From North Wales forest trails to European gold!
Four junior athletes, 16 incredible sleddogs and an adventure to remember. Our Wales Sleddog Sports Junior Academy team travelled to Sweden to represent Great Britain at the IFSS European Dryland Championships, and returned with gold, bronze and all four athletes in the top five!
We knew this would be a special journey. What we hadn’t quite prepared ourselves for was seeing years of training, early starts and sheer determination come together on a European stage.
In Gävle, Sweden, Megan, John, Imy and Xavier took their place on the start line alongside their canine teammates. Behind them were countless hours on our North Wales forest trails, the support of their families and a community that had helped get them there.
Ahead of them was their biggest sporting challenge yet.
Four young athletes, four fantastic results
Our juniors competed in the DR4J class, driving a wheeled rig powered by a team of four dogs. This is dryland sleddog sports, with forest trails beneath the wheels and plenty for both dogs and mushers to think about!
Every run calls on the musher to read the trail, handle the rig, communicate clearly and respond to the dogs in front of them. Preparation matters, but so does making good decisions in the moment.
Our team’s final results were:
- Megan: European Gold medallist
- John: European Bronze medallist
- Imy: Fourth place
- Xavier: Fifth place
All four finished in the top five while representing Great Britain. For our small Junior Academy, that is an extraordinary achievement, and one we are immensely proud of.
A moment to remember before the racing even began
The opening ceremony was an unforgettable start to our European adventure.
Beginning at the Concert Hall in Gävle town centre, approximately 1,000 people from countries across Europe paraded through the streets towards the Town Hall, proudly displaying their national flags and team colours. Walking alongside our juniors, their families and the wider sleddog sports community gave us a moment to take in just how far this journey had brought us.
At the Town Hall, we were welcomed by a town councillor and event representatives. The building was illuminated in bright colours, while performers from the local community singing and dance school brought the celebrations to life.
Then came a particularly special moment: Megan proudly read the Mushers’ Oath on stage in front of the assembled teams and spectators. To stand before such a large international gathering and represent her fellow mushers was an enormous honour, and one she embraced with confidence and pride.
Before our juniors had even reached the race trail, they had already made memories to treasure.
Sixteen dogs, one remarkable team
Our adventure brought together ten dogs from Wales and six from our friends in Norway.
Their contribution deserves every bit as much celebration as the results. These are the dogs our young people prepare with, care for, learn from and trust on the trail. Each has their own personality, preferences and ideas about how the day should unfold!
Working with sentient animals means learning to adapt. Sometimes a dog does something unexpected or has a different idea from the musher. In those moments, our juniors must listen, stay patient and work out a way forward together.
That is where some of the most valuable learning happens.
The medals and placings belong to those canine athletes too, alongside everyone who helped keep them healthy, comfortable and ready for the event.
Years in the making
Since the Wales Sleddog Sports Junior Academy began in 2021, we have watched young people grow from tentative beginners into capable mushers who take responsibility for themselves, their equipment and the dogs in their care.
Progress comes through small steps: preparing a harness correctly, noticing a change in a dog’s behaviour, managing a tricky section of trail or finding the confidence to make an independent decision.
Sweden brought years of those steps together.
We saw our juniors draw on their training, support one another and handle the demands of an international event. We hope they will carry that experience into whatever comes next, both within sleddog sport and beyond it.
You helped get us there
Travelling to Sweden with young athletes, dogs and specialist equipment was a considerable undertaking. There were veterinary preparations, travel documents, transport arrangements, training sessions and a great deal of planning behind every run.
To our sponsors, supporters, families, volunteers and everyone who donated, shared our fundraising or encouraged the team, thank you.
Your support helped give these young people an opportunity they will remember for years to come.
A special thank you also goes to our Norwegian friends for their generosity and for sharing their wonderful dogs with our juniors.
Bringing the experience home
We have returned with medals, memories and plenty to share with the next generation of Academy members.
For a young person just beginning to learn how to handle a rig or work alongside a sleddog, seeing where those first steps can lead is a powerful thing.
From our North Wales forest trails to a European podium, what a journey this has been.
Congratulations Megan, John, Imy and Xavier, and every canine teammate who helped make it possible. We are so proud of you all.
Interested in the Wales Sleddog Sports Junior Academy? Explore the Junior Academy section of our website to learn more about our programmes for young people aged 11 to 16.
