Ramy Brooks facts for kids

Ramy Brooks at the 2006 Iditarod

Ramy "Ray" Brooks was born on December 24, 1968, in Fairbanks, Alaska. He is an Alaska Native who owns a dog kennel and is a motivational speaker. Ramy is famous as a dog musher who competes in very long races. He has finished second twice in the 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..

Ramy's Family and Dog Mushing History

Ramy Brooks comes from a family of famous dog mushers. He is from the Yup'ik and Athabascan Indigenous groups. These groups were among the first people to mush dogs in Alaska.

Grandfather: Gareth Wright

Ramy's grandfather, Gareth Wright, was a top musher in the 1940s. He won the American Championship twice. He also won the Fur Rendezvous World Championship three times. Gareth was known for breeding special dogs called Wright's Aurora Huskies. He created them by mixing Irish Setters, St. Lawrence Siberian Huskys, and local village dogs.

Mother: Roxy Wright

Ramy's mother is Roxy Wright (also known as Wright-Champaine). She is also a kennel owner and a competitive musher. Roxy 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 main class of each race three times. She also won the women's classes eight times each. In 1990, she won Europe's biggest dog sled race, the Alpirod. This race went through Italy, Austria, and France.

Ramy's Life Story

Ramy grew up in a Yukon River fish camp near Fairbanks and Rampart. In the summer, he used a fishwheel to catch fish. In the winter, he mushed his family's dogs.

After high school, he joined the U.S. Navy. Then he went to the University of Washington. Later, he came back to Alaska and married his wife, Cathy. Cathy grew up on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania. She works for the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Ramy and Cathy have two daughters, Abbigal and Molly. They used to live in a cabin in Eureka, Alaska. This cabin was once owned by Susan Butcher, a former Iditarod champion. The family now lives in Fairbanks, Alaska. They still own their 50-acre (20 ha) dog kennel in Healy.

Kami Kennels and Community Work

Ramy and his family run Kami Kennels. Most of their dogs are Alaskan Huskies. The name Kami is a Japanese word for sacred spirits. Ramy chose this name to show how important his family is to him.

Ramy has been a motivational speaker at schools since 1993. He also takes part in Mush for Kids events. Since 2003, he has been a trustee for the Alaskan Children's Trust.

Ramy's Racing Career

Ramy Brooks started racing dogs at a very young age. He won his first race, the single-dog Junior North American Championship, when he was just four years old. 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 Trail Sled Dog Race

Ramy first raced in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1994. He finished 17th and won the Rookie of the Year Award. He got better each year, reaching the top 10 in 1997 with an 8th-place finish.

After some difficult family events in 1998, he had a tougher race. But in 2000, he came back strong. He has often placed in the top 10 since then. His best finishes were second place in both 2002 and 2003.

In 1998, Ramy won the Joe Redington, Sr. Award. In 2000, he won both the Sportsmanship Award and the Most Improved Musher Award.

Ramy is one of the few Alaska Native mushers in the modern Iditarod. In the past, many Native mushers competed. Today, it can be hard for rural Alaskans to find the money and sponsors needed for competitive racing.

Yukon Quest and Other Races

In 1993, Ramy placed 15th in the 1,000-mile (1,600 km) Yukon Quest dog sled race. In 1999, he won the race from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Whitehorse, Yukon. His winning time was 11 days, 7 hours, and 31 minutes.

When he won the Yukon Quest in 1999, he also received several other awards:

• The Dawson Award for being the first musher to reach Dawson City, Yukon. This award came with 4 ounces of gold.
• The Kiwanis Award for being the first to cross the United States-Canada border.
• The Mayor's Award for winning the race.
• His lead dog, Pretty Boy, won the Golden Harness Award.

Ramy has also raced in other events like the Kuskokwim 300, Copper Basin 300, and Henry Hahn 200. He won the Henry Hahn 200 in 1996. In the same year, he placed 4th in the Kuskokwim 300 and won the Eddie Hoffman Humanitarian Award. 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 on March 17, 2007. Race officials stated that he violated rules about how mushers must treat their dogs. The judges voted to disqualify him.

Later, on May 18, 2007, the Iditarod Trail Committee Board of Directors decided to suspend Ramy. This meant he could not race in the 2008 and 2009 Iditarod races. After that, he was on probation for three years. This decision was made after an investigation.