Ramy Brooks facts for kids
Ramy "Ray" Brooks (born December 24, 1968, in Fairbanks, Alaska) is an Alaska Native dog musher. He owns a kennel and is also a motivational speaker. Ramy is known for competing in long-distance dog sled races. He has finished second twice in the famous Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, which is over 1,049 miles (1,600 km) across Alaska. He also won the 1,000-mile (1,600 km) Yukon Quest dog sled race, which goes through both Canada and the U.S..
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Ramy's Family and Mushing Roots
Ramy Brooks is from the Yup'ik and Athabascan Indigenous groups. These groups were among the first people to mush dogs in Alaska. Mushing is a big part of his family's history.
Grandfather's Legacy
Ramy's grandfather, Gareth Wright, was a very successful musher. He won major Alaskan sled dog races in the 1940s, including the American Championship twice and the Fur Rendezvous World Championship three times. Gareth Wright was also known for breeding special sled dogs called the Wright's Aurora Husky.
Mother's Achievements
Ramy's mother, Roxy Wright (or Wright-Champaine), is also a famous musher and kennel owner. She was the first woman to win both the Fur Rendezvous World Championship in Anchorage, Alaska, and the Open North American Championship in Fairbanks. She won the open class of each event three times and the women's classes eight times. In 1990, she won Europe's biggest dog sled race, the Alpirod, which crossed Italy, Austria, and France. She even competed in the Iditarod.
Other Family Mushers
Ramy's aunt, Shannon Erhart, competes in sprint races. His family's history shows how deeply dog mushing is rooted in their lives.
Ramy's Life Journey
Ramy grew up in a Yukon River fish camp near Fairbanks and Rampart. In the summer, he helped with a fishwheel to catch fish. In the winter, he mushed the family dogs.
Education and Family Life
After high school, Ramy joined the U.S. Navy and then went to the University of Washington. He later returned to Alaska and married his wife, Cathy. Cathy, who grew up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania, moved to Alaska and works at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. They have two daughters, Abbigal and Molly. The family now lives in Fairbanks, Alaska, and still owns their 50-acre (200,000 m2) kennel in Healy.
Kami Kennels and Community Work
Ramy and his family run Kami Kennels, which mainly has Alaskan Huskies. The name Kami comes from a Japanese word for sacred spirits, showing how important his family is to him. Ramy has been a motivational speaker in schools since 1993. He also helps with Mush for Kids and has been a trustee for the Alaskan Children's Trust since 2003. He is passionate about helping young people and has worked with organizations to support mental well-being in his community.
Ramy's Racing Career
Ramy started racing at a very young age. He won his first race, the single-dog Junior North American Championship, when he was just four years old with his dog, Sam. He was the first person to win this race three times in a row. By the time he was 14, he had won every class in the race. He began competing in long-distance races in 1992 and 1993.
Iditarod Highlights
Ramy first competed in the Iditarod in 1994, finishing 17th and earning the Rookie of the Year Award. He steadily improved his ranking, reaching the top 10 in 1997 with an 8th-place finish. In 2000, he returned to the top 10 and achieved his best results in 2002 and 2003, finishing 2nd in both races. He also won the Sportsmanship and Most Improved Musher Awards in 2000.
Ramy is one of the few Alaska Native mushers competing in the modern Iditarod. In the past, many Native Alaskans competed, but today it can be expensive to train a competitive team and find sponsors.
Yukon Quest and Other Races
In 1993, Ramy placed 15th in the 1,000-mile (1,600 km) Yukon Quest. In 1999, he won the Yukon Quest, finishing the race from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Whitehorse, Yukon, in 11 days, 7 hours, and 31 minutes. For his 1999 win, he received several awards, including the Dawson Award for being the first musher into Dawson City, Yukon, and the Golden Harness for his lead dog, Pretty Boy.
Ramy has also competed in other races like the Kuskokwim 300, Copper Basin 300, and Henry Hahn 200. He won the Henry Hahn 200 in 1996. His main goal is to win the Iditarod. Ramy says he races because he loves working with his dogs and living his dream.
Iditarod Disqualification
During the 2007 Iditarod, Ramy Brooks was disqualified from the race. This happened after witnesses reported concerns about how some of his dogs were treated at a checkpoint in Golovin, Alaska. Race officials take the care of sled dogs very seriously. One of Ramy's dogs died the day after the incident, but a necropsy (an animal autopsy) could not determine the cause, and officials found no evidence that Ramy was to blame for the death. On March 17, 2007, the judges voted to disqualify him from the 2007 Iditarod.
Later, on May 18, 2007, the Iditarod Trail Committee Board of Directors decided to suspend Ramy Brooks from competing in the 2008 and 2009 races. After that, he was on probation for three years. This decision was made after an investigation that included interviews with witnesses.
