Running Dogs
Right, since I ran out of time yesterday, the second (and best)part of the day is now available for you to read! It continues straight after the end of yesterday's entry.
Ready...go!
The observer journalist wasn’t in the most suitable of dress, he had a suit on! He explained to me he had come from a Remembrance Service straight to the rally. Not knowing anything really about the sport, I gave him a basic 101 lesson on Dogsledding and then I went to find one of the mushers I knew.
I went up to a section of vans I hadn’t been to yet, to check around there, and found Barabra Terry. She was another one of the musher’s who I had met at Wellington Country Park. She had just fed the dogs and was happy to talk to answer the reporter’s questions. “Ask me questions, its easier to me. I am not great at conversations!” Joked Barabra. While she answered questions, Barabra let me interact with two of her dogs. Jet and Tegan.
Jet was quite happy to be played with, but didn’t really show it. Tegan on the other hand, was the youngest husky, she was jumping on me and sniffing all over me, she also gave me some friendly licks. Barabra had another dog, her lead dog, who loved to be in its cage. “She treats it like it’s her sacred den.” Barabra said. Then Yaz and my Dad came over, the journalist had finished interviewing Barabra and thanked me. Then Yaz went to play with Jet and Dad gave Tegan a fuss.
While they were playing with the dogs, I talked with Barabra. I was telling her about my love for huskies and how I really wanted to own one when I was older.
“Careful, you start out wanting one, and you end up with 3 or 4!” She said amusingly.
Barabra said they are so adorable (which they are) that you fall into the trap of wanting more. “Once, you’ve owned one, many of us really can’t let go.” She explained, “I used to have a BMW, now I have a van and 3 dogs!”
It was good advice, she wasn’t trying to put me off having huskies, but she was just telling me to wait till the right time.
Yaz came over to me, with husky fur on her trousers. Barabra took me to one of the neighbouring vans to meet Cathy. Her 2 fast dogs were the fastest there, she had gone around the trail in about 10 minutes. I spoke to Cathy for a little bit about her dogs and then she gave me an offer I couldn’t turn down. Cathy said that her other 2 dogs, the slower ones, needed to have a run too. So she said, “How about later on, you take my slower dogs on a run up and down some of the woodland trails?”
I was quite amazed, she was going to allow me to get on her rig and run her dogs! I said yes and thanked her for her kind offer.
I looked around, Dad had gone off somewhere, so me and Yaz headed towards the start line. As we did, Reg Osborn was getting ready in his van to run in the 2-dog class. We went over to his van and chatted while he waited for his turn. “I’ve got 10 minutes, it feels like I am waiting for hours.” Reg told me.
Yaz looked around for Dad, but couldn’t find him. “Maybe the Martians have beamed him up…you could make a movie on that!” Joked Reg.
I talked about how the documentary was coming together and he was pleased to hear it was going well. “Wonderful, when it’s finished you’ll have to show us.” Reg said.
Then Reg went to get out his two dogs and some of his fellow mushers came over to give him a hand. We all went over to the start line, where dad was finally found, and watched Reg get ready for his second run.
“This is the problem with going a second time, you know when the bad bits are, and you don’t want to go through the bad bits!” Reg told me. His two dogs barked and pulled, then we yelled the countdown and Reg hiked off onto the race trail.
It was an odd feeling; at my first husky race I hadn’t known any of the competitors. All the interviews and greetings with the musher’s had come after I filmed the racing shots. So this time, I could cheer for teams I knew.
When we went over to the finish line, Dave Hemmins was cheering his daughter on as she approached the finish line. Reg’s wife came over to join us as we waited for him to finish the race.
The Shanly Challenge was a 3 day race, there was a night rally on the Friday and then on Saturday there was a trail at Yateley Heath and then the final stage was here at Buttersteep Rise. All the stages were timed and then totalled up to produce a final score.
Reg as come around the corner and closed in on the finish, we were cheering and calling out to the dogs. He went through the finish and kept the dogs going, then he stopped by his van. We stayed and waited for someone else who was on the trail. Reg had overtaken her and it was Chantal, the musher whose tyre had burst during the Wellington Park Race. “Knowing her, she’s probably found a supermarket in their somewhere.” One of her friend’s joked.
The time was now approaching 13:40 and we walked back towards Cathy and Barabra’s vans. On the way Reg came over and said, “I’m done for today. There are some terrible spots in that trail!”
