News

Competitors old and new turned out for howl-iday weekend dog sled racing

By Ashley Darling

Jun 10, 2026

The Northern Victorian Sled Dog Club Classic drew a wide range of people from across Australia to Moira Park Scout Camp in Kialla West over the King’s Birthday long weekend.

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Among them were faces old and new, with the Hodgson family in their 33rd year of competing and Grier Ridley returning for his second.

The Hodgson family travelled from their home east of Benalla with their nine purebred Siberian huskies.

David Hodgson competed in the three-dog event while his wife, Susanne, was out due to an injury. Their two children, Alex, 13, and Emily, 11, both competed in the social canicross event, which involves cross-country running with a dog.

The siblings both took home ribbons, with Alex taking first place with family dog Opal and Emily taking second with her own dog Jinx.

While other breeds have come to dominate sled dog racing, the Hodgsons remain dedicated to Siberian huskies and have owned 32 of them during their time involved with the sport.

Susanne said that although Siberian huskies were not for everyone, “they’ve got a beautiful nature”.

Emily said she loved the “fluff and the mess they make”.

David Hodgson with his Siberian Huskies in the three-dog race. Photo by Rechelle Zammit

David was the first to fall in love with the sport in 1994 after his brother invited him to a race.

Susanne has been competing for 25 years after she was introduced to the sport through a friend and said she thought, “What a fabulous way to exercise my dog.”

Since then, they have travelled together across Victoria, South Australia and NSW.

The Hodgsons enjoy camping out at race weekends and spending time in state forests.

Grier Ridley travelled to Kialla West from Phillip Island, where he works as a zookeeper in a wildlife park.

He first competed in 2025 after a friend kept pushing him to try out the sport.

Mr Ridley competes in the one-dog scooter race with Flick, his six-year-old golden retriever.

Mr Ridley said the sport seemed a bit intimidating at first because many of the competitors have been doing the sport for a long time with breeds known for their pulling abilities.

Once he began competing himself, Mr Ridley said that he found “the club was so supportive, they want what’s best for you and your dog”.

“You can walk up to any campfire and find someone friendly to talk to,” he said.

Even though a golden retriever is not the sort of dog many people would imagine as a sled dog, Mr Ridley and Flick took home first place in every novice race in 2025.

“I’ve been pretty lucky that he had a natural gift, he knows that his job is to pull,” Mr Ridley said.

“I love how much he loves it.

“I’ll be here for a long time, I reckon.”