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"Looking to the future"

Ed Stielstra on his sport and life with dogs

by June Price

03/11/2005

"I wish people interested in mushing knew the strength of the bond between the dogs and musher by the time the team reaches Nome," said Ed Stielstra. "It is something that is impossible to describe but the most rewarding aspect of the sport to me."

Decked out in their fluorescent yellow and black parkas, Ed Stielstra’s team of handlers was hard to miss during the start and restart of Iditarod 2005. Toss in a sharp looking team and Team Stielstra made an impressive picture.

Ed and his wife Tasha own Nature’s Kennel in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where snow and trails are usually abundant. They’ve been married to for six years and "do not have any two legged children." Asked if they’ve considered moving to Alaska, they say they do have family in Alaska, family members who are always trying to convince them to move to "heaven on earth." For now, however, the Stielstra’s have no plans to move "North to Alaska."

"I grew up in Ludington," says Stielstra, who played football and baseball in high school. How does playing team sports compare to mushing?

It doesn’t, at least directly, in Stielstra’s opinion. "In distance dog racing, the human is more of a coach than the player. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of athleticism needed to get through the Dalzell Gorge, but that is a small part of the overall race."

Why the Iditarod?

"The Iditarod is the Super Bowl. We do enjoy racing in the Midwest and will continue to do so, but the Iditarod is what we are training for now." Tasha ran and finished a close second in the Beargrease while Ed was preparing for the Iditarod, it might be noted, clearly showing the depth of their kennel.

The Stielstra’s operate a winter sled dog touring business. Bottom line, the dogs are their life. They own about 60 adult sled dogs, broken down to approximately 20 adult race dogs, 20 yearlings, and 20 retirees/others.

"All of our dogs are used in our winter sled dog touring business," Stielstra says. "We have three handlers from September-April and in the summer it is just Tasha and I. Our kennel is about 30 feet from our house. The dogs are free run a lot and when they are on their chains they are allowed to touch. We prefer to raise dogs from puppies and only purchase about one dog a year." Like many mushers, they crave closeness with their dogs, so the puppies and older dogs are allowed in the house one or two at a time for some one on one. By keeping the numbers brought in low, that allows them to give each dog special, individual attention and spread it around by rotating dogs.

One of the things the Stielstra’s do regularly is visit schools. Knowing some of the bizarre questions school children toss at mushers, I asked what the most unusual question they’d gotten to date had been. Laugher.

"Tasha was doing a school program and at the end she was asked, ‘I want my dog to have puppies, can you show me how dogs breed?’" Uh, no.

Ed was one of the rookie mushers I sought out at the start of Iditarod 2004 at the request of family members. As a result, I was curious to find out what he had learned or would advise those who rookies in this year’s race as far as dealing with fans.

"I would advise a rookie to have a relative/friend/spouse volunteer to answer the numerous e-mails that you receive regarding the Iditarod," he said. "For the health of the sport, it is necessary that these get answered and the musher will be somewhat limited on time." Good advice as many fans say they became even more interested in the sport after receiving a communication from a musher in response to a question or comment.

How about sharing a few of your rookie memories, Ed?

"The 2004 Iditarod was my first. I made a lot of mistakes, but probably the biggest one happened just after leaving Rohn. I was overconfident in my sled driving ability and got careless and crashed. My right leg got pretty messed up and it took a lot of fun out of the rest of the race." He considers this a positive oddly enough. "The injury bothered me for months after the race. Hopefully I will not readily forget my stupidity and will be less likely to do it in 2005."

"The high point of the race was between Takotna and Galena. The team was moving nice, everything was going perfect, and I did not make any major mistakes for a few days."

Of the shorter races, most of which are used as tune-ups or qualifiers by so many, which is your favorite and why?

"I enjoy both the Beargrease and the UP 200. They are very different races but the hospitality of the people of Minnesota’s Northshore and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is incredible. The Beargrease always has minimal snow, fast trail, cold, and major hill running. The UP 200 trail is usually slower, warmer temperatures, and is relatively flat."

Is it possible to pick a favorite team dog?

"If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be Maple. He is five years old and the most athletic dog I have ever run in harness. Neither him, nor his four brothers have ever been injured during a race. Maple likes to keep his tug line tight, he makes a lot of eye contact, is hyperactive, is an easy keeper, and wags his tail a lot."

Are any of your dogs "house dogs"?

"Most of our dogs are allowed in the house. We have two permanent house dogs, Nature, a 14 year old lab mix, and Momo, a retired sled dog. Nature is the namesake of our kennel and has been with me since I was in college at Michigan State University. Momo has always been Tasha’s favorite."

Who are the people who support you, your inner circle or support group, so to speak?

"My wife Tasha, of course, as well as our parents. Another person that has been invaluable to our kennel for the last two years is Andrew Letzring. Andrew has an incredible work ethic and the patience of a saint. He has done the majority of the training with our yearlings and this year he will be running them in the Iditarod."

Any last advice for rookies? Maybe something you know now that you wish you’d known last year?

"My advice to rookies is to find one Iditarod finisher that you trust and listen to that person."

Finally, having been surrounded by authors a great deal lately, I couldn’t resist asking Ed what his favorite book was. I expected to hear the title of some mushing related book. I was in for a surprise.

"I would have to say ‘Atlas Shrugged,’ by Ayn Rand. It is not about mushing per say, but it is about sticking to your objective regardless of what is happening around you with the goal of improving the future."