Neff scratches
DAWSON CITY, Yukon—Musher Hugh Neff said Saturday that race officials forced him out of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.
It’s the second time in Neff’s six-year Yukon Quest career that he’s been forced to scratch from the race. He was also ousted in 2001.
“They asked me to withdraw,” Neff said. “The head race official, Mike McCowan, gave us one ludicrous option of waiting 18 hours or scratching. I feel like I’m being totally disrespected.”
McCowan was unavailable for comment Saturday evening. Head veterinarian Kathleen McGill issued a short statement.
“The team wasn’t responding to treatment,” McGill said. “We wanted them to stay in the checkpoint for continued treatment. At that point, Hugh made the decision to scratch.”
Neff said he was made to wait an extra six hours before departing Eagle on Wednesday for Dawson City. He dropped three dogs in Eagle and was down to eight. The required minimum is six.
“We’ve been working our butts off the last couple of days to get the dogs perky again. And they were,” Neff said. “I was warned before I started this race that some of the veterinarians had problems with me personally since last year.
“Unfortunately, the head veterinarian has yet to even communicate with me.”
Neff finished third last year, his best performance. He was 13th as a rookie in 2000, scratched in 2001, was 11th in 2002 and eight in 2003 before sitting out the 2004 race.
The race is down to 12 contestants. Neff was considered a pre-race contender and was called the Quest “poster boy” by some after being featured prominently on race posters and advertisements before the race.
“More than just what is happening to me, I feel bad for the Quest because I don’t think the Quest has a very bright future,” Neff said. “There’s a reason why a lot of mushers don’t do the Quest. It’s known as an ‘anti-dog mushers’ race.
“The way I’ve been treated is not unique,” he said. “A lot of mushers have been put through the ringer by the Quest. The Quest I knew in my earlier years has just gone downhill.”
Neff was asked about Eagle, where he said he dropped his best lead dog, June Marie, as well as two of his strongest team dogs, Darky and Oscar.
“Before the race even started, we knew we had some issues with bad feet, and we were working on that,” Neff said. “We’ve been putting iodine on them and the six-hour wait at Eagle was really good for them. We made up three or four hours on this lead pack we’ve got here.
“I was very excited about the rest of the race. This was something that was thrown at us at the worst possible moment. These people have been discussing doing this for a while and they threw it at us two or three hours before we were going to leave. I could see waiting six hours as kind of a wait and see thing, but 18 hours was excessive.”
Neff said he still plans to run the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race next month.
“If you’re worried about me bouncing back, just watch the Iditarod and see how we do and I’ll prove my point,” Neff said. “Obviously we have some healing to do, but I just don’t feel like we’ve been given a fair chance here.”
February 19th, 2006 at 9:58 am
Perhaps rather than badmouthing the Quest, Hugh should look to give his dogs better care. Why do they need to “bounce back” in the first place? He started the race with dogs that had bad feet? I guess this explains why he dropped six dogs early in the race! Was he just hoping for some miracle on the trail that would cure feet problems?
I see no evidence that the Quest is “anti-dog-musher.” I do see them as anti-dog-musther-who-doesn’t-take-care-of-his-dogs. And that is a good thing.
I’m glad that he thinks that the six-hour wait in Eagle that was forced on him was a good thing. Why doesn’t he think the 18 hours in Dawson would be good as well?
Putting mushers through the ringer who don’t take good care of his dogs, is a very good thing, and I’m glad to hear that they are doing that! I hope that the Iditarod vets are as diligent as the Quest’s are!
February 19th, 2006 at 5:23 pm
The interesting thing that the reporter misses in this story is explaining why Neff didn’t learn anything in the 5 years between scratches. He is known for pushing his dogs with poor dog care and when he is warned he doesn’t listen until drastic measures are taken. Many people are relieved the vets were able to make a decision that is in the best interest of the dogs. Congratulations to them for taking the correct stand.