Friday night, Shelby Herbert attended the Yukon Quest Awards Banquet, where she reported on the prizes and accolades.
ROBYNE: Hello, Shelby. Tell us about attendance at the Westmark.
SHELBY: Hi Robyne. It was a full house. Lots of people there, veterinarians, trail volunteers, and, of course, the mushers, their families. It was a very lively event, lots of cake being served, and lots of beautiful wooden cutting boards that were given out as awards.
And then some really interesting subcategories. We had the best vet care award that went to Josi Shelley in the 550 category, and Jodie Potts-Joseph in the 200 and then there was also the Sportsmanship Award that was given to Emma Lewis, who raced the 200 and Jonah Bacon, who came in fourth in the 550.
ROBYNE: So, at the banquet there, what are the mushers talking about?
SHELBY: Lots of stories from the trail. We heard Josi Shelley actually had a few bumps in the road. Her slide overturned at some point, and that kind of cost her some steering ability. It was a little bit stiff, she said, her uh, her bolts got knocked off at some point.
There were a lot of stories about camaraderie, especially between Lauro Ecklund and Jonah Bacon, who were kind of neck and neck throughout the 550.
Jeff Deeter had this really lovely tribute to his lead dog, Chippewa, who was recovering from a shoulder injury last year. He's on loan from Deeter's wife, and Deeter really threw him a bone, so to speak. Kind of gave him credit for just a really successful race.
ROBYNE: Well, we're so glad you were able to make it to the banquet tonight. I know that weather stopped you from getting to the finish line in Tok.
SHELBY: It sure did, Robyne. I was actually in the air with nine sled dogs who were dropped off in Eagle.I traveled with them back to Fairbanks.They all got their own little canvas bags they traveled in with their heads sticking out to keep them comfortable and just immobile so they can't move throughout the flight. They were absolute troopers, very quiet, very polite, and I actually have some sound here of the vets placing them in these bags…
Sound of loading dogs in canvas bags.
ROBYNE: Well, thank you for that. We've heard a lot from listeners about how they appreciate the coverage, everything from Patrick Gilchrist -- you know, he reported before the race. He did a lot of organizing -- to you being there at the banquet. Even Dan Bross came out of retirement to give us advice.
SHELBY: Right back at you, Robyne. You were traveling in super wintry conditions to get to the checkpoint in Circle.I believe at some point you were caught behind an avalanche that had spilled over the road. We relayed supplies right on the tarmac in Circle before I was on my way to Eagle, and your coverage has been excellent as well.
ROBYNE: Thank you. So, you know, this worked out really great. Did you think you might want to do this again next year?
SHELBY: Oh, absolutely! Next year, though, I am definitely bringing some warmer socks.
