Burns Real Food fuels World sled dog champions

Fiona Maxwell and Steven Lindsay together are PAWTRAX SLED DOGS and currently the United Kingdom's Sled Dog Champion, owning a kennel of 16 dogs.

Burns Pet Nutrition are pleased to be sponsors of this team, supplying Canine Active feed which provides not only all the energy and nutritional requirements for these hard working dogs, but has the advantage of being a super premium quality food based upon natural ingredients with no added colours, preservatives or chemicals.

Pawtrax team dogs are a mixture of Siberian Huskies and Cumbrian Trailhounds. The team consists of both of these breeds running in harness. Many people are initially surprised to note that other dogs than the traditional husky breeds are used as pulling dogs, but worldwide there are now more German Shorthaired Pointers running in harness than Huskies! These other dogs have proven to be well suited to running in competitive teams.

The sport of sled dog racing in this country is very big and is growing at an enormous rate. The largest race is Aviemore (which the team has won twice). At Aviemore the entry is over 250 teams, with over 1500 dogs present. There are currently races every weekend from October to MarchThe sport has a wide range of participants- from the recreational, who are in the majority to the serious teams. A winning team in this country needs to average 20 mph over 6 to 7 miles of hilly trails. Over a season the team will clock up in excess of 1000 miles behind dog teams and will race in every part of the country from Dorset to Aberdeenshire.

Update April 2005

Quote from Press Release:

Two Scottish mushers have triumphed at the International Federation of Sleddog Sports (IFSS) Dryland World Championships in Poland and have returned to Scotland as World Champions.

Steven Lindsay from Keir Mill near Dumfries won the 6 dog open class (non-husky class) and Keith Johnson from Kilmaurs in Ayrshire won the 4 dog open class. This is believed to be the first time that Scottish mushers have attained the title of World Champion in the sport’s history.

The World Championships were held in Lubliniec in Poland and attracted over 200 competitors. Steven and Keith both beat over 20 top sled dog teams to win their classes by 3 minutes 40 seconds and 1 minute 30 seconds respectively.

As well as being a world class musher Steven Lindsay is Project Manager of Dog Sport Scotland, an initiative launched last year to promote and use the sport of sled dog racing to increase winter tourism in Dumfries & Galloway. He says the double win is an important step in putting Scotland on the global sled dog map.

“Dryland racing means that the mushers compete on forest tracks rather than snow, and Scotland offers the perfect climate and landscape for this fast growing sport. The Dog Sport Scotland project is attracting a lot interest from mushers around the world, and this double win for Scotland was the talk of the Championships! I also placed very well at the snow world championships in Oregon in January and Scottish mushing is now getting a good reputation around the globe.

“Both Keith and I train our teams regularly on the track and training facilities that have been created by the Dog Sport Scotland project in the forests of Dumfries & Galloway, and those facilities certainly seem to have paid off. I’m delighted to have won the title of World Champion and hopefully as more Scottish mushers make use of our training facilities they too will win important titles and make Scotland a global centre of excellence in this sport.”

Steve Lindsay has been using Burns Active for some time now and this excellent win says volumes about the quality of the food

Update October 2005

Steve writes
" I am off to Belgium in December to defend my world championship title, then onto France and Italy in January with my dogs to participate in some snow races. I then go onto Torino, to do a sled dog display at the winter Olympics in February!

I have also made it through to the final 2 choices for a 1 hour cross network ITV documentary- this is a huge development for my career and project and will result in lots of prime time exposure to millions!

The Dog Sport Scotland Project is hosting 7 events on the trails this winter and will see over 500 entries and 3000 spectators at them. Needless to say, all of the partners are very happy and it looks like we are taking the project national (not a well known fact, and will need to stay that way until we get the go ahead from the Forestry Commission)."

Dec 2005

Triple World Championship Win for Scottish Dog Teams
Scotland’s top three sled dog racing teams have scooped 3 ‘World Champion’ titles in Maasvallei in Belgium this week.

The three teams took part in the ‘Dryland World Championships’ organised by the International Federation of Sled dog Sports (IFSS), the biggest non-snow sled dog race in the world. Mushers Keith Johnson, Steven Lindsay and Graeme Scott won the 4-dog, 6-dog and 8-dog classes respectfully, beating fellow athletes from as far as the USA, Canada, Korea, South Africa, Russia and Europe. The top mushers race with specially bred ‘Euro-hounds’ and use a three-wheeled lightweight rig to hurtle along forest tracks, at average speeds of 30 km/hour.

Two of the mushers, Steven Lindsay, from Keir Mill near Dumfries, and Keith Johnson, from Kilmaurs in Ayrshire, were defending titles won earlier this year. But they say winning this time around tested their dog teams and their skills to the limit. Keith Johnson said:
“There was a much bigger field of competitors, around 500 in total, and this was by far the most physically demanding race any of us have taken part in. It was a watershed race in terms of putting Scotland on the global sled dog map. The sport has traditionally been dominated by Scandinavia and Germany, and I was particularly pleased to beat Norwegian musher Kjetil Hillestead, who has been one of the best in the world for decades.”

