What is Dog Sport Scotland?

Dog Sport Scotland is an exciting and innovative new project designed to promote and utilise the sport of sled dog racing to increase visitor numbers to Dumfries and Galloway and, ultimately Scotland.

The project came about via a chance encounter with Fiona and I and the chief executive of Scottish Enterprise Dumfries and Galloway (SEDG) at a local country fair in 2002. I was invited to work as a consultant for SEDG to see if the sport of sled dog racing could be used in any way to help the economic regeneration of Dumfries and Galloway. A number of interesting trips followed, including Italy for the IFSS dryland world championships, and Norway.

Preliminary meetings I had with a range of partners and agencies, showed that there was a tremendous amount of support for the sport within the region and that to merely organise one race would be a shame and misuse of all that support!

To capitalise on this support and to justify any funding that we might get, It was decided that any project I constructed should have a lasting legacy- something ‘concrete’ that would act as a draw to both musher’s and spectators, and would be permanent.

A series of long discussions occurred with our friends (who of course are all musher’s anyway!) and it was decided too try and set up a permanent racing and training facility within the Forest of Ae, which is where Fiona and I have trained dog teams for the last 14 years. The Ae Forestry District are very forward thinking and have always been a supporter of our kennel and our sport. They were agreeable to having a series of dedicated trails within their forest and were even open to contributing significant funding and other kinds of help to get them off the ground!

I then made a round of meetings with all the other agencies within D&G and asked them all if they would like to take part in the project and could they please give it some cash! Surprisingly, all were very agreeable to this and here we are!

I would stress that the project is wholly non-profit making and all funds are being spent wholly in the promotion of the sport of sled dog training and racing. As all the funding of the project is from Government agencies, the accounts are available for viewing at any time.

So, who are we?

The project has a managing committee consisting off:
Scottish Enterprise Dumfries and Galloway, who are the lead partner in the project and are my new employers for the next 18 months.
Dumfries and Galloway Council, who have input significant funding into the project.
Dumfries and Galloway College, my old employer’s who have very kindly, agreed to me going on an 18 month secondment, as the project manager, and are willing to help with all aspects.
Dumfries and Galloway Tourist Board who will co-ordinate all accommodation bookings, marketing and will assist with corporate sponsorship attainment.
Forestry Commission Scotland (Ae and Galloway Forest districts) who are giving us dedicated areas within Ae and Kirroughtree forests, funds and any help required to make this project a success.
Buccleuch Estates are also a major partner in the project and are willing to let us use the trails contained within the stunning setting of Drumlanrig Castle and Country Park for major races. These trails are without a doubt some of the best I have ever raced and trained on. They are mostly grass, have quite a few turns and superlative views over the estate and Lowther hills.

All of the above have nominated a representative to sit on Dog Sport Scotland’s executive committee and effectively manage the project to its fruition. There is one space left on the committee for any major corporate sponsor of the project to also have a major say in how the project evolves and meets its targets.

So, what stage are we at?

Dog Sport Scotland will administer and manage 2 dedicated racing and training sites situated within the Forests of Ae and Kirroughtree and Castle O’er.. These trails are dedicated for musher’s to use. Comprehensive signage will be erected at each site to ensure other forest users have been made aware that dog teams are training and racing in the area.

An agreement that we made to the Forestry Commission was no dog teams would be on the trails between 11.00am and 3.00pm. This allows any other forest users who are uneasy about sharing the trails whilst there are dog teams present a chance to enjoy the trails in solitude etc. Bearing in mind that this is the warmest part of the day anyways, we felt that this was a minor concession to make.

Yearly, weekly and daily permits will be available for musher’s to use the facilities for training and racing. Soon to be available for any visiting musher will be rigs, quad bikes, weight pull equipment, a generator and a ‘musher’s hut’ (a log cabin type structure) to ensure that your time training is productive and enjoyable. The trails have all been upgraded to a good standard for running teams and mileages range from 1 to 12 mile loops. Aside from the dedicated training and racing trails, other areas within the Forest of Ae, which has literally hundreds of miles of trails available, could occasionally be used for events.

The area has been marketed to UK clubs and we have 5 races planned for the season 2004/2005, including the combined SDAS and UK final race in Buccleuch Estates on March 5th and 6th 2005.

Specific race organisers will still be responsible for their own individual race, but they will have a full time helper (me!) to set out the trails, co-ordinate catering, marshals, and the other 101 things that need done at a race. In effect they can turn up on the day with the start list, run their race and then go away. Each race organisation hiring the trails will also benefit from the projects marketing plan that ensures all the races are advertised in the local and national press, TV stations, websites and flyers etc.

WWW

Speaking of websites, the project will have one up and running very soon- www.dogsportscotland.com and will; feature some exciting new features. We hope to have a webcam at the main trails within Ae, to enable musher’s to log on and see temperatures, weather conditions etc. 3-d maps of the trails will be available that will show the exact topography of the sites also. There will be the facility book accommodation within Dumfries and Galloway region.

The Future

It is our wish that all UK and, hopefully overseas based musher’s will use the facilities as an excuse to meet up, run dogs and have fun. A group of musher’s have already booked the Ae trails for a fun weekend in September, consisting, so I am told, of running dogs, drinking and football! There is an excellent bunkhouse within the Forest that can sleep 40 and is available for £40 per night. This is smack in the middle of the forest, has ample parking for vans and is 1.5 miles from the designated trails.

The bunkhouse has toilets, running water, showers a range and even a karaoke machine and is situated right next to the River Ae. It is a perfect, almost custom designed accommodation for musher’s and we are extremely lucky and eternally in debt to the Dumfriesshire Scout group for allowing us to use it.

Should anyone wish to choose to stay in other accommodation then please be rest assured that all your needs will be well catered for, due to the strong involvement of the Dumfries and Galloway Tourist Board. They have written to all accommodation providers within the region, informing them of the project and that some guests may have large numbers of dogs with them. The feedback from the providers has been very positive- after all, we could be bringing in business at a much-needed time of the year, and they actively await your business!

One of our ultimate aims is to host the IFSS and/or ESDRA dryland championship, and talks are ongoing with them. We believe that with the backing we have, the trails available and that fact that all EU countries are now eligible for the Pets Passport Scheme, we could host a race suitable for the title ‘world championship’.

Many corporate sponsors have shown a willingness to talk about Dog Sport Scotland, as have other government agencies. We hope that a positive spin off will be the opening of other Pets Passport gateways in Scotland and the North of England other than Rosyth, allowing musher’s an easier passage for themselves and dogs to and from Scotland.
We are extremely lucky to be able to announce the Project’s first major sponsor. Scottish Power have realised the benefits of the sport and what Dog Sport Scotland aims and objectives can mean for their company and have came on board with a significant financial contribution. They have also indicated that they could be agreeable to a longer term commitment to the whole Project.
This is a very significant step forward for our sport.

Also, the Forestry Commission Scotland are very closely watching what we do. Sled Dog training and racing has been treated as something of a second-class citizen within some districts and indeed, has been made to feel as if it was an unwelcome addition to some forests. They are viewing the project as a chance to see if musher’s can take on their own administration, and operate on a self-police basis. If we are successful in this within Dumfries and Galloway, then we have more power to our elbow to see if we can negotiate similar schemes Scotland and ultimately nationwide

This is just a few of the aspects of Dog Sport Scotland.

For further information please do not hesitate to get in contact with me: