By Kayla Bruch

Sled dog racers compete in Crutwell

Jan 10, 2015 | 2:55 PM

Several dog mushers from across Canada took to the trails in Crutwell Saskatchewan for a weekend of sled dog races.

“We get a lot of people not only from Saskatchewan they come from Manitoba and Alberta, all over, dog mushers are [always willing to travel], if there’s a race they’ll go to it,” said president of the Prince Albert Central Mushers Club, Arnold Chester.

For around 20 years now the Prince Albert Central Mushers Club has welcomed mushers of all ages and skill levels to join the one dog, four dog, six dog and ten dog races. Chester said during the races, beginning at noon each day, musher’s had the chance to win prize money.

Long-time handler and musher, Aaron Campbell first witnessed sled dog racing in Alaska on a bus tour and decided it was something he really wanted to pursue.

Over the weekend Campbell was racing his own dogs in the four dog race and running his friends dogs in both the six and ten dog competitions.

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“I got my first dog I think when I was 13 so that would be 20 years now, but I started racing 15 years ago, I came to my first race here in Crutwell,” said Campbell.

Chester said he used to be like Campbell running in any race he could, but at his age now it’s hard to keep up with the dogs, even though he would like to compete.

“I had dogs run in the Prince Albert Winter Festival 40 years in a row,” Chester said. Unfortunately, “if you’re going to run dogs you got to be able to move fast. If you run them ten miles you get about eight seconds if you have to stop … before they start jerking everything to pieces, so you’ve got to be in good shape and you’ve got to be able to move in a big hurry.”

This unique sport is about the give and take between the dogs and mushers involved.

“There’s a real connection with the dogs when you work with them as a team, there working hard for you and if you take care of them the better you’ll do,” said Campbell. “I get a lot of satisfaction seeing the dogs perform to their potential because that for me means I’ve done my job and there [job] is to run and they just need guidance.”

Campbell said his group of dogs aged nine and a half years old, one and a half years old and ten months old, interact well which makes it even more enjoyable for him to race.

“They get along really good. The older dog is the alpha female so she’s the boss,” he said. “She’s teaching them some of the things I can’t teach them and the young dogs bring life and zest and the energy that I want and she feeds off that so it’s good,” Campbell said, also adding the young dogs keep Gracie, the oldest dog, young.

Chester said the sled dog races not only allow the dogs to run and mushers to race it also benefits Crutwell and Prince Albert.

“It helps the community here, it also helps Prince Albert in that because these guys, the dog mushers, all buy there gas and their groceries and they shop in Prince Albert when there here and they usually stay in the hotels in Prince Albert overnight so its helps both places.”

kbruch@panow.com

On Twitter: @KaylaBruch1