For Steven Lindsay the win confirms his view that Scotland is now the nation to watch for sled dog racing internationally.
“To have Scottish teams win the three most prestigious titles in this championship was incredible, and was a real shock to the other competitors. This was a brutal race. We counted at least two broken legs, two smashed pelvises and several cracked ribs among the other mushers. All three of us coming out victorious and unscathed is a real testament to the skills we’ve developed in Scotland.

“Dryland sled dog racing is ideally suited to Scotland’s climate and landscape. Our winning recipe is outstanding training facilities, excellent dog care and the innovative equipment we use. The Scottish approach to this sport is absolutely unique, and the initial amusement of some of our burly German counterparts at three wee Scottish lads with pampered pets, turned to shock as well left them trailing in the forest! We’re proud to have redefined the sport of sled dog racing internationally, and hope to reinvigorate it in Scotland!”

This was the first time that current European Champion Graeme Scott from Dumfries took part in a World Championship race, and it marks the start of a gruelling four month tour competing in the top sled dog races across Europe.
“To compete and win on a world stage is an incredible achievement for all of us, and it’s very important for the sport in the UK. Like any other sport, it takes hard work, dedication and top class fitness, both for the dogs and the mushers.”

The final results showed Keith Johnson beating his nearest competitor by 1 minute 20 seconds, Graeme Scott won by 2 minutes 20 seconds, while Steven Lindsay won by a whopping 3 minutes 5 seconds. The wins were made all the more remarkable by the fact that Steven won the 6-dog class with only 5 dogs, while Graeme won the 8-dog class with only 6 dogs.

Graeme added “Generally speaking the more dogs you have, the more power you have, and the faster you go. Both Steven and I felt the course was just too demanding for some of our dogs, so our decision to take a risk and compete against larger, more powerful teams turned out to be the right one. In the end, we all won by significant margins.”

As well as being a world class musher Steven Lindsay is Project Manager of Dog Sport Scotland, an initiative launched last year to promote and use the sport of sled dog racing to increase winter tourism in Dumfries & Galloway. He hopes the triple win will help raise awareness of the sport across the country, and encourage people to come along and watch the races in Scotland’s forests.
“Dryland sled dog racing is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. All three teams train regularly on the facilities in the forests of Dumfries & Galloway, on average around four times a week. This is a sport that’s exciting for the mushers, the dogs and for spectators, and we want to make Scotland a global centre of excellence for everyone to enjoy it.”

Forestry Commission Scotland District Manager Bill Meadows, who oversees the new sled dog tracks in Ae forest, said:
"This is brilliant news and a tribute to all the hard work that the teams have put into their training. We are very pleased that the Commission's forests in Dumfriesshire are being used as valuable training grounds for mushers, the results are certainly paying off in terms of championship wins. Sled Dog racing is a great example of one of the many sports and activities that people can enjoy in the forests."

Allison MacColl, Tourism Sector Manager with Scottish Enterprise Dumfries & Galloway, the organisation that has spearheaded the development of Dog Sport Scotland, added:
“Scottish Enterprise Dumfries & Galloway would like to congratulate all 3 mushers on their fantastic success at the recent World Championship event in Belgium. This is clear evidence of the fact that Dumfries & Galloway is leading the way globally in terms of providing training in the sport, and Dog Sport Scotland, along with its partners, is instrumental in delivering this infrastructure. Dumfries & Galloway is contributing to Scotland's strengths in this field and the local mushers are true ambassadors both for the sport and the country. Good news like this means that more competitors and visitors will hopefully discover the benefits of sled dog training and racing in Dumfries & Galloway, which is ideally placed to accommodate mushers and their dog teams.”

Martin Mathers, External Relations Manager, ScottishPower Renewables, who sponsor Dog Sport Scotland said:
“ScottishPower renewables is absolutely delighted at this result. Scottish based sled dog enthusiasts are rapidly emerging as a power on the world scene and it’s our privilege to be helping them. I would urge anyone out there who hasn't yet seen one of these races to come along to one of the events in Dumfries and Galloway and see for themselves. It's exciting, it's fun and a great day out for children. Well done again to Steven, Keith and Graeme, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing many more major successes from them in the years to come."

Steven Lindsay and Keith Johnson will both be competing at the Sled Dog Association of Scotland’s next race this weekend at Ae Forest in Dumfries & Galloway. Spectators are welcome to attend and will be able to meet Steven, Keith and their championship-winning dog teams. Both Steven and Keith will be racing between 9am-9:30am on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and smaller teams will race throughout the morning till 2pm. Further information about where to see sled dog racing can be found at www.dogsportscotland.com .