World sled dog Dryland Championships

Описание: When you think of sleddog racing, you tend to picture frosty wildernesses and hardy men with frost on their beards, shouting things like “Mush!” while their dogs power heroically across some endless Arctic expanse. What you don’t expect, at all, is Sussex. And yet there it was: the World Sleddog Association’s Dryland World Championships, held on the lush, rolling lawns of the Firle Country Estate, in the middle of the South Downs.

Now, “dryland” is a rather hopeful term. In Britain, dry land is a fleeting, almost mythical concept, like punctual trains or affordable housing. That year, the weather had provided more of the usual—namely, mud. And not just ordinary mud, but thick, glutinous stuff that clung to your boots, your bicycle, and quite possibly your soul.

Still, teams of eager dogs and their equally eager humans turned up from all across Europe, transforming a corner of East Sussex into something between Crufts and Ben-Hur. Safety, of course, was paramount: veterinarians and animal welfare groups hovered reassuringly, ensuring the stars of the show were not overtaxed. And in a charmingly British twist, this world championship offered no prize money whatsoever—just the satisfaction of having competed, and perhaps the consolation of a hot tea afterwards.

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