I said that I’d catch him later, so he could pack his equipment and care for his dogs. Me, Yaz and Dad went to vans where Cathy, Barabra and Susan Harkins were talking. My dad then got a call on his phone and began wondering around talking, and Yaz went to stroke Cathy’s dogs.
“Ah, there you are!” Cathy said, when she saw me. I joined in the conversation for a bit and then Cathy brought me over to the van. Her husband, Mark, had arrived on his quad bike, she introduced me and we shook hands. “Mark will go ahead of you on the trail so that you know where you are going and also to check that it’s alright.” Cathy explained.
She gave me some clothing to put over my jeans and Barabra came over saying, “Oh no! That’s it now, you’ll be getting your dad to buy you a dog team soon!” We laughed and then Cathy showed me how to grip the rig. I then wheeled it over to the start of our trail and then Cathy and Susan hooked up the two huskies. Mark started his Quad and John Harkins help hold the rig as I got on and prepared myself.
I looked down at the rig’s handlebars; they are the same as a bike’s. The dogs began to bark and pull; I could feel them moving the rig. Cathy and Susan stood back, and Barabra watched, Mark began to accelerate the quad.
“You ready?” Cathy asked me.
I nodded, I was ready as I could be. My legs seemed to feel like jelly and my heart was beating really fast. I was about to complete another one of my dreams, and experience the thrill for myself…
“Alright, go!” Cathy shouted. John let go and I released the brake on the handlebars. The dogs charged forward and the rig was pulled along, the jolt of the start almost threw me off the back. My senses went nuts as we sped along; I gripped the handlebar as tight as I could, not wanting to fall off. But as I gripped it, they were moving, which was moving the wheel. It was really hard to control it all, I was trying to hold on and keep the rig going straight. The dirt trail was bumpy and the dogs were running at full speed down the trail. After the shock of the start, I began to calm and control myself. My legs had stopped shaking and my arms now steadied the rig. I looked ahead and saw Mark on the quad, then looked down slightly and saw the dogs running in front of me.
That view I will never forget, I was now in the driving seat. And to see the huskies pulling me was absolutely amazing, now I really did get a sense of their power. When you see them run past, it’s impressive, but you don’t get the same sensation unless you’re riding with them. I was now a musher, and I was in control of the dogs. I had to remember everything I had read and make sure that I did everything correctly, because Mark turned right up ahead. “Don’t forget the commands!” He instructed me.
I prepared myself for my first turn, the huskies were still running very fast and the turn was approaching. I made my mind remember that I would have to turn my arms too, so the rig’s front wheel would turn. I looked down at the dogs and called to them, “Gee! Gee!” The dogs saw the turn and obeyed my instructions, I began to turn the rig and we swung round and then I straightened the rig. It reminded me slightly of driving a car, except there were no pedals.
We headed down this new stretch; this part was not as wide and more forested. Leaves and twigs were littered all over the ground. I was much more confident and more focused now. When I had started I didn’t know what expect as much, but now I was more accustomed to it. It also gave me a chance to take in everything better, I could look around more. I could look up and see Mark on the quad, look down slightly and see the trail in front of me, look down a bit further and see the dogs running and the gangline/towline, look down even further and see my hands on the handlebars, even more and my feet on the steps, and the blur of the ground below.
The quad turned left and I got ready, I called out to the dogs, “Haw! Haw!” They turned and I began to turn the rig too. We began up another path, this one was more like the first part, open and more grass than dirt. There was a slow bend towards the left on the trail and I wasn’t sure if I needed to call or not. I called once to make sure and turned the handlebars slightly as we sailed around the bend.
The ride was fantastic, I was really enjoying it and they had all been right. When filming the documentary I had asked all of them, “What’s it like being on the rig?”
Barabra had said that you had to concentrate really hard to avoid any accidents; Chantal had said it was a real adrenaline rush and Reg had said that it was really exciting.
Then the trail went uphill, Mark was climbing in ahead and he called out, “You’ll need to push the rig up!” That was something I hadn’t seen at Wellington, I had seen Musher’s pushing their sleds up mountains in a documentary about the Yukon Quest. So as we began to go up the hill, I got off and began running. I was running really fast, otherwise my feet would slip and I would be dragged by the dogs. As I ran up the hill, I shouted, “Hike! Hike! Hike!”
