Siberian Husky Bloodlines: SNOW RIDGE

SNOW RIDGE was the kennel name of the most successful of the early Canadian dual-purpose Siberian Husky kennels. It was run by Susan Elizabeth "Bunty" Ricker, the daughter of Leonhard Seppala's one-time kennel partner Elizabeth M. Ricker, though when the kennel began she was Mrs. W. J. F. Dunlop. Bunty showed and worked her Siberians with equal enjoyment.

SNOW RIDGE was principally founded upon the HUSKIE-HAVEN bloodline of Austin Moorcroft, whose line was based on the Harry Wheeler male CHARNEY OF SEPPALA initially owned by W. R. Commins of Manitowaning, Ontario. Moorcroft bred CHARNEY to two females, AKIAK OF ANADYR from Earl F. Norris and NONY OF WHITE from Anthony Landry. While she was Mrs. Dunlop, Bunty's kennel was in Burlington in southern Ontario. Later she moved to northern Ontario and a second marriage to Roma Goudreau; the Goudreaus lived in the small town of Chelmsford near Sudbury.

Bunty's famous mother preceded her in a small way in the show-dog game, breeding from HUSKIE-HAVEN stock as MANAWAN Kennels; in Canada she was always known as Peg Nansen, as her residence there was years after her remarriage to the Danish polar explorer's son Kaare Nansen. Ch. MANAWAN'S CHIEFTAIN and his dam Ch. ILYA OF HUSKIE-HAVEN must have been among the earliest Canadian SH bench champions; his son Ch. SNOW RIDGE CHIEFSON was the first SH to go Best in Show in Canada.

Bunty's Siberians were from varied sources. Here are some (not all!) of the components of her bloodline:

Bunty's bloodline was entangled and intermingled with those of several other Canadian kennels: Manawan, Huskieheight, Shady Lane, and Racecrest. These kennels sold breeding stock to one another in such a way that it can be difficult in the absence of full individual studbook records to decide who bred which dogs!. Bunty also used outside stud dogs on occasion, Donnie McFaul's leader FOXSTAND'S SUNDAY, for example. McFaul stock used by others (ZAKI OF SEPPALA, LOBO OF SEPPALA) also joined the SNOW RIDGE mix.

My own involvement with Bunty's kennel occurred in 1969 when I purchased DITKO OF SEPPALA and Ch. SNOW RIDGE CHIEFSON from Bunty after having visited her kennel and bought a dog. "Son" and "Dit" were both old dogs at the time, living examples of Siberian Husky history and very dear to me in the brief time that I was given to know them.

The SNOW RIDGE show dogs were also the kennel's sleddogs. Canadian race results of the 1950s are not easily come by, so we have little idea how successful a competitor Bunty may have been; I suspect race competition mattered little to her. She was a person who lived with and enjoyed Siberians all her life -- she was a child at the Poland Spring Seppala kennels and later had a Wheeler male (KOBUK OF SEPPALA) as a pet. Her bloodline was a major influence on other Canadian kennels until in the 1960s the mania for show-dogs from the U. S. A. arose, largely supplanting older Canadian bloodlines. There was always a strong Seppala component and a Wheeler flavour to the SNOW RIDGE bloodline, small wonder given the initial Wheeler base and later Gatineau and McFaul Seppala admixtures.

SAMPLE PEDIGREE -- Can. Ch. Snow Ridge Chiefson (Opens in a new window.)
SAMPLE PEDIGREE -- Can. Ch. Snow Ridge Duke (Opens in a new window.)

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