Bud Smyth

In the middle of a lengthy piece by Joe Runyon for Cabela's coverage of the 2003 race is this interesting bit about Bud Smyth:

Bud Smyth is a true living historical figure. In addition to being a legitimate Iditarod front-runner, in the early days of Iditarod, Ramey Smyth's dad was a profound thinker. I love this guy.

In the early days of Iditarod the rules did not specify a dog limit. In fact, it wasn't until Bud Smyth appeared at the start line in 1978 with 35 dogs, that the rule makers made the move to limit team numbers to 20 dogs. Later, the number was notched down to 16 in 1994 (correct me if I'm wrong.)

For the preceding year, Bud and George Attla, the Huslia Hustler, had been advising Iditarod officials that they were contemplating a huge team. Bud eventually pushed the envelope, and in one of the most spectacular strategy ploys in Iditarod history, arrived at the start line with 25 dogs in harness and 10 dogs housed in a kennel permanently installed on a large freight sled.

There's more to this story at Cabela's site. Well worth clicking over to read.