Then we got to the top and I got back on the rig, then we began to roll down hill. I poised my fingers on the handlebars, ready to slow the rig if I needed to. I had read about how mushers have run down their own dogs when they have been descending mountains and steep hills. I could feel our speed picking up, but I didn’t need to slow it. The two huskies were doing just fine, the line was hardly slacking at all. Then I saw at the bottom of the hill there was a sharp left turn and Mark had just finished turning. I sped towards the turn and began to brake the rig, “Ready…Haw!”
The dogs turned around the bend quickly, I turned the rig, but I could sense I was going too fast. The dogs were now running, pulling the rig around and I lost control. The rig tipped, and my fingers slipped off the handlebars. My body was thrown off the rig and I braced myself. In the air, it seemed to give me time to turn my body. I shut my eyes as I landed on my right hand side, as I did I rolled a few times and ended up face down, my hands on the ground and in the ferns.
I got up and saw Mark had got off the Quad bike and was running over towards me, shouting, “You alright!?” I waved and yelled back, “Yeah, I am fine!” He raced back over to his idle quad and I walked over to the rig, it was on lying on its side, the left wheel was still spinning in the air. The dogs stood there waiting for me, Cathy had told me if I had an accident, they would stop and wait for me. I righted the rig and got back on it, Mark began to accelerate again and I released the brakes. “Alright guys? You ready…Hike On!” I shouted and we were back on trail.
As I went down the trail I could feel something on one of my fingers, I looked down and saw one of my fingers on my left hand was bleeding. Blood had begun to run down my finger and was coming out rather quickly. The odd thing to me was I couldn’t feel it, there was no pain…I guess it was because my mind was focused on the trail and the dogs.
As we continued running I saw Mark go though a deep puddle, the quad bike threw up a huge spray. I thought to myself, “I don’t want to go through that!” So I steered the rig towards the long grass at side, so we could miss the worst of the puddle…big mistake! I ran into a hidden ditch and the rig crashed at the bottom. I suspect the dogs were thinking, “Heh…Rookie.” I pushed the rig up the ditch back onto the trail and then stood back on the rig and continued.
I noticed that the trail we were now on was the one I had been on earlier, the group was stood up ahead and I could hear them cheering us on. I felt like I was in one of the races, the dogs began to sprint and I wanted them too, “That’s it, Hike!”
We got to the end and I put the brakes on and got off the rig. My body was feeling indescribable; I had a slightly nervous feeling, a relieved feeling and also a feeling of excitement. Susan came over and said, “You did really well, Cathy’s slow dogs are faster than some musher’s fast dogs.”
Barabra was clapping and she said, “You’re done for now! You’re hooked! Once we start we can’t really ever let go.”
Reg was there too, he noticed the injury on my finger and shouted, “He’s been blooded!” John Harkins replied, “He must have been christened then! He’s one of us now!”
It was a great feeling, another one of my ambitions had been achieved and I was now addicted, Barabra brought me a plaster and Susan brought some damp wipes. As they tendered to my injury I said, “Can I go again?” They all laughed and Cathy said, “I’m sure one of us will let you go again.”
Susan, Cathy, John, Reg and Kate were all going to do what I had done. They were going to take the dogs from their vans that hadn’t run in the rally and run them now. Kate had four she hadn’t run; so she said I could run two of hers. “Mine aren’t as fast as Cathy’s though, so it should be easier for you.” She told me.
Yaz wanted to have a go, so Reg put one dog on his rig and Yaz stood on the rig while Reg ran along holding the husky by its lead.
I helped the others prepare their dogs by holding them and harnessing them. Susan taught me how to harness the dogs; it was really fun to learn all the skills. It felt as if I had gotten through the door and was now part of the group. We hooked the dogs up and Mark got on his Quad again.
“Mark will go ahead again to check there are no dogs being walked, and then we’ll all be behind you.” Cathy said.
I got back on the rig and prepared myself for the jolt that occurred when the dogs start running. Now I knew what to expect, it wasn’t so hard. But then I had a new challenge, once of the dogs paws threw some mud up and it hit right in my eye. So I had to hold onto the rig with one hand and wipe the mud off with the other. We took the same trail as we did last time. I had learnt the lessons from last time and managed to have no other incident of any kind what so ever. I loved being on the rig and running with the dogs, Barabra was right, I was hooked and I would want to get the thrill again another day.
Susan and Cathy got to the end and Susan said, “Well done! You were really good that time. You did everything correctly; I think you’d be a good musher.”
