By Rob Boulet

In much the same way as hockey, the sport of curling is intimately woven into the fabric of the Canadian psyche and way of life.

Indeed, in communities across this great nation from Corner Brook, Newfoundland to Duncan, British Columbia to Inuvik, Northwest Territories the local curling rink is a hub of activity where friends and neighbours in large numbers come to socialize and engage in friendly competition.

By Shannon Hurst

You stir from your sleep before the alarm and as your body starts to wake, your mind has you leaping from your warm bed to the window to peer out into the early morning light. 

Suddenly your heart starts to pump feverishly as your eyes focus on the railing you cleaned before retiring for the night. It is now boasting at least 10 inches of new, beautiful white snow. These are the days dreams are made of...

 

By Shannon Hurst

Connie Arsenault is no stranger to the outdoors and the challenges life can present. Growing up in the woods in Provincial Parks throughout Alberta with her three brothers, she has never been afraid of meeting obstacles head on. With a love for animals, the outdoors and a determination to succeed at anything she does, all it took was a chance encounter with a sled dog team to change her life forever. And so her love affair with her furry friends begins.

"I met my first dog sledder when I was 19 in a reforestation program in Northern Alberta. My dad was posted in a park north of Hinton and one afternoon he came in from a patrol and he tried to tell us there was a dog team down in the park. It was the middle of summer and incredibly hot out so we didn’t believe him of course,　but we all piled in to see it for ourselves. Sure enough, there in the camping area, was a man by the name of Tom Wolf who said he was from Montana. 　He was doing a trip with his dog team from Alaska to Montana because he wanted to write a book. However, when he reached the park, he was hard pressed for money and was painting pictures to sell for supplies. They were beautiful watercolours and you know, he still paints today.

He ended up hanging around with us for about a week before he went on his way.　When　he geared up to leave he was quite a　sight　to see. He had this really ancient dog sled that I can’t even believe it made the journey, but he had it up on four motorcycle tires and had rigged up a brake. While he was there we learned that one of his dogs — Butterfly — was going to have puppies. She was a stunning gray husky with these brilliant blue eyes. I had never seen a dog with blue eyes and I was able to learn all about the Siberian husky and their bloodlines through our daily chats. He was quite a man and I really enjoyed our time together. When he left he promised he would send me a puppy. I have　since　found out that it’s sort of a general rule that if you help out a dog sledder they will usually repay you with a dog.

So low and behold when he got to his destination he called us and asked us if we wanted one of his dogs Of course I did and so, a few weeks later, I got my first sled dog.

His name was Zapper and he was Tom's best lead dog. However, because he was coming from the States I had to make sure he had his shots and everything was up to par so I took him to the vet. That is where my first surprise happened. Zapper was a medium-sized dog who seemed like he was in great shape but when the vet was looking at him he told me that my dog was really old. All I could think was great, I have this old dog, now what am I going to do?

Looking back now, you know, that dog taught me the most valuable lessons of my career.

When I got home I didn’t have a sled so I put on my cross-country skis and hooked him up. This　is now called skijoring. It was so funny. Where I lived in the park there was a beautiful road that is open to cross country skiers so I took him up there. There was some really big hills on that road and he would go and go and then stop and turn around and look at me. I soon learned what he was trying to express was that I needed to help out more than I thought — he wasn’t a machine and he had limitations. He was so graceful about it though and he was so patient and had tremendous self control. He taught me so much.

About two weeks later I heard there was a race in Bragg Creek so I called up Tom and told him I needed more dogs. So I drove back down to Montana and got two more dogs. One was a puppy and was huge and had quite a bit of wolf in him and the other was the lead dog that had gone with my old one. I brought them back and the next thing I knew I had a three-dog team.

At that time I had an old metallic baby blue Thunderbird Trans-Am with a t-roof and the dogs just fit in the back seat. I got a nice quilt and put it on the roof of my car so I could strap down my sled without scratching my car and off I went to my first race.

Of course on the way to the race my car broke down. It was really, really cold and I was only about five kilometres away from the race so I was ready to pull off my sled, hook up my dogs and go to the race anyway because I wasn’t missing it. However, those were the days of the spray-on blue jeans and short little winter coats and it was so cold that it didn’t take long for me to realize I better hitchhike.

A short while later, along came a park ranger and they knew my Dad and knew who I was so they gave me, my dogs and my sled a ride.

When I got　to　the race there was only one person there that I knew and he was a different kind of guy who worked in parks and for some reason he decided he didn’t want to know me. But I had three brothers so that wasn’t going to stop me.

So there I was, standing in the middle of nowhere with my three sled dogs tied up to the trees and this touring clip I had just bought. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing and I wondered how hard it could be?

While I was standing there freezing, these two huge trucks pulled up across from me. One group was caucasian and the other was First Nations and they were kind of hanging out together and laughing and joking. Pretty soon they were looking over at me laughing and pointing and whispering and I thought,　" Go ahead, make fun of me — I will see you at the　finish line," being all young and cocky.

