derby, the Cascade Quest, and the
Jr. Iditarod. I took 2nd and Best Cared Team at
my first Jr. RTTS, 2nd and Best Cared Team at the
Cascade Quest, 7th and Sportsmanship Award at the
Red River race, 1st and Best Cared Team at my second
Jr.RTTS, and 5th and Rookie of the Year at the Jr.
Iditarod. I love my dogs and make sure they get
the best love and care possible, and I've received
the Best Cared For Team Award at 4 races in the
last 2 seasons. This racing season, I am planning
on running the Jr. Race to the Sky and Jr. Iditarod
again in addition to the Jr. John Beargrease. I
also have 2 Belgian Shepherds that I do AKC dog
shows, agility, obedience, and 4-H with in the summer.
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Dakota
Schlosser- Wisconsin, USA
www.sleddogsystems.com
| Dakota
Schlosser is 13 years old and lives in Westboro,
Wisconsin. He has been mushing since he was 5 years
old. His family owns Sled Dog Systems dogsleds.
Dakota currently is a member of ISDRA, Wisconsin
Trailblazer Sled Dog Club, and Great Lakes Sled
Dog Racing Association. The Schlosser family has
a kennel of 30 Alaskan Huskies. Dakota races the
4-dog sprint and 6-dog sprint class, while his brother
Josh runs the 10-dog sprint class from their kennel.
Dakota’s website can be seen at www.sleddogsystems.com. |
14th of December
7th of December 2011
2nd of December 2011
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*ATTENTION
ALASKAN MUSHERS*
Julie St. Louis from Grrdwood Pets is now a full
distributor of ManMat Equipment!
She will be at the following races with her roving
musher supply trailer.
Sheep Mountain 150
Copper Basin 300
Knik 200
Northern Lights 300
Iditarod 2012
Get your orders into
her today so she can deliver them to you at the
races! She will have a limited supply on-hand of
some of the most popular items, but they will go
fast. She will also be able to take orders and information
at the races to get you that late season gear you
need. Don't wait and miss out on this opportunity
to avoid extra shipping costs!
Julie St. Louis
Grrdwood Pets
(907)783-0226 |
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21st of November 2011
Laura Neese competed in
OHIO and was 1st in bikejor, 1st in canicross, and 3rd
in 2-dog scooter this weekend. Congratulations and great
way to show off the manmat gear! We love sponsoring this
15 year old musher!
Laura
Neese- Ohio, USA
www.wix.com/livinadreamkennel/home
9th of November 2011
Jeff
King- 4 time Iditarod Champion, is back in professional
mushing and using Manmat harnesses for his team again!!!
8th of November 2011
Guide dog harness for
the blind
Manmat is more than just
sales. We do not offer a Guide dog harness for sale, but
we do custom make them for free, for those in need on
a limited basis. Just one of the ways we try to give back.
This harness, being worn by our model Blanch, who comes
to work each day with her owner, is still in the production
stage.
7th of November 2011
MANMAT:
Pavla Soumarová, Jaroslav Soumar, Rodney Lovette, Radka
Rydlová
7th of November 2011
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Dog- Trek Combo
This is two separate products
designed to work individually or together. The backpack
is great for hiking and camping, and the skijor belt can
be connected to it. Your dog can go with you, and also
help you, while being safely attached.
31th
of October 2011
MANMAT-
Musher inspired, Customer centered, and Quality you can
trust!
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Manmat
values the mushers in the USA and Canada. We are
excited to announce that we are building a distribution
network in both countries. Each distributor will
be someone you know and trust, a by musher for musher
approach. We feel that this regionalized and personal
approach will help the sled dog racing community
as a whole to be able to receive and use the quality
Manmat products. As we have distributors come online,
you will be able to order and receive products directly
from them reducing time and expense. Until then,
please contact the International Sales Manager,
Rodney Lovette at manmat-intsales@email.cz for any
questions or inquiries. We are excited about this
opportunity and will update as these changes take
place. We appreciate your patience and look forward
to serving your needs!
Rodney Lovette
Manmat International Sales Manager
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30th
of October 2011
MANMAT Facebook pages
are a great way to connect and stay up-to-date with what
is happening in your area of the world.
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MANMAT USA and Canada:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Manmat-USA-and-Canada/101228823324623
1st-2nd
of October 2011
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Katy
Meier and Hans Gatt ( Yukon Quest champion 2010)
in the Manmat stand during The sleddog symposium & Trade
fair in Kiruna -Sweden.
25th-26th
of September 2010
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Lance Mackey |
Lance Mackey
and Katy Meier ( SWE) |
Lance Mackey
and Jana L. Henychová( CZE) |
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Lance Mackey,
Ralph Johannessen( NOR), Katy Meier( SWE) |
Inger- Marie
Haaland( NOR) and Katy Meier( SWE) |
Karolina Karas(
POL), Katy Meier(SWE), Johanne Sundby( NOR), Jana
L. Henychová(CZE) |
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The Sleddog symposium in
Harestua- Norway, where Lance
Mackey ( 4 time Iditarod and Yukon Quest Champion)
was a guest presentor, during his visit to the Manmat stand.
14th of October 2010
SIBERIAN
RACE HARNESS
This harness is manufactured by Manmat and is the hound
harness style. Jana Henychova has been helping to develop
this style of harness for broad chested Siberian Huskies
for long distance races or intense workouts. This harness
is designed to reduce the loss of hair around the neck,
and areas that come into contact with the harness. This
harness has two parallel straps down the front of the chest
which provide better traction for the harness on the dog,
reducing the amount of rotation or tortion of the harness
that is possible when in use. It has softer, smoother material
on the straps that provide padding to improve the fit of
the harness and comfort level for the dog.
18th
of April 2009
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Karolina Karas with dogs
in MANMAT harnesses at The North Pole.
Proper
fitting of dog booties
The dog T-Shirt
The dog T-Shirt may be used
as a fashion statement by a dog pulling a scooter or even
a rollerblader in Southern California, but it is designed
for practical use to eliminate or greatly reduce harness
rub on extra sensitive dogs. The racing coat is in the development
and testing phase, and is one of the new and exciting products
we will soon be offering to the mushing world!
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