![Ramy Brooks 0045 crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Ramy_Brooks_0045_crop.jpeg)
Ramy "Ray" Brooks (born December 24, 1968
["1996 Iditarod Mushers: B", para. 11.] in
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the p ...
) is an
Alaska Native kennel
A kennel is a structure or shelter for dogs. Used in the plural, ''the kennels'', the term means any building, collection of buildings or a property in which dogs are housed, maintained, and (though not in all cases) bred. A kennel can be made ...
owner and operator,
motivational speaker, and
dog musher
Mushing is a sport or transport method powered by dogs. It includes carting, pulka, dog scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. More specifically, it implies the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled, most commo ...
who specializes in long-distance races. He is a two-time runner up in the 1,049+ mi (1,600+ km)
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, more commonly known as The Iditarod, is an annual long-distance sled dog race run in early March. It travels from Anchorage to Nome, entirely within the US state of Alaska. Mushers and a team of between 12 a ...
across the
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
state of
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
, and a former winner of the 1,000 mi (1,600 km)
Yukon Quest
The Yukon Quest, formally the Yukon Quest 1,000-mile International Sled Dog Race is a sled dog race scheduled every February since 1984 between Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon. Because of the harsh winter conditions, difficult trail, and ...
dog sled race across both
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and the U.S.
Family
Brooks is descended from the
Yup'ik
The Yup'ik or Yupiaq (sg & pl) and Yupiit or Yupiat (pl), also Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Central Yup'ik, Alaskan Yup'ik ( own name ''Yup'ik'' sg ''Yupiik'' dual ''Yupiit'' pl; russian: Юпики центральной Аляски), are an I ...
Eskimos and
Athabascan
Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, Pacific C ...
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
s, two of the indigenous groups who were the first to mush dogs in Alaska.
["Meet Ramy Brooks", para. 3.] His grandfather, Gareth Wright, was a competitive musher who won both major Alaskan sled dog races of the 1940s, the
American Championship (twice), and the
Fur Rendezvous World Championship (three times). Wright was also a
dog breeder
Dog breeding is the practice of mating selected dogs with the intention of maintaining or producing specific qualities and characteristics. When dogs reproduce without such human intervention, their offspring's characteristics are determined by ...
and kennel owner who became known for breeding the
Wright's Aurora Husky from the
Irish Setter
The Irish Setter ( ga, sotar rua, literally "red setter") is a setter, a breed of gundog, and family dog. The term ''Irish Setter'' is commonly used to encompass the show-bred dog recognised by the American Kennel Club as well as the field-bred ...
, the
St. Lawrence Siberian Husky, and village dogs.
["History of Sled Dog Racing in Alaska", para. 1, 5.]
Brooks's mother is
Roxy Wright (or Wright-Champaine), another kennel owner and competitive musher. She became the first woman to win both the Fur Rendezvous World Championship in
Anchorage, Alaska, and the Open
North American Championship A North American Championship is a top level international sports competition between North American athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs.
List of Championships
;Bridge
* North American B ...
in Fairbanks. She won the open class of each event three times, and the women's classes eight times apiece. In 1990, she also won Europe's largest dog sled race, the
Alpirod
The Alpirod is a defunct sled dog stage race in Southern Europe.Firth, p. 241 Its name comes from a combination of the Alps, where the race took place, and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, upon which the race was based. The competition consiste ...
, across
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. She was also honored with the Mush with PRIDE Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996, and once competed in the Iditarod.
["Wright Champaine Earns 1996 Lifetime Award", para. 1, 2, 6.]
Brooks's maternal aunt is Shannon Erhart, who competes in sprint races. She placed third in the Women's Fur Rondezvous race in 2000, and has also raced in the Open Fur Rondezvous. Her ex-husband Curtis Erhart has raced in the
Kuskokwim 300
The Kuskokwim 300 is among the more highly regarded mid-distance dogsled races in Alaska, annually attracting some of the top mushers in the sport. The race starts and ends on the Kuskokwim River in Bethel, Alaska, and is run on and adjacent to ...
.
["Meet Ramy Brooks", para. 4, 5.]
