Dog Sled Racing, Open

The 1932 sled dog race demonstration was conducted under the rules of the New England Sled Dog Club. It consisted of two races on successive days over a 25.1 mile (40.5 km) course, with the total time determining the winner. Intermediate times were taken at 4 miles, 10.6 miles, and 22.46 miles (at John Brown’s Farm - the famous abolitionist). There were only teams from Canada and the United States, with five from Canada and seven from the United States.

The race started and finished at the Olympic Stadium. The course was as follows: north to Mirror Lake, then along the Northwood Road to Wilmington Road, along River Road to Midrivers Farm, following the Bridle Path to return to River Road at Intervales Farm, along River Road for ½-mile, turning left on Bolderwood bridle path loop, coming out on Cascade Road south of Ski T, turning left on Cascade Road to Adirondack Lodge Road, to a point ¼-mile past Alcohol Brook, right along the bridle path to Tablelands Farm, to John Brown’s Farm, and along the bridle path on Cascade Road back to the stadium. The race was extremely popular and the papers noted that the course was lined by spectators.

The racers went off at three-minute intervals on each day, with each sled pulled by seven dogs, a lead dog and six dogs in pairs. The two greatest sled dog racers in the world in 1932 were Manitoba’s Émile St. Godard and Alaska’s Leonhard Seppala, and they would finish one-two, with St. Godard besting Seppala by eight total minutes, and winning both of the races. Canada dominated, taking five of the first seven places. In the first race, one of Seppala’s dogs collapsed five miles from the finish and was carried over the line in the sled. Roger Haines finished the first race, but after crossing the line, collapsed unconscious from exhaustion.

One non-starter was Earl Bunnell, who raced Irish Setter dogs for his team, which was rather unusual. He was not allowed to start after a protest by Eva “Short” Seeley, who insisted that only Huskies or Malamutes should be allowed to race, because of the rigors of the trail.