THE MUSHERS

Squid Acres Kennel is owcodypaigened and operated by Paige Drobny and Cody Strathe.  In 2004, Cody, Paige, Yogi and Keetna started hanging out together. Paige and Yogi soon moved to Fairbanks, AK so that Paige could go to graduate school in fisheries. Cody and Keetna soon followed, so that Cody could go to graduate school for archaeology.  In Fairbanks, they bought their first place and it was affectionately named Squid Acres after Paige’s masters thesis project on squid in the Bering sea. Soon after, Cody built us a sled, Paige found us some dogs and yada, yada, yada… we have a sled dog kennel and the name has stuck. Our story together is the best one, but like the dogs, we each have our own interesting story.

 

Musher Profile: Cody Strathe

Cody grew up on a large cattle, pig, and horse farm in Iowa. Riding horses and fishing in the local creek was a great way to grow up. In middle school he moved to Wisconsin and began competing in little britches and high school rodeos and exploring the northwoods of Wisconsin. He went to college at UWSP and continued his love of the outdoors by receiving a Natural Resource Management degree. He hightailed it to Alaska and found a great spot in Seward where he found his first husky, Keetna. Once he moved to Fairbanks he received a masters degree in Anthropology / Archaeology and spent the summers surveying for unknown prehistoric sites in remote Arctic locations. He began building dogsleds and started his own company, DogPaddle Designs, building custom dogsleds for other mushers. He now bounces between helping Paige with fish work, sled building, archaeology projects and running dogs.

cody horses

Cody at age 6 helping round up the cattle on the farm in Iowa.

Cody’s dogsled racing career includes:

2023 Yukon Quest 550 – 4th place, 2022 Yukon Quest 550 – scratched at Central due to shoulder injury. 2021 Iditarod – 20th, 2020 Yukon Quest – 3rd and Vets Choice Award, 2019 Yukon Quest – 12th, 2019 Copper Basin 300 – 16th, 2018 Iditarod – 29th, 2017 Iditarod – 30th.  2017 Copper Basin 300, 5th.  2016 Iditarod – 42nd, 2016 Yukon Quest – 15th, 2015 Yukon Quest, 2015 Copper Basin 300 – 10th, 2015 Gin Gin 200 – 7th, 2014 Chatanika 200– 7th, 2014 Yukon Quest, 2014 Copper Basin 300 – 10th. 2013 Yukon Quest 1000 – 15th, 2013 Copper Basin 300 – 9th and Vet’s Choice Award, 2013 Top of the World 350  – 16th, 2012 Two Rivers 200 – 5th, 2011 Solstice 100 –  6th, 2011 Copper Basin 300 – 28th, 2010 Two Rivers 200 – 6th, 2009 Gin Gin 200 – 18th in Mens division.

Musher Profile: Paige Drobny

paige horse

Paige’s first love was horses.

Paige yogi

 

Paige was born with a love of animals. Her parents couldn’t keep the frogs and crickets and small animals out of the house. She got her first pet, a cat, at 3 and there were a slew of house pets and barn animals that came after that. Paige went to college at Virginia Tech and received a Biology degree. After lots of traveling and various jobs, Paige bought a camper van and she and Yogi, the black lab team manager, hit the road to Alaska. They landed in Seward and that is where they ran into another like minded pair, Cody and Keetna. Paige got her masters degree in fisheries biology at UAF and has since started her own company, Spearfish Research, doing biological consulting.

Paige’s racing career includes:

2023 Kuskokwim 300 – 13th, 2023 Copper Basin 300 – 6th and vets choice award, 2022 Copper Basin 300 – 4th, 2022 Idtiarod – 20th, 2021 Iditarod – 19th, 2021 Kusko 300 – 14th, 2020 Idtiarod – 7th, 2019 Iditarod – 7th, 2019 Yukon Quest – 6th, 2019 Copper Basin 300 – 9th, 2018 Yukon Quest, 2017  Yukon Quest – 4th and Veterinarians Choice Award, 2017 Copper Basin 300 – 2nd and Vet’s Choice Award, 2016 Iditarod 43rd, 2016 Yukon Quest– 14th, 2015 Iditarod– 27th, 2015 Copper Basin 300 (Paige) – 9th, 2015 Gin Gin 200– 5th, 2014 Iditarod – 25th, 2014 Copper Basin 300 – 9th, 2013 Iditarod – 34th, 2013 Top of the World 350  – 15th, 2012 Yukon Quest 1000 – 14th & Sportsmanship Award, 2011 Solstice 100 – 8th, 2011 Yukon Quest 300 – 6th, 2010 Yukon Quest 300 – 5th, 2009 Gin Gin 200- 7th in womens division.