David Turner
President
David runs a pure bred
Siberian team
TEAM
Michelle Rose
Secretary
Owns pure bred Siberian huskies
Nicki Allen
Treasurer
Nicki runs a team of mixed breed dogs
Peter Rose
Public Officer
Peter runs a pure bred Siberian team
About Sled Dog Racing
What is sledding?
Sled Dog racing started in Australia around 20 years ago, sledding has become a very popular sport in Australia, where dog & musher work together making their way around the forest on dirt trails. For the 1 & 2 dog class mushers use scooters, for the 3,4,6 & 8 class mushers use 3 wheeled rigs. The dogs are highly trained, skilled athletes who learn specific commands to take left & right turns to make their way safely around the track.
There are different classes for different skill levels we have a Novice class for new comers, Touring class for non competitive dogs & novice mushers (this class for young dogs between 12 months & 18 months of age), Veteran class for dogs aged 7 & over, Open classes for 1,2,3,4,6 & 8 dogs, Pee Wee class for kids 7 & under & a Junior class for kids aged 8 & up. Just added to the sledding disciplines are Canicross for the more active mushers, the musher wears a custom made canicross belt and they run through the forest with their dog/dogs and Bike-joring where a push bike is used instead of a scooter.
Sledding is a sport the whole family can enjoy while spending quality time with your dog/dogs
What Breed of dogs can run in harness?
Any breed of dog can learn to run in harness, they must be sound & capable of doing the work. Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute, Samoyed, GSP, Pointer, German Shepherd and Golden Retriever over the years we've had many rescues & cross breeds who have also excelled at this sport.
What equipment is needed?
A scooter or rig, a bike helmet, snowboard helmet or skating helmet, a gang line, (the gang line attaches from the scooter/rig to the dogs harness,) your dog will need a strong collar, if running a 2 dog team you'll need a neckline, Your dog will need a well fitting harness, a pair of side cutters in case of emergency, safety glasses, for night races you'll need a good head lamp, good pair of running shoes. If using a rig you'll need a snub line, locking brake. Australia now has 4 snow races, you'll need a snow sled and strong snow hook or 2.
Where can I learn more about Sledding?
Every state in Australia except NT, now have a sledding club. All clubs hold a introduction to sledding day. NSW Siberian Express offers a welcome to sledding day, where we offer all our equipment, scooters, harness's, ganglines all you need to bring is yourself, your dog & a bike helmet you can come along and give sleddding a go it's completely free to attend. We'll do a brief talk about sledding, the right commands to use and you're on your way! We also offer training/mentoring boot camps each month where we'll go into more detail about sledding, talk about the rules of sledding & track etiquette. Once again we'll lend you all our equipment, one of our experienced committee members will take a team out with you and help you with any problems you may encounter when running your dog/s for example pass training.