But after　awhile they came over and said it was a really cold day and my dogs were probably getting cold and asked me if I wanted to come over and put them on their trucks. I didn’t know if I could trust them.　But　it　was getting cold and　they　seemed friendly.

When it came to the first race my attitude started to change as they really helped me out. They helped me get my bib and got me all registered up. They showed me everything and helped me get into　the starting shoot.

When they were taking me over to the shoot they said,　"Hey a couple of things. First, it is a real honour for you to have us bringing you over here."　　I thought,　" ah... okay, whatever.　Then　they　said, " No matter what happens don’t let go of your sleigh because it’s when you cross the finish line, not your dogs.　"　I thought, "　Oh for sure I can do that,　all I have to do is hang on."

The race started and off we went. Well,　about a quarter mile down the trail there was a spring that had frozen on the side of a hill and I didn’t know how to drive a sleigh　, so the sleigh was sliding down and the dogs were still pulling straight along on the trail.

What a sight it must have been to see. The puppy that I was running had never been in a race and I had never been in a race and then I had these two really incredible lead dogs. That translates to half the team not knowing what we were doing. So... I flipped the sled and I was dragging behind the team. Of course I had never seen the trail before because you're not allowed to so that everyone starts on equal ground. Men, women and children can all enter　and　all you have to do is prove you can control your team in the starting shoot. If you are out of control in the shoot, you’re disqualified. It seems looking back, though, that that was the easy part that day.

With my sled tipped and my dogs still pulling I could see ahead there was a 90 degree corner and a bridge and I thought for sure I　was　going to get wiped out. I didn’t want to stop my dogs though and I am not sure I would have been able to anyway.　So I just hunkered down.

Ironically, we were gaining on everyone even though I was dragging. I managed to stay on around the corner and then there was a big hill and I thought, ‘ Oh my gosh, my poor dogs!'　But up they went and they were passing people dragging me the whole way. So I waved and said, "　See you later!"

About a quarter mile from the finish line there was a checkpoint and there was a checker standing there making sure people went the right way. At that point my dogs actually stopped. Taking pity on me, they came over and righted my sleigh and helped me up, and off I went again.

The last quarter mile of the race is usually open and you can just let the dogs go and fortunately my dogs just went for it and we were passing people at the end and for a brief moment I actually looked like I knew what I was doing.

The truth of the whole experience afterwards was I came in second but I didn’t even care because I was just so happy to have made it in off the trail. It was an exhilarating feeling and then I thought, 　"Gosh, just think what I could do if I was actually standing up!"

I found out later that the two groups of guys that helped me out were world champions　and as life would have it, we are still all friends today.

They took me under their wing that weekend and the next and they shared so much with me. Eddie Courtereille came out to train with me because he couldn’t believe how strong my dogs were. My dogs were Iditarod dogs and I was so proud of them and of course the bond just grew and grew. Three years later I met my late husband and from there you could say our family went to the dogs."

While Connie is no longer racing she is still passionate about dog sledding and is now committed to sharing her love of the sport and her animals with others from around the world. Operating Snowy Owl Dog Sled Tours, Connie co-founded Alberta's International Sled Dog Classic in 1983 and helped bring the sport to the world in 1988 at the Calgary Olympics.

Now living on the outskirst of Canmore Alberta with 172 dogs, her children are leading the way and setting the precedent when it comes to dog care, quality dog sledding adventures and impecable breeding.

"My children are now taking over our family business but I will always stay involved even if it is in the background," she said. "I love our dogs, everyone of them, and I can’t imagine life without them. They are some of our best friends and they give 110 per cent all of the time. We are truly blessed to live the life we do and I can’t imagine it turning out any other way."

The love Connie and her family have for their animals is evident in everything they do.　 The kennels are in impeccable shape and extremely clean. Every day someone cleans each dogs space. Their health and happiness is first and foremost. When you visit their home, there is a large board that has every dog on it. It has all their information such as feeding and most importantly medications. Anyone who has ever taken an animal to the vet knows how expensive it can be but on the same note, animal lovers know how much of a necessity it is as well.

Customers come back year after year. Her son Jeremy said that if nothing else in life he hopes they are setting a high standard when it comes to dog care.

"Unfortunately it is a very expensive thing to do," he said. "Many people get into it because of the excitement and draw to the race but it doesn’t take long for the　costs to start piling up and unfortunately, most of the time it is the dogs who pay the price."

With that said, many of their dogs have been rescued and Jeremy said these dogs sometimes make the best sled dogs because they are so eager to impress.

When the dogs are finally ready for retirement they are adopted out to homes that can prove they can take care of a sled dog.

For those who wish to learn about the amazing world of dog sledding or who want to feel the rush of slooshing across the snow behind a team of beautiful animals through the back country of the Rockies, a visit to see Snowy Owl Dog Sled Tours in Canmore is a must.

"It can be a positive life changing experience, a gentle and invigorating physical workout and it brings you closer to nature," she said, adding it is also environmentally friendly and can be a great confidence builder for young and old.

However, be warned, the dogs will steal　 your hearts, the exhilaration of the ride will capture your soul and you might just see your life... go to the dogs.