Martin Buser
Encyclopedia
Martin Buser in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
) is a champion of sled dog racing.
Martin Buser began mushing
Mushing
Mushing is a general term for a sport or transport method powered by dogs, and includes carting, pulka, scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. More specifically, it implies the use of one or more dogs to pull a sled on snow or a rig on dry land...
at age seventeen in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. In 1979, Buser moved to Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
to train and raise sled dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
s full time. His training operation, Happy Trails Kennels, is located in Big Lake, Alaska
Big Lake, Alaska
Big Lake is a census-designated place in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, United States. It is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
He entered his first Iditarod in 1980, and has run every race since 1986, his third Iditarod. In twenty Iditarods, Buser has won the event four times, in 1992, 1994, 1997, and 2002. On sixteen occasions, he has finished among the top ten finishers. He is the runner-up for fastest finish time in Iditarod history; his team completed the 2002 race in 8 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes, and 2 seconds. He entered his first Yukon Quest
Yukon Quest
The Yukon Quest 1,000-mile International Sled Dog Race, or simply Yukon Quest, is a sled dog race run every February between Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon...
in 2009 and finished in fourth place, earning him "Rookie of the Year."
His sense of humor and positive outlook have made him a fan favorite. In 2008, he caused quite a stir among fans worldwide when he gave his GPS unit to a pilot who was transporting dogs and equipment to and from a checkpoint.
Married to educator Kathy Chapoton, Buser named his sons, Nikolai and Rohn, after Iditarod check points. Upon completion of his fourth Iditarod victory in March 2002, Buser was naturalized as a citizen of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
under the burled arch in Nome
Nome, Alaska
Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...
that marks the race's official finish line.
Buser and his Happy Trails Kennels were featured on an episode (premiering April 12, 2009) of the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
's Dirty Jobs
Dirty Jobs
Dirty Jobs is a program on the Discovery Channel, produced by Pilgrim Films & Television, in which host Mike Rowe is shown performing difficult, strange, disgusting, or messy occupational duties alongside the typical employees. The show premiered with two pilot episodes in November 2003...
program as well as on the seventh episode of Sarah Palin's Alaska
Sarah Palin's Alaska
Sarah Palin's Alaska is an American television show hosted by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. According to Palin, the show's aim is to bring "the wonder and majesty of Alaska to all Americans"...
.