That was nice to hear, Susan also told me that I could perhaps ride again when they went training one weekend, since they lived nearby in Yateley. They gave me their e-mail address and phone number. I thanked everyone for giving me the opportunity to ride the rig and then I went over to see Darren and Lorraine at their van.
Darren asked me how the run had been, I told him what I thought of it and then I began to play with some of his dogs. Then my dad came over and said we would have to go soon. The sun was beginning to fade and the last mushers were finishing the rally.
It was wonderful to see everyone I knew, and Darren said, “When you’ve finished the documentary, send one over to us. Since everyone here knows each other, it’d be great to see some of our friends in it and pass it on.”
I nodded and then said my goodbyes to Barabra, Kate, Cathy and Mark. When I said goodbye to Susan and John they said, “Next week is at the New Forest, come if you can! If it has to be local, there’s a race at Yateley Heath in February.”
Reg had just finished loading his van, since he was about to leave too. “See you soon, good luck with the video.” He said.
I finally said goodbye to Dave, and thanked him for letting us come to the rally. “It was nice to see you Mike, drop an e-mail whenever you like.”
I hope to visit another husky race soon; however my mum isn’t so thrilled. Saying, “You are not going to these things every weekend.” But then I am not going to be seeing every husky race in the UK. If it’s not to far away, I’ll defiantly go…or I might be able to see Dave and Susan training one weekend when there are no races. So there is much to look forward too…and many more wonderful and exciting memories.
And if you can't be asked to read it all, take a look at the pictures!
Tegan, Barabra’s ‘Baby’
Tegan gets jumpy
Reg Osborn starts his 2-Dog Run
3-Dog Team cross the finish line
Chantal Vince starts her race
Cathy finishes her run with her 3 fastest dogs
A team sprinting along
Playing with one of Darren’s dogs
Reg finishes his 3-Dog trail
Mark on the Quad Bike
Me running Dogs!
Also on the subject of Sleddogs, the UK Sleddog Centre was on GMTV this morning, which was cool to see.
Going on to Xmas...I would love to send some christmas cards abroad to some of you, give me an e-mail or drop me a comment with the address so I know how many I need to buy, and stuff.
Hope the stress of these Uni's in the States hasn't drove you all to the brink of suicide yet!
Ready...go!
The observer journalist wasn’t in the most suitable of dress, he had a suit on! He explained to me he had come from a Remembrance Service straight to the rally. Not knowing anything really about the sport, I gave him a basic 101 lesson on Dogsledding and then I went to find one of the mushers I knew.
I went up to a section of vans I hadn’t been to yet, to check around there, and found Barabra Terry. She was another one of the musher’s who I had met at Wellington Country Park. She had just fed the dogs and was happy to talk to answer the reporter’s questions. “Ask me questions, its easier to me. I am not great at conversations!” Joked Barabra. While she answered questions, Barabra let me interact with two of her dogs. Jet and Tegan.
Jet was quite happy to be played with, but didn’t really show it. Tegan on the other hand, was the youngest husky, she was jumping on me and sniffing all over me, she also gave me some friendly licks. Barabra had another dog, her lead dog, who loved to be in its cage. “She treats it like it’s her sacred den.” Barabra said. Then Yaz and my Dad came over, the journalist had finished interviewing Barabra and thanked me. Then Yaz went to play with Jet and Dad gave Tegan a fuss.
While they were playing with the dogs, I talked with Barabra. I was telling her about my love for huskies and how I really wanted to own one when I was older.
“Careful, you start out wanting one, and you end up with 3 or 4!” She said amusingly.
Barabra said they are so adorable (which they are) that you fall into the trap of wanting more. “Once, you’ve owned one, many of us really can’t let go.” She explained, “I used to have a BMW, now I have a van and 3 dogs!”
It was good advice, she wasn’t trying to put me off having huskies, but she was just telling me to wait till the right time.
Yaz came over to me, with husky fur on her trousers. Barabra took me to one of the neighbouring vans to meet Cathy. Her 2 fast dogs were the fastest there, she had gone around the trail in about 10 minutes. I spoke to Cathy for a little bit about her dogs and then she gave me an offer I couldn’t turn down. Cathy said that her other 2 dogs, the slower ones, needed to have a run too. So she said, “How about later on, you take my slower dogs on a run up and down some of the woodland trails?”
