Back in the late 1980's I feel in love
with Alaskan Malamutes, my first encounter came from the lovely Nikki owned by
Kim Franklin (Kinikki Alaskan Malamutes) Nikki would always come & say hi to the
visitors & patrons of Kims pub "The Cutley Lynch".
It was not until the late 90's that Darren & I were fortunate enough to own,
work & show our own. We visited many top UK kennels & totally fell in love with
two stunning dogs, one a stunning puppy, Shepherdsway Phantom Scout (Scout)
owned & bred by Ann Allen, the other, Rameslyn Cherokee Squaw (Kiki) owned by
Barbara Stainer (Arctictrek)
We joined both Anne & Barbara's waiting list for a puppy & the wait began....
In the meantime we were fortunate enough to get in contact with Dave & Jill
Hemmins (Eekonoo Siberian Huskies) & became the proud owners of our first
Siberian Husky, Eekonoo's Bellana (Jasmine) a beautiful Siberian Husky pup. One
Husky is never enough, so Arctictrek's Anadark (Fudge Cake) joined us a few
months later followed closeley by LorranDarrs Dekota (Dakota)
Siberians, as many will tell you, are
lively athletes capable of many things. They are especially good at dragging you
for miles on the end of a lead without being able to exhaust themselves. So Dave
Hemmins put us in contact with a working Siberian Husky & Alaskan Malamute
Kennel near us (Kiriak) owned by Kirk & Jill Matthews (the original co- founders
of AMWA). With their help we were able to gain essential knowledge & experience
in how to train & drive teams of dogs & to win events based on the dogs merits
rather than the drivers athletic ability.
Three Siberian Huskies check...
2 completed rally seasons & and 1 Aviemore check....
& still we waited for our Alaskan Malamute.
There was one litter in particular we were hoping for a puppy from, Arctictrek's
Cherish Forever (Cherish) to Kebuck's Schrimshander at Shomont (Shan). Cherish
was one of the softest, funniest Malamutes we had the pleasure to meet & we had
long been a fan of Keith Givens & Sue Thompson's Mals (Shomont) ability to work
in harness. After a very long wait we brought home Arcticktrek's Dark As Night
for Kegluneq (Thunder). In total we had waited almost 3 years for him...... &
boy was he worth the wait! Thunder to this day is treasured by everyone that
knows him. His outstanding beauty, gentle laid back nature & his ability to more
than prove himself in the show ring & out on the trail is widely acknowledged.
In his youth he was the most successful dual purpose Malamute in the country.
Three more Siberians joined us that year
(whom we were supposed to just foster!) One sadly passed over Rainbow Bridge,
one stayed with us for a further 5 years before finding a wonderful family home
& one we still have with us today (Kaiya).
Our second Malamute joined us two years later, Arctictrek's Silver Spirit for
Kegluneq (Spirit) & totally threw mayhem into our lives. Spirit was a very
highly strung whirlwind of a puppy who created havoc wherever she went. She was
lightly shown with success but was a handful in the ring & point blank refused
to stand still. She would enjoy cartwheeling round the show ring & laughing at
my embarrassment. Her forte however was working. Coupled with Thunder the pair
of them were a force to be reckoned with. In one rally season alone they
achieved 9 wins out of 10 races....a pair of truly remarkable working dogs.
When Fudge Cake was 5 years old, we bred her to an outstanding dog, Kube (Bifrost
Akubra) owned by Julie Ford & Brian Collins. 5 puppies were born in July 2001, 4
girls & 1 boy. We kept 3, Fox, Pheonix & Fury & the other two girls went to good
friends of ours Leigh & Sam Marsden. All 5 pups in that litter have excelled in
harness - all are multi ABSA series Champions - in the 4 dog class for Leigh &
in the 6 dog class twice for both Leigh & Lorraine. Our three have also won 2
Aviemore rallies in the E2 & C2 mixed classes. One of these dogs is the
foundation bitch of the Willowspeed kennel.
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