Aviemore ‘all set’

OVER 1,000 Siberian Huskies, Alaskan Malamutes, Samoyeds and other breeds, together with 3,000 spectators are expected to gather later this month at Loch Morlich in the shadow of the Cairngorm mountains in the Scottish Highlands for the Aviemore Sled Dog Rally.

The event which takes place on 19th and 20th January 2008, is organised by the Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain and sponsored by Arden Grange.

The rally features teams of between two and eight dogs running at up to 20 miles an hour over a gruelling, four-mile track. Along with the Siberian huskies, rally dogs include Alaskan Malamutes, Samoyeds, Greenland Dogs and Canadian Eskimo Dogs. And, even if there's no snow at ground level for the event, the races will still go on with mushers using a three-wheeled rig that looks like a bike without a seat. Sled dogs come from as far as the Isle of Wight and Devon.

The rally is seldom run on snow, as the British climate famously fails to oblige, but the organisers are always hopefu!

Just a dozen teams ran in the first rally in 1984. With over 250 teams racing this year, the event is now is one of the biggest gatherings of its kind in Europe. Many of the dogs running at the Rally are show dogs and will also be competing at Crufts in March. The event is free to spectators.
For full details of the rally, see the club’s website: http://www.siberianhuskyclub.com/aviemore