I was quite amazed, she was going to allow me to get on her rig and run her dogs! I said yes and thanked her for her kind offer.
I looked around, Dad had gone off somewhere, so me and Yaz headed towards the start line. As we did, Reg Osborn was getting ready in his van to run in the 2-dog class. We went over to his van and chatted while he waited for his turn. “I’ve got 10 minutes, it feels like I am waiting for hours.” Reg told me.
Yaz looked around for Dad, but couldn’t find him. “Maybe the Martians have beamed him up…you could make a movie on that!” Joked Reg.
I talked about how the documentary was coming together and he was pleased to hear it was going well. “Wonderful, when it’s finished you’ll have to show us.” Reg said.
Then Reg went to get out his two dogs and some of his fellow mushers came over to give him a hand. We all went over to the start line, where dad was finally found, and watched Reg get ready for his second run.
“This is the problem with going a second time, you know when the bad bits are, and you don’t want to go through the bad bits!” Reg told me. His two dogs barked and pulled, then we yelled the countdown and Reg hiked off onto the race trail.
It was an odd feeling; at my first husky race I hadn’t known any of the competitors. All the interviews and greetings with the musher’s had come after I filmed the racing shots. So this time, I could cheer for teams I knew.
When we went over to the finish line, Dave Hemmins was cheering his daughter on as she approached the finish line. Reg’s wife came over to join us as we waited for him to finish the race.
The Shanly Challenge was a 3 day race, there was a night rally on the Friday and then on Saturday there was a trail at Yateley Heath and then the final stage was here at Buttersteep Rise. All the stages were timed and then totalled up to produce a final score.
Reg as come around the corner and closed in on the finish, we were cheering and calling out to the dogs. He went through the finish and kept the dogs going, then he stopped by his van. We stayed and waited for someone else who was on the trail. Reg had overtaken her and it was Chantal, the musher whose tyre had burst during the Wellington Park Race. “Knowing her, she’s probably found a supermarket in their somewhere.” One of her friend’s joked.
The time was now approaching 13:40 and we walked back towards Cathy and Barabra’s vans. On the way Reg came over and said, “I’m done for today. There are some terrible spots in that trail!”
I said that I’d catch him later, so he could pack his equipment and care for his dogs. Me, Yaz and Dad went to vans where Cathy, Barabra and Susan Harkins were talking. My dad then got a call on his phone and began wondering around talking, and Yaz went to stroke Cathy’s dogs.
“Ah, there you are!” Cathy said, when she saw me. I joined in the conversation for a bit and then Cathy brought me over to the van. Her husband, Mark, had arrived on his quad bike, she introduced me and we shook hands. “Mark will go ahead of you on the trail so that you know where you are going and also to check that it’s alright.” Cathy explained.
She gave me some clothing to put over my jeans and Barabra came over saying, “Oh no! That’s it now, you’ll be getting your dad to buy you a dog team soon!” We laughed and then Cathy showed me how to grip the rig. I then wheeled it over to the start of our trail and then Cathy and Susan hooked up the two huskies. Mark started his Quad and John Harkins help hold the rig as I got on and prepared myself.
I looked down at the rig’s handlebars; they are the same as a bike’s. The dogs began to bark and pull; I could feel them moving the rig. Cathy and Susan stood back, and Barabra watched, Mark began to accelerate the quad.
“You ready?” Cathy asked me.
I nodded, I was ready as I could be. My legs seemed to feel like jelly and my heart was beating really fast. I was about to complete another one of my dreams, and experience the thrill for myself…
“Alright, go!” Cathy shouted. John let go and I released the brake on the handlebars. The dogs charged forward and the rig was pulled along, the jolt of the start almost threw me off the back. My senses went nuts as we sped along; I gripped the handlebar as tight as I could, not wanting to fall off. But as I gripped it, they were moving, which was moving the wheel. It was really hard to control it all, I was trying to hold on and keep the rig going straight. The dirt trail was bumpy and the dogs were running at full speed down the trail. After the shock of the start, I began to calm and control myself. My legs had stopped shaking and my arms now steadied the rig. I looked ahead and saw Mark on the quad, then looked down slightly and saw the dogs running in front of me.
That view I will never forget, I was now in the driving seat. And to see the huskies pulling me was absolutely amazing, now I really did get a sense of their power. When you see them run past, it’s impressive, but you don’t get the same sensation unless you’re riding with them. I was now a musher, and I was in control of the dogs. I had to remember everything I had read and make sure that I did everything correctly, because Mark turned right up ahead. “Don’t forget the commands!” He instructed me.
