Cannington Dog Sled Races

Yesterday was spent checking out the dog sled races in Cannington, ON. Cannington is a small town about 20 minutes northwest of Lindsay. For the last 10 years they've run dog sled races where about 80 teams compete to win about $10,000 total.

We weren't really sure what to expect, but were really pleasantly surprised by our time spent there. There was so much to do! Set up in a large park, there was a marketplace, dog sled rides (only for little kids they said...), glass-blowing, sledding, a Metis village, a historical museum, sleigh rides, petting zoos, and of course, the dog sled races!

The first thing we did upon arriving was check out the dogs and sleds. There were so many beautiful dogs around! It surprised us that not everyone uses huskies or Alaskans for sledding, but you learn something new everyday, no? Unfortunately, it was really cold, so we didn't take a ton of pictures, but here are a couple:

My favourite dog of the day

This is the best picture we got of the actually dogs racing. This race consisted of 4-dog teams. They ran a timed 4 mile course, and the team with the fasted time won $400.

One of the other neat things about yesterday was the Metis village. Because the aboriginals have such a close connection with dogsledding, they come every year and set up a little village where there are teepees, a wigwam, and booths showing handicrafts and furs. This stage was set up for traditional storytelling, dancers and Metis fiddle playing. We thoroughly enjoyed watching the show!

A Native "hoop"dance

This may have been my favourite part of the day! It's an event called "skijoring". You basically strap yourself to one or two dogs and go cross-country skiing (I make it sound so difficult). It was amazing to watch the skiers fly past and see just how excited the dogs were to pull them. It looked like a ton of fun!

This lady was flying! I think she won the race...

The last thing we did before leaving was check out the Zoo-to-You exhibit. As you can see by the picture, Jo was in her happy place! It was a little bit warmer than outside, as you can also tell by the foggy picture. This was an exhibit with a number of different animals... chinchillas, tarantulas, snakes, tortoises, frogs, ferrets... and you could hold them! This gator below was at a size where it could bite your hand off... Must be why Joanna looks so excited!

Even though we came home cold and tired, we all agreed that this was definitely an event to go to again. There was definitely enough to fill a full day with fun! The races were a blast to watch and the activities in between were more than entertaining. We will be keeping it on the calendar for next year and encourage you to come and join us!