Chinooks New England!
An
Affiliate Club of the
Chinook Owner's Association, Inc.
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Chinooks New England! An
Affiliate Club of the |
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10th Annual
Winterfest
February 23, 2007
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Hickory Hill Farm - Standish, Maine
Puppies Lucy & Kiya take their first sled run!
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A winter storm that slammed the Mid-Atlantic States and southern New England on Friday spared Maine for the most part, but hampered travel for those in the south who had planned to attend this year's Winterfest. Those who made the trek to the 10th annual Chinooks New England Winterfest arrived to a crystal clear warm winter day with a few inches of new powder covering every surface. The new snow made for a pristine setting and for trails that were near perfection!
While we missed so many of the people who intended to come, we had a remarkable turnout, with nearly 50 humans, 32 Chinooks and 4 other dogs. Six sleds blazed the beautifully groomed trails all day, with nearly every human and canine getting a turn to drive or pull if they wanted it. |
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Ransom & Fionn pull David Borofka up the final part of the hill.
 Jim Dumstas with Cap (l) and Blaze (r) |
The soft snow covering on the hard-packed trails made the steep descent and sharp turns on the trails much easier to handle. The snow is so deep that the trail is two feet lower than the crusty top. On some parts of the trail, sleds bounce from side-to-side like a pin pong balls.
All day long teams took to the trails, with at least 12 people driving teams. Established teams from Granite Hill, Grand River and GreatMountain, and the combined Yeamans/Borofka team ran the trails. Judy & Richard Curtis now have a sled and have been running their two Chinooks. Karen Hoffmeister now has a mother and daughter team pulling her kick-sled. Jim Drumstas' two Chinooks pulled him around the field much to his delight. Probably the funniest team of the day was big Rastro, partnered with little black rescue dog, Zucchini - both pulling hard but with very different strides! |
The Grand River Team
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Jean Bouteiller got to take her dog, Ukko, out with Chocorua behind the GreatMountain team. Ukko pulled like a mad-man, making it easily around the trails with only a few distractions. Wild River Katie got to take a spin with the GreatMountain team and she pulled like a champion. It's so hard for some dogs to work in a strange team without their "mommy" or "daddy" but Katie has never been one of these dogs. She's got tremendous drive and just keeps pushing forward. Kathryn Kloby got to see her dog, Uma pull for the first time - she did a terrific job for her first time in harness. |
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The Granite Hill Team gave Leslie Donais a great run!
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Gayle Shaw with GreatMountain dogs Chocorua & Jack
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Two sweet puppies about the same age (5 months), Lucy & Kiya, got harnessed together and took a short trip down the trail. Much to everyone's surprise, they pulled right past their owners and kept going down the trail! They're both going to be great sled dogs! Lucy's owner, Gayle Shaw, also got to drive her first team, taking Chocorua & Jack out behind my team. One of the home-grown Hickory Hill boys, Blaze, took his boy's girlfriend for a short run with Mahoosuc. Karen Hinchy did some canicross with her dogs on snowshoes and Uma's dad, Jerry Kloby took her for a short skijor run. |
Of course, we had a great lunch with a very active silent auction (nothing
really silent about it!) We made time for family photos, as there were many
sibling sets on hand. At the end of the day, all of the dogs who were left got
to go for a fun free-run. Close to 20 Chinooks crashed and chased through the
snow with abandon, so happy that they were no longer confined to leashes and
tie-outs. After this last run of the day, everyone packed up and headed for
home.
Trav'ler (middle) had grandchildren from five of six litters that descend
from her in attendance.
Dogs l-r are: Tikaani, Uma, Lucy, Trav'ler, Redington and Ukko -
these pups are from five different genetic combinations!
These three girls all descend from Lakeside Run Indiana Jones
Dogs are l-r: Katie, Kiya and Abby
RainMountain Tatoosh of BearCreek had two of her pups in attendance - Kiya
and Uma
Tanacross and pups from all three of his litters - Tikaani, Uma & Lucy
Chocorua with her offspring Conaway, Jack and Abnaki
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Chinooks New England thanks hosts David & Elaine Bradbury for their kind generosity in opening their property to our club year after year after year. They have the most beautiful property around and it is literally the most perfect place for this event. Our first Winterfest at their property in February 1999 drew about 20 people and 16 Chinooks. Chinooks New England has come a long way in 10 years! We can't wait to find out what the next decade has in store! |
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 Tyler and Blaze at 2002 Winterfest |
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Copyright © 1999-2008 Chinooks New England! All rights reserved. Last updated February 2008