I prepared myself for my first turn, the huskies were still running very fast and the turn was approaching. I made my mind remember that I would have to turn my arms too, so the rig’s front wheel would turn. I looked down at the dogs and called to them, “Gee! Gee!” The dogs saw the turn and obeyed my instructions, I began to turn the rig and we swung round and then I straightened the rig. It reminded me slightly of driving a car, except there were no pedals.
We headed down this new stretch; this part was not as wide and more forested. Leaves and twigs were littered all over the ground. I was much more confident and more focused now. When I had started I didn’t know what expect as much, but now I was more accustomed to it. It also gave me a chance to take in everything better, I could look around more. I could look up and see Mark on the quad, look down slightly and see the trail in front of me, look down a bit further and see the dogs running and the gangline/towline, look down even further and see my hands on the handlebars, even more and my feet on the steps, and the blur of the ground below.
The quad turned left and I got ready, I called out to the dogs, “Haw! Haw!” They turned and I began to turn the rig too. We began up another path, this one was more like the first part, open and more grass than dirt. There was a slow bend towards the left on the trail and I wasn’t sure if I needed to call or not. I called once to make sure and turned the handlebars slightly as we sailed around the bend.
The ride was fantastic, I was really enjoying it and they had all been right. When filming the documentary I had asked all of them, “What’s it like being on the rig?”
Barabra had said that you had to concentrate really hard to avoid any accidents; Chantal had said it was a real adrenaline rush and Reg had said that it was really exciting.
Then the trail went uphill, Mark was climbing in ahead and he called out, “You’ll need to push the rig up!” That was something I hadn’t seen at Wellington, I had seen Musher’s pushing their sleds up mountains in a documentary about the Yukon Quest. So as we began to go up the hill, I got off and began running. I was running really fast, otherwise my feet would slip and I would be dragged by the dogs. As I ran up the hill, I shouted, “Hike! Hike! Hike!”
Then we got to the top and I got back on the rig, then we began to roll down hill. I poised my fingers on the handlebars, ready to slow the rig if I needed to. I had read about how mushers have run down their own dogs when they have been descending mountains and steep hills. I could feel our speed picking up, but I didn’t need to slow it. The two huskies were doing just fine, the line was hardly slacking at all. Then I saw at the bottom of the hill there was a sharp left turn and Mark had just finished turning. I sped towards the turn and began to brake the rig, “Ready…Haw!”
The dogs turned around the bend quickly, I turned the rig, but I could sense I was going too fast. The dogs were now running, pulling the rig around and I lost control. The rig tipped, and my fingers slipped off the handlebars. My body was thrown off the rig and I braced myself. In the air, it seemed to give me time to turn my body. I shut my eyes as I landed on my right hand side, as I did I rolled a few times and ended up face down, my hands on the ground and in the ferns.
I got up and saw Mark had got off the Quad bike and was running over towards me, shouting, “You alright!?” I waved and yelled back, “Yeah, I am fine!” He raced back over to his idle quad and I walked over to the rig, it was on lying on its side, the left wheel was still spinning in the air. The dogs stood there waiting for me, Cathy had told me if I had an accident, they would stop and wait for me. I righted the rig and got back on it, Mark began to accelerate again and I released the brakes. “Alright guys? You ready…Hike On!” I shouted and we were back on trail.
As I went down the trail I could feel something on one of my fingers, I looked down and saw one of my fingers on my left hand was bleeding. Blood had begun to run down my finger and was coming out rather quickly. The odd thing to me was I couldn’t feel it, there was no pain…I guess it was because my mind was focused on the trail and the dogs.
As we continued running I saw Mark go though a deep puddle, the quad bike threw up a huge spray. I thought to myself, “I don’t want to go through that!” So I steered the rig towards the long grass at side, so we could miss the worst of the puddle…big mistake! I ran into a hidden ditch and the rig crashed at the bottom. I suspect the dogs were thinking, “Heh…Rookie.” I pushed the rig up the ditch back onto the trail and then stood back on the rig and continued.
I noticed that the trail we were now on was the one I had been on earlier, the group was stood up ahead and I could hear them cheering us on. I felt like I was in one of the races, the dogs began to sprint and I wanted them too, “That’s it, Hike!”
