THE HOWLS OF HUSKIES
The excited howls of huskies and hounds can be heard echoing through the Cardrona Valley as sled dog teams converge at Snow Farm for the annual Wanaka Sled Dog Festival .
The event , held over three days , is the one opportunity that mushers ( dog team drivers ) and their dogs get to race on snow instead of dryland forestry trails .
This year , the official part of the event began on Wednesday , 16 August , with a Mushers ' Meeting to cover the details of the trail , a bib draw to determine the starting order of the first day of racing , and a talk by race marshall Michael Herbst from Australia .
After the meeting , some of the teams , who came from all over New Zealand and Australia , took advantage of the lovely sunny day and headed out for a test run before race day .
There were 32 teams competing in various classes , from novices and juniors to those more experienced who had returned for another snow experience on the superb cross-country ski trails .
However , the weather gods didn ’ t perform for day one of scheduled racing . Persistent rain all night had turned the trails to a slushy mess – the trail boss almost needed a jetboat instead of a skidoo to check them .
Race organisers made the decision to cancel racing that day to protect the trails for the next day and to prevent the risk of dogs getting injured in the slushy conditions .
Despite the trying conditions , everyone enjoyed their run and returned pleased with how well their dog teams had performed .
Much to the delight of everyone , the final race day dawned to a lovely , clear , cool morning . Out on the trails , mushers were able to admire the outstanding scenery Snow Farm has to offer . All the teams had much quicker finishing times given the better conditions , and looked extremely happy crossing the finishing line .
The event finished with a prizegiving , and some mushers stayed on for some more time on the snow !
Interested in this sport ? Here ’ s what you need to know :
Can any dog take part in sled dog sports ? Yes , any breed of dog with a desire to pull or run can take part in sled dog sports . While it is mainly associated with Siberian huskies , samoyeds and Alaskan malamutes , we have a wide variety of breeds taking part from pointers , border collies , labradors , huntaways , etc .
How many dogs do I need ? Just one ( to begin with , anyway – but it can be addictive and you may want more !)
Where ? There are sled dog clubs throughout New Zealand . See the New Zealand Federation of Sled Dog Sports ’ website page ( nzfss . org . nz ) for a club in your area .
In lieu of racing , dogs and mushers alike rested and played , enjoying an enforced day off .
The next morning was met with more challenging conditions : fresh snow was falling and a very foggy morning made for limited visibility .
But the fun began , any way . At the scheduled race start time of 7am , the dogs were howling up a storm as the timekeeper counted down – 5-4-3-2-1 – for the first two dogs teams to go .
The double and single dog teams started first on their 4.5 kilometre trail , followed 10 minutes later by the six , four and three dog teams running an 8.5km trail .
When ? The season runs from late May to early September , however clubs have training and other activities throughout the year .
Is it just snow racing or are there other activities ? There are many classes on offer , including : rig ( three-wheeled type cart ) for six , four , three and two dog teams ; scooter for two and one dog teams ; canicross , which is running with your dog , and bikejoring , which is biking with your dog . And there are also the sled and skijor classes mentioned in the story .
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