Fifteen-year-old Imogen Baker recently competed in the National Championships of sled dog racing. Here, in her own words, she shares the journey to becoming a sled dog racer and her ambitions to take her talent to the world stage…
Picture the scene. Racing through Thetford Forest with two gorgeous Siberian Huskies at over 20mph, having the most amazing time. Well, in January, this became my reality! It was three years of hard work in the making, including recovering from a crash…
My name is Imy, and I competed at the British Sleddog Sports Federation National Championships this year with super sleddogs Ankaa and Rhun. I have always loved dogs and have two dogs, Foxy, a Corgi cross Kelpie and Geoff, a Field Spaniel. I am very competitive and love doing rally with my dogs. Back in October 2022, my mum told me about the Wales Sleddog Sports Junior Academy. I immediately said yes and joined in the November. It was then that I met Joe, who ran the academy, and she changed my life for the better.
Joe had found out when she got her first Siberian Husky that walks weren’t enough to stimulate this high-energy breed, but, luckily, discovered the sport of dry land sled dog racing and has never looked back, buying more Huskies and becoming better and better, even representing team GB!
\When Joe started the academy, she wanted to inspire young people and give them the opportunity to get into sled dog sports and grow their confidence. I fell in love with dryland sled dog racing and decided that one day I would be world champion and have my own team of Siberian Huskies.
The sport
To be good at sled dog racing, you need to have a great bond and a sense of trust with the dogs you are running. For the other academy juniors and I, this was a slight problem because the dogs weren’t ours. But nevertheless, we persevered and now we all know and love ‘our’ dogs. For many of us, the dogs are the best part of the sport.
None of us would have been able to get into sled dog sports had it not been for the academy, I certainly don’t think that a Cockerpoo or a Bichon Frise could pull a rig! To be a successful sled dog racer you also need to have the welfare of the dogs at heart, something that some people don’t believe to be true. But it certainly is; if a dog doesn’t want to run, then it won’t and it’s the job of the musher to make sure all their dogs are happy, healthy, and loving life.
Sled dog racing isn’t all fluffy puppies and perfect snow though. Sometimes things can go wrong, and it takes courage to pick yourself up and carry on. At the end of my first season in the Junior Academy, we were doing an informal race. Me being competitive, I wanted to win, so I set off at lightning speed down the trail, but little did I know, the brakes on the rig were not working.
I fell off on the second corner on to the stony trail and the dogs carried on until someone caught them. I got up, I didn’t notice that I was bleeding heavily from my leg, and I got back on and finished the race.
I didn’t realise just how much this had ruined my confidence until the following season in the academy; I didn’t want the dogs to go faster than a trot and I held on to the brakes for all I was worth. By this time, I was running a different pair of dogs, a small but very clever dog called Ankaa, and her lunatic half-brother, Rhun.
By my third time running them, I had successfully gone round the ‘corner of doom’ and I felt my confidence come flooding back. Oh, and I still have a rather impressive scar from the crash.
Trail goals
To compete in the National Championships was incredible. I had the most amazing time. Ankaa was a legend as usual, and Rhun was just loving every second of it. We even managed to come third! I am so proud of them both and I can’t wait to do even more competitions with them in future. They are the wonder team!
I am not able to imagine my future without sled dog racing. My ultimate goal is to become world champion and have my own team of dogs. Maybe I should start my own Junior Academy; I would love to inspire the next generation of sled dog racers. But for now, I need to improve my own skills so I can be better for Ankaa and Rhun. The trail beckons…