Husky News

Blender, a 3-year-old Siberian husky, knows she’ll soon be out on the trail when her owner breaks out the collar.

She gets even more excited when she sees Patty Kulpa, of Pemberton, pull the red harnesses from the van. Yelping and pulling at the run line, Blender and the rest of the team are in the mood for a race.

“They’ll take off like a bat out of hell,” said Kulpa. “And they’ll pick up the pace if they see a team in front of them.”

On a blustery Saturday, 18 dog teams and their owners raced a course through the Pine Barrens during a Jersey Sands Sled Dog Racing Association event. And even though there wasn’t any snow, the race went on using three-wheeled carts called gigs.

“This is the one thing I’m most addicted to,” said Laura Anderson, 43, of Tabernacle. “This is my stress relief.”

A goal of Anderson’s is to compete in the 100-mile Midnight Run in Michigan. The races in the Pines will help her and the team get there.

Jersey Sands got its start in the early 1970s and has about 20 members. New blood is always welcome and members will help newcomers get into the sport. Folks also are encouraged to come out and watch. The next race is Saturday at Goose Pond in Brendan T. Byrne State Forest in Woodland Township.

“It’s like any sport,” said Betty Carhart, 85, of Springfield Township, who founded the club. “You get into a competitive mood. But it’s also about getting outside.”

There are benefits for the dogs as well as their owners. Anderson said dogs that are in shape do better in the show ring. And owners get outside in the winter for exercise.

While certain dogs — such as Siberians and Alaskan malamutes — are bred for pulling sleds, that doesn’t exclude others.

“It’s pretty much any dog willing to pull,” said Chris Jacobs, 40, of Clayton. He has seen Doberman pinschers and German shepherds do the job just as well as the winter breeds.

Jay Frock, of Ambler, Pa., Jersey Sands’ president, got into the sport as exercise for him and his rescued dogs. He started our racing Dobermans, but now has three Siberian huskies.

The gig is fairly basic. A starter version, which can be had for about $500, is pulled by three to eight dogs. It has limited steering and brakes. One or two dogs also can pull a bicycle in competition.

“The steering is pretty much just up to the lead dog,” he said.

The rig and dogs do cruise along. It’s not uncommon for a three-minute mile, which is about 20 miles per hour.

“They don’t hit that pace the whole way,” said Jacobs, who has four Siberian huskies.

While races further north are typically held in snow, the white stuff is tougher to find in South Jersey and Southeastern Pennsylvania. There has been no snow during the club’s meets in recent memory, members said.

“Dry land (racing) is becoming much more popular,” said Jacobs, adding that he likes riding the gig better than the sled, which is harder to control. “Everyone wants to run on snow. But we’ve gotten so good at riding these gigs.”

For man and beast to be any good at racing, they must train at least three days a week, said Herman Linderboom, 75, of Port Republic. And like athletes, some dogs have what it takes to race while others do not.

“The (dog) that stays up front and doesn’t mind being there is a good leader,” said Linderboom, a retired research engineer who still trains dogs. “They follow commands.”

Anderson, with her dogs led by Blender romping along the sandy 4.2-mile course, said there’s nothing better that cruising through the pines. They whip along, the dogs with their ears pinned back, mouths open and tongues flapping.

“It feels like I’m free,” she said after finishing, “free from cell phones, from traffic, from the job. It’s about getting back to what life is about.”

ON THE WEB
For more information on sled dogs and clubs, check out these sites:

www.gsshc.com — Garden State Siberian Husky Club

www.njsdc.com — New Jersey Sled Dog Club

www.isdra.com — International Sled Dog Racing Association

IF YOU GO
The Jersey Sands Sled Dog Racing Association has a race planned Saturday at Goose Pond in Brendan T. Byrne State Forest. The drivers meet at 9 a.m., with racing starting soon after that.

Source: Courier-Post