Join host Robert Forto as he talks to sprint musher, Tamara Harvey-Coli on Mushing Radio.
Bio:
It seems Tamara was destined to be a dog musher. Born into a dog mushing family of Jim and Jackie Harvey she was inundated with the sounds of the dogs at only a few days of age. At less than a year she would be standing on the sled or sitting in the basket talking to the dogs along the trail and by 5 she was helping in the dog yard including running her own 1 dog team. An accomplished skilled musher by the age of 10 she walked, talked and dreamed dogs. As a teenager in the 80’s she raced any race close enough to drive in a day and handled for many open class teams, across the North American circuit including her dads (Jim Harvey) team. As a member of ISDRA she placed consistently year after year for Western Canadian awards and participated in the 6dog sled event at the first IFSS World Championships held in 1991.
Always learning; from others, studying pedigrees, studying health, nutrition, feeding styles and training methods she was a sponge searching for more and more info to soak up. Over the course of 40 years Tamara has had the opportunity to learn, study and work first hand with much of this early sought after dog information with a large variety of breeds and sport.
In the late 90’s Tamara let all her sled dogs go for motherhood and the life of a career; much of it in Pet training, nutrition and CKC events with Boxers. However never missing a chance to follow sled dog races, pedigrees and talk to drivers with the motivation of returning to the beloved sport.
That day came 6 years ago; with a little energetic pointer ready to try dryland scooter and quickly fueled the fire for a 6 dog team. Two years ago with a group of specifically selected yearlings she started to train with as much exuberance and excitement as the dogs, guiding this young team straight to the top. Just this past year earning high IFSS dryland points for Canada 2016/2017 season and more than half her sled finishes being 1st place this little team is on fire.
Tamara’s 6 dog kennel may be small but with an eye for the present and the future you can be certain she will continue to keep Harvey’s Racing long into the future.
On this episode we discuss:
- We talk about the differences between sprint and distance mushing
- We talk about drylands mushing
- We talk about her dogs
Host, Robert Forto’s Bio:
Robert is the training director for Alaska Dog Works where they train dogs for canine obedience, working dogs, therapy dogs and service dogs for clients all over North America. He is also a dog musher and he and his wife operate a 40-dog mushing kennel in Willow, Alaska, called Team Ineka. They can often be seen at local races and leading expeditions in the Alaska backcountry with outdoor leadership students at the University of Alaska. Robert is the producer of Dog Works Radio that has been on the air since 2009 and is currently simulcast on a local radio station, KVRF in Palmer, Alaska.
Links and Resources Mentioned:
- Tamara’s Facebook Page
- Robert Forto on Twitter: @robertforto
- Alex Stein on Twitter: @coldfootfilms
- Dog Works Radio on Facebook
- Dog Works Radio on Instagram
- KVRF in Alaska
Photo credit: Wild Thingz Dog Mushing
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