PHELPS, Wisc. (WMZQ) – This weekend kicks off the mushing season with the UP200 Dryland Dash. Top of the Hill Huskies is a kennel run by Diane Gagliano and her daughter Amelia, hailing from northern Wisconsin. Together, they train and house close to 50 Siberian huskies year-round.
The kennel has been racing its dogs for 15 years, beginning many of their seven month seasons with the Dryland Dash.
“We love going up to that race, it’s our favorite,” said Diane. “It’s only two hours from here, and the course is really fun.”
The upcoming races are each one to four mile sprints. Teams of one, two, four, or six dogs and their mushers will utilize wheeled rigs instead of sleds. As these races are much shorter and diverse, they hold an opportunity for new or smaller teams to get involved.
“The reason dryland took off so much is because some people only have four dogs, and they could do two dogs in the scooter class, or two dogs in the bike class,” she explained. “Sometimes you can repeat the dogs and go in a cart class.”
Diane says the effort that goes into caring for a kennel any size takes a lot of love and a lot of time.
“It’s borderline crazy,” she laughed. “We used to show horses, and I thought that was hard work, but that was a breeze compared to sled dogs. They need your attention at least three times a day. You want to brush them, pet them, care for them, scoop their poop, train them, feed them, of course. It’s a major life commitment.”
Following the race in Negaunee, from October 21 through October 26, the first ever U.S.-hosted International Federation of Sled dog Sports (IFSS) Dryland World Championships will be held in Minocqua, Wisconsin. A team of Siberians from Top of the Hill Huskies will be taking part in that race, with plans to run in the UP200 Dryland Dash in preparation.
The UP200 Dryland Dash will start at the Negaunee Township Hall on Saturday, October 11 at 9:00 a.m., and will continue throughout Sunday.
More information about Top of the Hill Huskies can be found at topofthehillhuskies.com.