Personal History
Brooks was raised in a
Yukon River
The Yukon River ( Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän: ''Tth'echù'' or ''Chuu k'onn'', Southern Tutchone: Chu Nìikwän, russian: Юкон, Yukon) is a major watercourse ...
fish camp
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
in the Fairbanks and
Rampart
Rampart may refer to:
* Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement
Rampart may also refer to:
* "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...
areas. During the summer he operated a
fishwheel, and during the winter he mushed the family dogs. After high school he joined the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
then went to the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...
before returning to Alaska and married his wife, Cathy. His wife was raised in a
dairy farm
Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history th ...
in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and attended
Penn State, but moved to Alaska where she is employed by the
University of Alaska Fairbanks
The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-grant research university in College, Alaska, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was established in 1917 and opened for c ...
and works as the
4-H
4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times i ...
youth development specialist for the Alaska. Originally they lived in Fairbanks, but moved briefly to
Delta Junction, Alaska
Delta Junction ( uk, Делта-Джанкшен, Delta Dzhankshen) is a city in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 958, up from 840 in 2000. The 2018 estimate was down to 931. ...
, then Eureka, Alaska, in 1997, before settling in
Healy, Alaska
Healy is a census-designated place (CDP) and the borough seat of Denali Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 966 at the time of the 2020 census, down from 1,021 in 2010.
History
The history of Healy is intertwined with that of ...
by 1999.
["Ramy Brooks Interview", para. 1, 3, 4.] They have two young daughters, Abbigal and Molly. The cabin they lived in at Eureka was owned by former Iditarod champion
Susan Butcher
Susan Howlet Butcher (December 26, 1954 – August 5, 2006) was an American dog musher, noteworthy as the second woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1986, the second four-time winner in 1990, and the first to win four out of five ...
. He and his family are currently living on Murphy Dome Road in Fairbanks Alaska. They still own the kennel in Healy.
The family owns and operates Kami Kennels, primarily composed of
Alaskan Huskies.
["Ramy Brooks Interview", dogs section.] ''
Kami
are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
'' is a respectful
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
term for
sacred
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
spirits,
["Kami", para. 2.] and Brooks chose the name to symbolize the importance of his family. Brooks has visited schools as a motivational speaker since 1993, participates in
Mush for Kids since 1997, and from 2003 has been a
trustee
Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...
of the
Alaskan Children's Trust.
He attempted to commit
suicide at age 16, and suffered from
depression in his 20s. As a result, he began working with the
Alaska Mental Health Trust in 2005, in an attempt to reduce the extraordinarily high rate of suicide among Native Alaskans.
[Dillon 1, 2, 6–8.]
Racing
Brooks won his first race, the single-dog
Junior North American Championship, when he was four years old, with his dog Sam. He went on to become the first person to win the race three times in a row, and by 14 years of age he had won every class in the race.
["History of Sled Dog Racing in Alaska", para. 7.] He started competing in long distance races in 1992 and 1993.
["WINNER! Ramy Brooks won the 1999 Yukon Quest!!", para. 3, table.]
Brooks placed 17th in his first Iditarod, in 1994, and won the Rookie of the Year Award. He consistently improved his ranking for the next three years, breaking into the top 10 in 1997 with an 8th-place finish.
After two family deaths less than 10 days before the 1998 race and recurrent dog problems,
[O'Harra, para. 1, 9, 10.] he completed his worst finish in 1998. In 2000, he returned and has consistently placed in the top 10, with his best a back-to-back pair of 2nd-place finishes in 2002 and 2003. In 1998, he won the drawing for the
Joe Redington, Sr. Award, and in 2000 he won both the Sportsmanship and Most Improved Musher Awards.
Brooks is one of the few Alaskan Natives competing in the modern Iditarod, which is a considerable change from the early days of the Iditarod. In 1976, more than one quarter of the entrants, including the record-breaking
Emmitt Peters, were of native descent. The most common reason given for this paucity is the expense of the training and equipping a competitive team. Rural Alaskans find it difficult to acquire the necessary
sponsors.
[Hutchison, para. 6–13.]
In 1993, he placed 15th in 1,000 mi (1,600 km) Yukon Quest dog sled race.
["1993 Race Results", table.] In 1999, he won the race from Fairbanks, Alaska, to
Whitehorse, Yukon
Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...
, with a time of 11 days, 7 hours, and 31 minutes.
