Husky News

COMPETITIORS were skating on thin ice over the weekend when they tackled the Siberian conditions with their four-legged friends at Glenmore.

More than 230 teams and 1,000 dogs took part in this year’s Aviemore sled dog rally, which was marking its silver jubilee.

There had been high hopes going into the event that the mushers would be able to tackle the courses by the shores of Loch Morlich on their sleds, rather than their three-wheeled rigs, because of the snowy start to the year.

However, the treacherous icy conditions, which have also created havoc on the area’s roads over the past week, put paid to that with all the races having to be cancelled on Saturday morning.

Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain spokeswoman, Judy Wakker, said that the trails were covered in thick ice – putting the skids under a substantial part of the racing timetable.

She added: “All the people who were there went out in the trail with shovels and pick axes, trying with anything that had a pointy edge to break the ice, but to no avail.

“It was a great team effort all round.”

Sand was also laid down on the forest tracks, and a Landrover had chains fitted to its wheels to try and break-through the ice.

Their exertions meant that racing was finally able to resume in the afternoon, much to the delight of the spectators, who numbered 3,000 over the weekend.

This year’s event – one of Europe’s largest sled dog rallies – is estimated to have pumped in around £250,000 to the local economy.

When the racing finally got underway on Saturday afternoon, club members aged from eight to 60-years-old took part.

Contesting the races were teams of two to eight dogs, pulling sleds at up to 20 miles per hour over the four-mile track which sits in the shadows of the Cairngorms.

Mrs Jo Brecknell (39), from Tomatin, took part in the two-dog class with her two-year-old huskies Reef and Panda and picked up a fourth place in their first outing of the season.

She said: “The dogs have to be two-years-old to start racing but they mature at around four-years of age. My husband, Charlie, and I are very competitive, but the dogs are young and it’s quite a tough trail.

“I expected to come somewhere in the top ten places, so I was very pleased to come fourth.”

Mrs Brecknell was also placed best overall female musher and the dogs achieved the best placed bitch team award.

She has been competing for the last ten years and won the three-dog race in 2000 with some of her now retired huskies. Her husband has also been successful in the past claiming class wins in 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2004.

The fast-paced rally is open to five registered sled dog breeds; Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, Samoyeds, Greenland Huskies and Canadian Eskimo dogs.

Many of the dogs and mushers have been training all year round for the event, which can be physically exhausting for both two and four-legged competitors.

Steve Taylor, one of the organisers, said: “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 had a vet on stand-by during the racing.”

The Arden Grange Aviemore Sled Dog Rally is the biggest event in the British husky calendar.

Only a dozen teams competed at the inaugural Aviemore rally in 1983 – a far cry from this year’s numbers.

“This is the biggest entry we have ever had,” said a delighted Mrs Wakker. “There’s more and more people running their dogs every year, and many of them have told me that they are looking forward to next year’s fixture already.”

The event gained nationwide attention, with Reuters among the media organisations who covered the racing.

The rally came to the attention of the world two years ago when Jamaican rookie, Devon Anderson, made history by becoming the first overseas competitor to take part 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 – much of it on his native isle.

His mentor was Alan Stewart, who runs the Cairngorm Sled Dog Centre in Rothiemurchus, and is himself one of the UK’s leading sled-dog racers.

Source: Scottish Provincial