Encyclopedia of Mushing
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King, Jeff (February 6, 1956 – Still Alive)
Being one of the top competitors in the world of long distance sled dog racing, Jeff King has won both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod as of the year 2006. He has four Iditarod championships under his belt, and one Yukon Quest win. He is also well known for being a great inventor of dog sledding equipment. Pioneering the tail dragger sled (sit down sled), it is now one of the top sled dog designs for long distance mushing.
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Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is refered to as the "Last Great Race" or the "Iditarod". The race is run on the Iditarod Trail and teams cover more than 1,000 miles of Alaskan terrain to reach the small northern town of Nome. Mushers brave high winds, freezing temperatures, and barren tundra plains.
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Handler
The dog handlers are very important to larger sled dog teams. They help hook-up dogs, put on harnesses, booties, and feed the whole team. What a lot of work! This really helps mushers before and during races to have some extra help with the dogs. Especially if they're really tired!
Harness
A piece of equipment worn on a dog to transfer the energy of pulling from the dog, to the item being pulled. Usually made from webbing as the main arrangement of straps, and fleece or neoprene as padding in the "high pressure" areas on the dog.
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Gangline
The gangline refers to the rigging or rope that connects the dogs to the sled or wheeled vehicle. This includes the tuglines, towlines, and necklines. Some mushers use the term gangline to describe the centerline of the rigging.
Gee
This is the command used by most mushers to make the lead dog(s) turn the team right.