Seeing something new

A friend mentioned checking out some local sled dog races yesterday morning, and we jumped on the opportunity, especially since B has expressed an interest in being a sled dog handler when she grows up. (Not sure where that came from...reading Balto stories for school? Watching the movie Eight Below, which is a favorite around here?) There are 4 videos at the end of this post, the last one being B getting a chance to try it herself.

There was a weight pulling competition, where one dog was hooked to a weighted wagon and "encouraged" to pull it about 16 ft (I think). It was pretty entertaining. Some dogs just turned around and went the other direction. A couple were very interested in some of the smells on the track. One dog, who had never done it before, had it down pat by the 4th pull.

This is the starting line for the races. Some of the dogs were so anxious to go that 5 or 6 people would be holding them back. It was quite noisy, too! I'll try to include a video in the post of the starting line and the finish line.

Crossing the finish line after the 4 mile race.Watching the teams off in the distance.

We are probably going to pay for this (though, no, we didn't bring it home)...This was her favorite. She probably pet her for close to an hour altogether, and came home with as much hair on the front of her as on the dog!Beautiful animals.The view on the way back home (and here you can see why I asked for lens cleaning input on the previous post...):

The noise and eagerness prior to starting the race (turn your speakers up - or don't...):
A nice start:

Crossing the finish line:

And finally, they gave kids a chance for a short run afterwards. Here's B (with another child in the basket):