Meet the 2025
Mushers

Leon Church

Bowsman, Manitoba

I’m a third generation trapper from the Porcupine Mountain in West Central Manitoba. I began running sled dogs about 6 years ago when my passion for dog ownership lead me to exceeding 10-12 dogs through keeping pups and adopting rescues. None of my dogs have been purchased, & we are a self taught sled team! I now own & operated a dog kennel of 40 dogs. We offer sled rides, trapline tours, and bookings for both public & private events. We produce all of our own dog food with help from local suppliers of meats & fish; along with personal harvesting of fish and certain wild game. I’m addition to dog food sales, the business has recently expanded into freeze dried products! We have full intentions of running the Iditarod in the near future; and hopefully for many years to come! We are very excited to travel to Minnesota for another qualifying race towards our ultimate goal!

Thank you to our Beargrease sponsor:

KENNEL NAME?

Church Kennels

HOW CAN PEOPLE FIND YOU ON SOCIAL MEDIA?

Facebook

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START RUNNING SLED DOGS AND HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU STARTED?

I’ve always had a strong connection with dogs. My first appreciation for sled dogs was hearing the story of sled dogs relaying antitoxin to Nome when I was 7 or 8 years old. I started running dogs in 2018 and began racing a few years later. We started distance racing in March of 2022.

The “goodest” dogs
Need your help

What a sled dog looks forward to most after a long day of racing is a nice bed of straw! But guess what happened at last year’s race? Someone stole all our straw right before the race start! Thankfully, great fans like you helped us out during the ﬁnal hour to provide this vital supply for our amazing dogs.

These dogs simply are the best – and we want to be able to continue treating them that way! Donations from fans like you make that possible. Would you ﬁnd it in your heart to help us out? No amount is too small in sled dog world!

Meet the 2025Mushers