Grand Prize Award Winner

• Name: Aisling
• Age: 10
• Award: $5,000 to Down East Sled Dog Club, plus Mia’s Starter Collection
• Nominated by: Her mother, Tara

Rescuing and raising a dogsled team

When Aisling was three, she begged her mother for a dog after seeing the Iditarod on television. She practiced with her pound dog, Jake, every chance she had, knowing that when she turned 5, she could enter her first race.

Aisling says, “I don’t care if we come in first, third, or last, as long as we come in happy and safe.”

Now 10 years old, Aisling runs three dogs in junior competition races. She runs the traditional Siberians, most of whom she has trained from scratch or has given a second chance.

Aisling trains her dogs daily before and after school, while also tending to her kennel, which she named “Ohana” based on a Hawaiian word meaning “family in which no one shall ever be left behind or forgotten.” They are not just racing dogs to her—they are her family, her love, her passion. She enjoys this sport not just because of what it could lead to but because she's spending time with her best friends.

Aisling has had her taste of spills and victories and has been known to stop her team to help out fellow junior mushers in need. In her eyes, it’s not about the points or medals, it's about being outside with her dogs and having fun while making sure others are having fun, too. She says, “I don't want my dogs to run for me, I want them to run with me. If they aren’t happy, neither am I. I don't care if we come in first, third, or last, as long as we come in happy and safe.”

When Aisling's on the trails, her mother sometimes sees four dog tails instead of three, then she realizes that the fourth tail is really Aisling's ponytail. This was never a sport her mother would have chosen for her because it is dangerous, yet through it all, Aisling still comes across the line a winner in everyone's eyes.