Manila native living her dream racing sled dogs

Bridgett Moore Watkins of Fairbanks, AK is living her dream racing her own team of sled dogs. Bridgett also has roots in Arkansas where she was born and spent her first years and later returned to finish high school.

The young wife of Scotty Watkins, also a native of Manila,  and mother of two, Timber, 9, and River 6, was born and lived in Manila until she was five years old when her family moved to Alaska. At the age of 15 she returned to Manila, graduated from Manila High School and the University of Arkansas at Monticello where she earned a degree in nursing.

She and Scotty married after college and in 2005 decided to make their home in Alaska. They both enjoy the outdoors. Bridgett works as an ER nurse and Scotty works at a bank. Bridget is also pursuing her graduate degree to become a Nurse Practitioner.

They lived in the remote village of Nome, Alaska, for six years before moving to Fairbanks where they are raising their sons and dog team. Scotty and Bridgett started their own kennel, Kennel on a Hill, in 2018. They are raising their own sled dogs which has long been a dream for Bridgett.

Bridgett has loved racing sled dogs since she was a young child. Even during the years she lived in Arkansas, she never missed a season.

She has always run her family’s dogs from SP Kennel in Two Rivers, AK,  owned by her dad Allen Moore and his wife, Aliy Zirkle, until this season.

Bridgett is no stranger to long dog sled races but she was  excited to run her first 300 mile race with her own team of dogs she had raised from pups.

“Over the last two years we have been breeding and raising dogs for this purpose, to run our own team,” Bridgett said. “They are bred from my family’s dogs at SP Kennel. Scotty, Timber and River have been instrumental in the racing season. From helping feed, clean the dog yard and run the dogs. The boys have cuddled these babies since they were born, so they had great pride in seeing them pull their mama through the wilderness and across a finish line. I have been racing sled dogs since I was six years old and never really quit. Life circumstances may have suspended the racing, but every winter I have been on a sled.”

“Now, we have our own kennel, dog team and finishers of their first 300 mile race.”

Bridgett plans to continue to build on what her team learned in their first race.

“This is a group of very young, inexperienced dogs,” she said. “I relate the experience to hanging out with toddlers who I tried to explain we were going to go on a long camping trip. They were going to carry all their supplies, camp outside and it might get a little cold. I had to convince them this was a good plan and they would have fun. We graduated from preschoolers to kindergarteners. They now know how to eat with others, sit and sleep when they are supposed to take a nap, run when they should, and even go potty like kindergarteners should.”

Their race started in Two Rivers, AK and finished in Central Alaska. She and her team finished all together with her family waiting to greet them.

“It was 300 miles of the most grueling, difficult terrain an individual and team can traverse,” she said. “I knew this would be an ample opportunity to teach them more than any other race. The theme that I had to embrace was, patience, just to have patience like that of a kindergarten teacher. They knew nothing and it was my job to teach them.”

Bridgett said the temperatures during the race ranged from -10 to -50 degrees below 0.

“My team was well suited, as am I, with appropriate winter gear. They wear jackets and booties to keep them warm and comfortable. They have the most amazing fur designed for this type of climate. We have tracking devices on our sled so fans and officials can watch our progress. In the case of an emergency we can activate an emergency beacon that will notify the race officials  and literally activate the national guard. If we press this button, it automatically withdrawals us from the race as we are not allowed any outside assistance. There is no other form of communication allowed on the trail.”

Bridgett described the race with great moments of struggle and glorious moments of triumph.

“When you are on the creeks, there is a great solitude,” she said. “Nothing but the swoosh of your runners hitting the snow and the dogs’ breath panting in front of you. It’s peaceful, my happy place, where I was born to be. People have been asking me my favorite part of the race. Quite simply, the finish line. There was no prouder moment than seeing this group of athletes cross their first ever finish line with their human companions waiting to give them hugs and kisses. I’m pretty sure Timber and River were beaming with pride of what ‘their’ dogs had one. I was not sure just two months ago if this finish line would be possible. We overcame many hurdles to get to this point.”

The races she hopes to share with her team are just starting.