We got to the end and I put the brakes on and got off the rig. My body was feeling indescribable; I had a slightly nervous feeling, a relieved feeling and also a feeling of excitement. Susan came over and said, “You did really well, Cathy’s slow dogs are faster than some musher’s fast dogs.”
Barabra was clapping and she said, “You’re done for now! You’re hooked! Once we start we can’t really ever let go.”
Reg was there too, he noticed the injury on my finger and shouted, “He’s been blooded!” John Harkins replied, “He must have been christened then! He’s one of us now!”
It was a great feeling, another one of my ambitions had been achieved and I was now addicted, Barabra brought me a plaster and Susan brought some damp wipes. As they tendered to my injury I said, “Can I go again?” They all laughed and Cathy said, “I’m sure one of us will let you go again.”
Susan, Cathy, John, Reg and Kate were all going to do what I had done. They were going to take the dogs from their vans that hadn’t run in the rally and run them now. Kate had four she hadn’t run; so she said I could run two of hers. “Mine aren’t as fast as Cathy’s though, so it should be easier for you.” She told me.
Yaz wanted to have a go, so Reg put one dog on his rig and Yaz stood on the rig while Reg ran along holding the husky by its lead.
I helped the others prepare their dogs by holding them and harnessing them. Susan taught me how to harness the dogs; it was really fun to learn all the skills. It felt as if I had gotten through the door and was now part of the group. We hooked the dogs up and Mark got on his Quad again.
“Mark will go ahead again to check there are no dogs being walked, and then we’ll all be behind you.” Cathy said.
I got back on the rig and prepared myself for the jolt that occurred when the dogs start running. Now I knew what to expect, it wasn’t so hard. But then I had a new challenge, once of the dogs paws threw some mud up and it hit right in my eye. So I had to hold onto the rig with one hand and wipe the mud off with the other. We took the same trail as we did last time. I had learnt the lessons from last time and managed to have no other incident of any kind what so ever. I loved being on the rig and running with the dogs, Barabra was right, I was hooked and I would want to get the thrill again another day.
Susan and Cathy got to the end and Susan said, “Well done! You were really good that time. You did everything correctly; I think you’d be a good musher.”
That was nice to hear, Susan also told me that I could perhaps ride again when they went training one weekend, since they lived nearby in Yateley. They gave me their e-mail address and phone number. I thanked everyone for giving me the opportunity to ride the rig and then I went over to see Darren and Lorraine at their van.
Darren asked me how the run had been, I told him what I thought of it and then I began to play with some of his dogs. Then my dad came over and said we would have to go soon. The sun was beginning to fade and the last mushers were finishing the rally.
It was wonderful to see everyone I knew, and Darren said, “When you’ve finished the documentary, send one over to us. Since everyone here knows each other, it’d be great to see some of our friends in it and pass it on.”
I nodded and then said my goodbyes to Barabra, Kate, Cathy and Mark. When I said goodbye to Susan and John they said, “Next week is at the New Forest, come if you can! If it has to be local, there’s a race at Yateley Heath in February.”
Reg had just finished loading his van, since he was about to leave too. “See you soon, good luck with the video.” He said.
I finally said goodbye to Dave, and thanked him for letting us come to the rally. “It was nice to see you Mike, drop an e-mail whenever you like.”
I hope to visit another husky race soon; however my mum isn’t so thrilled. Saying, “You are not going to these things every weekend.” But then I am not going to be seeing every husky race in the UK. If it’s not to far away, I’ll defiantly go…or I might be able to see Dave and Susan training one weekend when there are no races. So there is much to look forward too…and many more wonderful and exciting memories.
And if you can't be asked to read it all, take a look at the pictures!
Tegan, Barabra’s ‘Baby’
Tegan gets jumpy
Reg Osborn starts his 2-Dog Run
3-Dog Team cross the finish line
Chantal Vince starts her race
Cathy finishes her run with her 3 fastest dogs
A team sprinting along
Playing with one of Darren’s dogs
Reg finishes his 3-Dog trail
Mark on the Quad Bike
Me running Dogs!
Also on the subject of Sleddogs, the UK Sleddog Centre was on GMTV this morning, which was cool to see.
Going on to Xmas...I would love to send some christmas cards abroad to some of you, give me an e-mail or drop me a comment with the address so I know how many I need to buy, and stuff.
Hope the stress of these Uni's in the States hasn't drove you all to the brink of suicide yet!