Sled dog team gets to do it for real on the snow in East Devon

Midweek Herald: Matthew Evans and his Siberian huskies at home in the snowy wastes of East Devon.Matthew Evans and his Siberian huskies at home in the snowy wastes of East Devon. (Image: Archant)

Recent heavy snow around Axminster provided a rare opportunity for a team of locally-based sled racing huskies to “do it for real”.

Matthew Evans, 30, and his dogs usually compete on dry tracks, pulling a three-wheeled rig.

The Siberian huskies seldom get to race in the snow, for which they are so well designed, so Matthew took advantage of the blizzards that hit East Devon to take them for a spin on the icy tracks around Dunkeswell airfield.

Matthew competes all over the country with his dogs and last year his two huskies Tonrar and Laika, pulled him to second place in the Affiliated British Sleddog Assocation dryland mushing championship.

During the summer he and his wife, Louise, from Axminster, turn their attention to showing their huskies at dog shows around the UK.

Matthew serves in the Royal Navy and, since joining at the age of 16, has completed several tours of Iraq and Afghanistan. He is based at the Fleet Air Arm, Yeovilton.