Husky News

THE prospect of powder-filled routes would be the perfect way to mark the 25th Aviemore Husky Rally, according to organisers.

More than 1,000 dogs from across the UK are expected to descend on the strath at the weekend, when the annual spectacle celebrates its silver jubilee.

With them will be more than 250 mushers who will lead their hounds on a weekend of racing around Glenmore Forest.

Event organisers, the Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain, are hoping that the wintry conditions at the foot of the Cairngorms will hold for long enough to allow for traditional sled-dog racing to take place.

If not, competitors will once again clamber aboard their modified wheeled rigs to join in the action.

Whatever the weather, organisers have claimed that this year’s annual championships will be one of the best yet.

Spokesman Steve Taylor, from Cheshire, said: “This year is really special for all of us as it is our 25th anniversary.

“We will be celebrating this prestigious event in style and would like to invite everyone interested in sled-dogs to join us in Aviemore.”

He added: “If we have ideal conditions there will be plenty of snow for teams to pull their musher around the course on a sled. If not, the musher will use a three-wheeled rig that looks a bit like a tricycle without a seat.

“Both dogs and musher have to be fit and many teams train all year round for this race.

“The health and safety of the dogs is our top priority and temperature and humidity are closely monitored to make sure the conditions are right for the dogs and their owners to have maximum fun during the event. We also have a vet on stand-by during the racing.”

The 2008 Arden Grange Aviemore Sled Dog Rally is the biggest event in the British husky calendar, with racing in seven adult classes taking place over Saturday and Sunday.

A pack of Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes and Samoyeds will take part, with as many as 3,000 spectators expected to watch from the sidelines throughout the weekend.

The rally features teams of between two and eight sled-dogs pulling at speeds of up to 20 miles an hour over a gruelling, four-mile track. Mushers as young as eight-years-old are expected to take to the start line.

Just a dozen teams ran in the first rally in 1984. That numbers have grown year-on-year, with over 250 teams due to race this year.

The event gained worldwide coverage two years ago when Jamaican rookie Devon Anderson made history by becoming the first overseas competitor to take part in the rally.

The musher, from St Ann on the Caribbean island, finished 27th out of 80 entrants in the four-dog class. His appearance at the rally was his first competitive outing, and came after just six months of training.

His mentor had been Mr Alan Stewart from the Cairngorm Sled Dog Centre in Rothiemurchus.

More information about this year’s rally is available online at www.siberianhuskyclub.com

Source: Scottish Provincial Press