Husky race is snow mean feat
A Banbridge man is set to become the first person from Ireland to compete outside Ulster in a sled dog event with his own Siberian huskies.
Sixty-year-old Michael Rolston will travel to Asarna in Northern Sweden next week to take part in the World Championship Sled Dog race.
The local man will be representing Ireland as one of only three teams from the UK competing in the prestigious event, which will see around 150 teams from over 25 countries in Europe compete.
He has been racing Siberian Huskies for over 10 years and won the Scottish Championship in 2005/2006 winning all eight races in the calendar.
Currently the owner of 26 dogs, he’s been busy training all winter four or five times a week to bring the fitness level of his dogs up to championship status.
Michael said that he first became interested in sled dog racing around 15 years ago when he was given two huskies as pets.
“These dogs really enjoy racing, it is inbred in them to run, so I took up racing.”
He found out more about the sport through talking to other dog owners and general word of mouth, and since then has competed in the mainland many times, as the practice doesn’t take place in Northern Ireland.
In total, 12 dogs will be making the four-day journey to Sweden travelling through Holland, Germany, Denmark on the way.
They are due to arrive next Monday and will spend a fortnight training in preparation for the main races.
The three-day event, schedule for March 7, 8 and 9, will take the form of a ten-mile sprint each day.
And all the dogs have their own pet passport so they can travel back to the UK after the event.
Michael said: “The dogs will do well and will reach speeds of 25mph over their 10 mile sprint. The weak link will be me as I have never raced on snow with a sled before. In the UK we always run with three-wheeled rigs due to lack of snow.”
Admitting that the competition would be tough, he added: “We will be racing against Scandinavian teams that spend half their training season on sleds.
“But the dogs should rise to the challenge - they are good dogs. It’s just that our training has been restricted because of the weather since Christmas.
“Ideally we need cold and dry conditions in order for the dogs to fully enjoy the run. These dogs are used to very low temperatures.”
He added: “We are looking forward to it, and have had a lot of support from everyone at home. Anyone who’s heard about of it has been quite interested.”
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Weather for Belfast
Monday 28 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South
