Caledonia Classic Dogsled Races

Every year about this time I start to really get sick of winter. The cold, the snow, the ice, it all starts getting to me and I begin to wonder why, oh WHY do I live here? And then I start to see the notices around town "Caledonia Classic Dogsled Races" and I count the days down!


It's hard to explain the emotion in the air at the races. Everyone's excited and trying to stay positive even though everywhere you look, no matter how bundled, everyone has a red face, frozen in the bitter cold. Today was -15 degrees Celsius, which actually isn't that bad. The bitter cold still bites at your skin until you can no longer take it and must seek refuge next to the fire.

The excitement is always evident in every dog racing. They leap at the end of their lines or chains and scream with great enthusiasm.  The goal of every single sled dog is very simple, and very clear; RUN.

When the dogs are lined up at the start line the noise is endless. Some are barking and leaping, so eager to go they can hardly contain themselves. The only thing holding them back is a small pick dug into the ice on the mushers runners on the sled. Some dogs stand calmly, as if they're old pros who have done it a thousand times. One more race is nothing special to them.



Five... Four... Three... the excitement among the crowd, let alone the dogs, can hardly be contained on the vast open ice. Two... the noise is louder than ever, ONE... GO! and they're off!

They quickly become mere specs across the endless snow within seconds and all that's left behind is a strange silence. Craig Houton announced over the speakers who was in the lead, who was following, and when they passed. He kept the crowed updated on where they were in the race and exactly what was going on. I wasn't about to stand on the ice freezing my butt off though, so decided to stand next to the fire to warm up before wandering about the lines of trucks and dog boxes. The noise seemed to have died down, maybe because there was less excitement in the air, and maybe because a lot of the dogs were out on the ice. Either way, it was an empty, quiet calm as I walked through the rows of dog boxes and took pictures. Many of the dogs were curled up on piles of hay, sleeping or relaxing. Many stood lifting paws and snuggling together, trying to get some sort of refuge from the bitter cold.


I was surprised at the amount of what appeared to be purebred dogs as I wandered around. It's quite the opposite response to when I first started learning about this great old sport. When I first started learning, much like most people who don't know much about dog sledding, I thought that only Siberian Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes were used to race. While a lot and most of the dogs do have these breeds in them, and purebreds are also used at times, the most productive sled dog will be a mutt. They are usually mixed with fast breeds such as Greyhounds or sometimes mixed with the Border Collie for the intelligence and train-ability. A lot of the dogs racing appear to be Heinz 57's, but I did come across several teams that appeared to use purebreds (or close to purebred). These types of dogs are also known as "Alaskan Huskies".

Alaskan Huskies tend to be of any shape size and colour. They look like your average mutt in your average household, but each dog actually seems to be specially designed for this sport. They are usually lean in body and very high-strung. Sometimes so high-strung that it seems impossible to keep weight on them! They are always ready to go go GO!

 

Siberian Huskies tend to have a general look to them, the white mask with a grey, black or red blaze leading to top coat of solid or variant shades of one colour with a light or white coloured undercoat peaking through. They tend to have white paws, chests and underbellies. They have short pricked ears and a dense coat, with a thicker muscle build appearance to them than the Alaskan Husky.


The heat I observed was the first of the day, starting at 9:30am in the bitter cold and consisted of several teams (about 5 I think, though I did not count) and each team consisted of 4 dogs. They all left at once and raced about Stuart Lake on the frozen ice and snow, before returning to the same spot they started from, one at a time. Sometimes the race was neck and neck, and sometimes they were staggered far apart.
Saturday was the second to last day of the Caledonia Classic Dogsled Races. If you missed Thursday and Friday, there is still Sunday left to catch them! For more information visit Caledonia Classic Dogsled Races Website for rules, pictures and other information as well as a schedule (which can be found HERE for your convenience) for what time the races and events happen tomorrow!

See you there!