Larry, the six year old canine leader of Lance Mackey’s Yukon Quest and Iditarod teams won the 2007 Iditarod Golden Harness Award. The Golden Harness Award exemplifies the top canine athlete in the race and is voted on by all the mushers in the race. Mackey calls Larry the brains and steering wheel of his team.
Larry first ran the Iditarod in 2003 as a 2-year old. Lance Mackey did not run the Iditarod that year as he was recovering from throat cancer and a finger amputation, so he lent the dog to his neighbor Paul Gebhardt, who was trying to rebuild his team after a short-lived retirement. Gebhardt was so impressed with Larry that he offered to purchase the dog from Mackey, however Mackey’s asking price of $2,500 seemed too steep for Gebhardt at the time. After Gebhardt finished second in this years race behind the team piloted by Larry, Evy Gebhardt quickly pointed out to her husband Paul that he should have purchased Larry when he had the chance.
Since the Iditarod in 2003, Larry has run in four more Iditarods, and helped pull Mackey sleds to victory in three Yukon Quest 1,000-mile races. Larry also won the Golden Harness Award at the Yukon Quest in 2005 and 2006.
To whom is it awarded?
The award is an embroidered gold colored harness presented by the City of Nome in honor of Lolly Medley to the winning dog at the Awards Banquet. Larry can be seen proudly wearing his award at the banquet in Iditarod Insider banquet footage.