Jeffrey's 2002 mixed team of 4 half-Russians,
2 Markovo-Seppalas and 2 Alaskan/Seppala crosses
Unfortunately HAPPY has mental issues that make her unsuitable as a main leader. She is apprehensive about ice, overflow, heavy trails and similar tricky situations, and she is a little truculent with other females, other than her dam TONYA. Running beside her mother seems to give her enough confidence to do a good job, but she is less satisfactory with other running mates.
HAPPY is very affectionate with Isa and myself, a sweet dog, and quite intelligent. She is the best of the Alaskan-cross H-litter. (I felt that this litter was a big disappointment, given the hype that surrounded "Hop" and his progeny among the open-class racing fraternity. The entire litter had mental quirks that prevented them from being first-class dogs, and I am reasonably certain that the quirks did not come from the Seppala side of the mating. The experience of this litter proved to me that breeding for speed alone while ignoring issues of mentality does not produce the kind of sleddogs that I am interested in.) Happy has often travelled and camped with me in the truck, along with Tonya; she is a pleasant companion dog and, truth to tell, I am very fond of this little sable girl.
In many ways the teams led by HAPPY and TONYA during the period 2001-2003 were really "to die for." Fast, powerful and steady, with very few problems for the driver (as long as the trail was not bad enough to arouse apprehension in Happy). In those years we usually had the half-Russian P-litter males and SURGUT OF SEPPALA in the team, all powerful, steady, tireless team dogs. In 2003 I did an entire photo series of over twenty images taken from the runners in the course of a 30-mile excursion with eight dogs, something that could be contemplated only with an exceptionally steady and trouble-free team. Those teams were composed of Markovo-Seppalas, Russian/Markovo crosses, and Alaskan/Markovo crosses; the combination was compatible and there was little to choose among the three genetic groups, all of them could work together well with no problems of pace or gait.
HAPPY is still working at Seppala Kennels. She is a valuable co-leader when paired with another strong lead that she can relax with and trust. I only wish that TONYA's daughter HAPPY had been able fully to replace her, but the experience with Hap and the rest of her litter have proved to me that "racing performance" is far from the last word in sleddog efficiency, and may indeed prove less than satisfactory in terms of general sleddog ability and versatility.