["1999 Race Results", table.] His 1999 win was accompanied by the Dawson Award for being the first musher into
Dawson City, Yukon, winning 4 oz of gold, the Kiwanis Award for being the first to cross the United States-Canada border, and the Major's Award for winning. His lead dog, Pretty Boy, won the Golden Harness.
["Hall of Fame", lists 1999 Yukon Quest awards.]
Brooks has also raced in the
Kuskokwim 300
The Kuskokwim 300 is among the more highly regarded mid-distance dogsled races in Alaska, annually attracting some of the top mushers in the sport. The race starts and ends on the Kuskokwim River in Bethel, Alaska, and is run on and adjacent to ...
,
Copper Basin 300,
Tour de Minto,
Fire Plug Stakes,
Sheep Creek Classic, and
Henry Hahn 200.
He won the Henry Han 200 in 1996, and placed 4th in the Kuskokwim 300 in the same year (also winning the Eddie Hoffman Humanitarian Award),
but his primary goal is to win the Iditarod. According to Brooks, "living my dream and the love of working with my dogs", is the reason he races.
["Ramy Brooks (Bib 16)", quoted in para. 9.]
Iditarod disqualification and suspension
During the
2007 Iditarod, witnesses said they saw Brooks punch and kick some of his dogs and hit them with a ski pole when they refused to leave a checkpoint during a March 15, 2007, stage in
Golovin, Alaska
Golovin (formerly Chinik, from ik, Siŋik or esu, Cingik; russian: Головин) is a city in Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 156, up from 144 in 2000.
Geography
Golovin is located at (64.54461 ...
, less than from the finish in
Nome, Alaska. Brooks denies the more serious allegations, but acknowledged "spanking" the dogs in his team with a trail marking lath. One of Brooks‘ dogs died the day after the incident, but a
necropsy
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
could not determine why the dog died and race officials said there was no evidence that Brooks was to blame. On March 17, 2007, the judges voted unanimously to disqualify Brooks from the 2007 Iditarod.
On May 18, 2007, the Iditarod Trail Committee Board of Directors announced that they had suspended Brooks for the 2008 and 2009 race, and following that, Brooks would be on probation for 3 years.
KTVA: Ramy Brooks Decision
Interviews of three adult and two child witnesses by an independent investigation team factored into the decision.
Notes
References
* "1993 Race Results". (n.d.)
* "1996 Iditarod Mushers: B, The". (1996)
* "1999 Race Results". (n.d.)
* Dillon, R. A. (October 19, 2005). "Musher speaks out about fight against depression, suicide." Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Retrieved March 7, 2006 from State of Alaska, Department of Health and Social Services, Alaska Alliance for Direct Service Careers sit
(pdf)
* "Hall of Fame". (2006)
* "History of Sled Dog Racing in Alaska." (1998)
* Hutchison, Kristan. (n.d.). "Fewer Native mushers in the race." The Juneau Empire
* "Kami
are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...
". (March 3, 2006).
* "Meet Ramy Brooks". (n.d.)
Retrieved March 7, 2006 from Ramy Brooks' site
* O'Harra, Doug (Sunday March 15, 1998). "Heavy Load". Anchorage Daily News
* "Ramy Brooks". (2006)
Retrieved March 7, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, 2006 Iditarod Musher Profiles
* "Ramy Brooks (Bib 16)." (2006)
* "Ramy Brooks Interview". (n.d.)
* Runyan, Joe. (2003). "Rating Ramy Brooks: The Summer Season.
* "WINNER! Ramy Brooks won the 1999 Yukon Quest!!". (n.d.)
* "Wright Champaine Earns 1996 Lifetime Award". (2000)
* "Media Advisory... Ramy Brooks" (2007). ttp://iditarod.com/press/release/pressrelease_370.html Retrieved March 18, 2007 from www.iditarod.com
* "Brooks disqualified from Iditarod" (2007)
Retrieved March 18, 2007 from Anchorage Daily News
* "Ramy Brooks Decision" (2007)
Retrieved May 19, 2007 from KTVA.com
External links
Current statistics in the 2006 Iditarod from the official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Ramy
1968 births
Alaskan Athabaskan people
American people of Yupik descent
Dog mushers from Alaska
Living people
Native American sportspeople
Sportspeople from Fairbanks, Alaska