Kennel founders Susan Butcher and David Monson’s legacy lives on! With the knowledge passed down by her parents, and the knowledge from her experience growing up surrounded by mushers and embracing the lifestyle in her 20s, their eldest daughter Tekla continues to foster a positive environment in which up and coming as well as seasoned dog mushers thrive.
We are proud to work with many amazing humans who all share in the love for the lifestyle and culture of dog mushing. A few of these are committed to train and race Trail Breaker Kennel dogs in the coming season. Read about our race mushers here, and join us in supporting them and cheering them on as they travel down the trail towards their goals.
Elena Herreid has been working with Trail Breaker Kennel for the last three years where she has been training for and running mid distance races. During the 2024/25 winter season she is excited to be training up the yearlings and teaching them what they need to know to be successful whether they are going on camping trips in the White Mountains or running down the race trail. Elena is looking forward to a season of training these young dogs to learn and grow as they get the experience they need to go the distance and look forward to a spring adventure to the Arctic with them in April.
Keira Irish, 16, has been running dogs since the age 10 and has over 500 miles of racing experience. Her main races include the Jr. Iditarod, an 160 mile race for kids 14-17 years old. She has run the Junior Iditarod twice, in 2023 with a team of mostly rescue dogs, and in 2024 with a team from Trail Breaker Kennel. Her other racing experiences include the T-Dog 110, the Solstice Invitational 25, and the Solstice Invitational 50. Although only a junior in high school, she is already planning on running the Iditarod after finishing college at the University of Alaska Fairbanks studying Wildlife Biology. Next season, she will be running the Junior Iditarod for the third time with Trail Breaker dogs, and is planning to run either the Knik 200 or the T-Dog 200 with the rescue team from Rerun Kennel. When not running dogs, she loves hiking, kayaking, and skijoring.
