Millville girl, 14, blows away competition in dog-sled races -- against adults

By Scott S. Jardine

March 22, 2005 | While most 10-year-old girls ask for dolls or toys for Christmas, Kylee Price asked for something else: A dog sled.

Kylee became interested in dog-sled racing as a child. She had watched movies about sled dogs, movies such as Call of the Wild, Balto, and Iron Will, and decided that one day she wanted to do what she saw in the movies.

At age 5, Kylee began saving every penny she earned. Money from birthdays, selling lambs at the county fair, and doing odd jobs went into her savings, and amounted to about a thousand dollars. After five years, she approached her parents with the money and her dream.

"They didn't even know I had the money," Kylee said.

With all the sacrifice it took for her to save the money, Kylee says she doesn't feel like she's missed out on anything, even though it often meant skipping movies and not spending much money when shopping.

"I'll go to the mall with my friend and she'll buy stuff, but I won't buy anything," Kylee said. "I'm happy with what I have."

Now at age 14, Kylee has raced in more than 20 races and has taken first place in all but three of them. She spends countless hours throughout the year training, and during racing season, traveling on weekends to races. In February, Kylee raced in Dubois, Wyo., in an eight-mile adult race. She raced with the adults because there weren't enough participants for the junior race. She took first place and won by three and a half minutes, or nearly a mile, and won $500. Most recently Kylee raced in Casper, Wyo., in a charity race, where she also took first place.

Kylee now owns six Alaskan Huskies that range from 40 to 55 pounds. They are all good racing dogs in their own different ways, according to Kylee, but her dog Jenna is her favorite.

"She does everything I ask her."

Kylee and her family enjoy riding horses, and she said that Jenna will sometimes ride with her too. It just takes somebody to lift Jenna onto the horse, and she'll stay on the back while Kylee rides. The Prices also enjoy snowmobiling and four wheeling and Jenna has been known to ride with Kylee on these too.

Kylee is on her second sled, because she wanted to compete in more advanced races, and needed a bigger sled to do so. She is wanting to upgrade again for the same reasons Her parents, Teri and Kermit, order her equipment and are in the process of acquiring a better, more expensive sled, one that could cost more than $1,200.

When Kylee was younger, and before she had any of her equipment, she used a horse halter and rope to harness a dog, and would have the dog pull her on a Big Wheel. Today her equipment is a bit more advanced. Kylee's equipment is ordered through catalogs, everything from booties to protect the dogs' feet to custom-fit harnesses for each dog. They also have to order special dog food to keep the dogs in top shape.

"They have to be very lean," Teri said. "It's like a heavy person trying to run a marathon."

The Prices have found a dog food they find suitable for their racing dogs, but it's not sold in stores in Cache Valley, a distributor brings it to their house.

Every month approximately 100 pounds of food is delivered to the Prices from Black Gold, a manufacturer of high-protein dog food. The cost of a month's worth of dog food is about $40. Sometimes, even an egg is added to the dogs' dishes to increase their protein intake.

Nearly every other day during the winter, either Kylee or Kermit will take the dogs out for training. They train in various locations, but their favorite is Hardware Ranch in Blacksmith Fork Canyon. They run them about 15 to 20 miles each time, which takes roughly three and a half hours. During the summer, Kylee hooks up one dog at a time to her bike, and lets them pull her around the neighborhood.

Kylee's younger brother Kaden, 10, has also enjoyed racing in many of the same events that Kylee competes in. He uses Kylee's first sled, and has also taken first place in many races. Often it's Kylee and Kaden who end up with the first and second medals in a race.

Most of the races they participate in are hours away from their home.

Kylee is in the ninth grade and often has to get permission from teachers to miss school. She usually has to get her homework from teachers and complete it outside of school, but most of them are supportive.

"Some of them think it's cool," Kylee said.

Although racing can be fun, it can also be quite a challenge. If you fall off the sled, the dogs just keep running, and so far, Kylee has been dragged by her dogs on at least two occasions.

"The No. 1 rule is you don't let go," Kermit said.

Three years ago, Kylee was dragged about three blocks when she fell and the dogs started running. Her parents finally caught up on a snowmobile and were able to stop the dogs. Kylee was wearing a knee brace at the time from recent knee surgery, and luckily, only ended up with a "snowburn" on her arm and face.

"But she didn't let go," Teri said.

According to Kylee, the dogs are usually raging to go again as soon as a race is finished.

"Give them a two-second break and they're loaded and out of control."

When Kylee isn't busy traveling to races, or practicing with her dogs, she can be found participating in many other activities, almost as unique as her racing.

Kylee and some friends at school started a blue-grass band, in which Kylee plays the fiddle and the mandolin. She was able to purchase the mandolin with her prize money she won in the Dubois race.

She learned how to play the fiddle from classes in school, and learned how to play the mandolin through trial and error, on her own. Recently, after the race in Dubois, Wyo., Kylee and her family attended a "hoe-down," where Kylee joined in on some jam sessions with others who were playing various instruments. Two of the people she was able to "jam" with included the bass player for Willie Nelson's band, and a man who wrote songs for Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. According to Teri, Kylee can play a song just by hearing it.

"(She) listens to the song three or four times, and then just plays it."

Kylee also enjoys writing poetry and essays, and has often written about racing. She won an essay writing contest that was hosted at one of the races about why she was a ‘Musher.' Even with all the things Kylee has to occupy her time, she doesn't hesitate to do the dirty work and clean out the dogs' kennel. Kylee says she cleans it out as often as she can, either everyday or every other day, no matter how much she has to do.

"Sometimes I'm tired, but it gets done," Kylee said.

Kylee is still not sure which career path she wants to take, but she is sure she wants to always race and train dogs. Next year, she will be a sophomore at Mountain Crest High School, and says she's interested in taking some medical classes. Even though Kylee has a lot of goals in mind, she still isn't quite ready to take life too serious yet.

"I don't wanna grow up," Kylee said.

One day Kylee does plan on taking her ambitions to another level. When asked what her ultimate goal is, Kylee doesn't hesitate to form a small grin and say, "The Iditarod."

The Iditarod is in Alaska, and is the largest sled race in the world.

It is held in March every year, and according to the Iditarod official website, the race is more than 1,100 miles long.

Kylee is already mapping out her plans to run it one day. In Millville, where Kylee lives, she is only allowed to own six dogs.

After high school, Kylee hopes to move to her grandpa's farm in Huntsville, where she can own more dogs and continue her trainingso that one day she might accomplish her dream and run the ultimate race.