Ramy Brooks - Family

Family

Brooks is descended from the Yupik Eskimos and Athabascan Indians, two of the indigenous groups who were the first to mush dogs in Alaska. His grandfather, Gareth Wright, was a competitive musher who won both major Alaskan sled dog races of the 1940s, the American Championship (twice), and the Fur Rendezvous World Championship (three times). Wright was also a dog breeder and kennel owner who became known for breeding the Wright's Aurora Husky from the Irish Setter, the St. Lawrence Siberian Husky, and village dogs.

Brooks's mother is Roxy Wright (or Wright-Champaine), another kennel owner and competitive musher. She became the first woman to win both the Fur Rendezvous World Championship in Anchorage, Alaska and the Open North American Championship in Fairbanks. She won the open class of each event three times, and the women's classes eight times apiece. In 1990, she also won Europe's largest dog sled race, the Alpirod, across Italy, Austria, and France. She is also was honored with the Mush with PRIDE Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996, and once competed in the Iditarod.

Brooks's maternal aunt is Shannon Erhart, who competes in sprint races. She placed third in the Women's Fur Rondezvous race in 2000, and has also raced in the Open Fur Rondezvous. Her ex-husband Curtis Erhart has raced in the Kuskokwim 300.