DINNER Plain’s iconic Sled Dog Sprint saw 85 entries compete across a range of trails and distances over the weekend of August 12 and 13 with one big change - no snow on the ground for the first time since the event began.

Race co-ordinator Vaughan Winther said despite the lack of snow the event ran smoothly.

“The week before the race we were advised that the snow wasn’t coming so we started preparations for those conditions,” he said.

“The sled dog community already had the equipment for dirt track racing, as that’s what we do on the other tracks apart from Dinner Plain, but we had to make sure these trails were safe.

“The dirt trails are different without snow and the dogs need fairly flat ground to run on so we ended up putting the trails together and only lost three entries due to the lack of snow.

“Th 85 entries is pretty usual for us, we undoubtedly would’ve had more if there was snow.

“We had teams of six, four, three, two and one dogs as well as the social class category for new racers or people with older dogs, that sort of thing.

“We had people on bikes and scooters and also running with their dogs so we had all sorts.

“A big highlight was the mini mushers event which was held for the first time last year, where kids under 12 run on a scooter, rig or cart with their parents or carers...we had 15 entries on the weekend which was fantastic.

“These are the future of the sport and whole families get involved so we want them to enjoy it as well.”

The teams of six and four dogs ran 5km, teams of three and two ran just over 3km and the teams with one dog ran 2.2km with the mini mushers doing 800 metres.

“The trails were challenging with lots of hills, dirt, grass, some snow and ice; a little bit of everything, but the mountain helped make sure they were safe,” Mr Winther said.

“The biggest thing for us is we want to make sure the event keeps going each year, especially after COVID, as people come from all over Australia just for this.

“We had people from Western Australia here and we hosted a young 18 year old man from New Zealand as well as Queenslanders, South Australians and people from Canberra all coming to Dinner Plain attracting tourism and enjoying our event.

“A big shoutout to our sponsor Black Hawk Pet Care who supplied dog food for our mushers.

“It was their first time attached to the event and they’re here to stay; they were great.

“The event also wouldn’t happen without the Alpine Shire so we thank them for being so flexible and helpful.

“They wanted to see Dinner Plain’s iconic event happen as much as we did.”