A Highland sled dog racing star is competing in a lucrative event in the Canadian wilderness this weekend off the back of another strong performance on his North American tour.
Aviemore-based professional racer John Stewart, 28, will be riding a 10-dog sled during a 30-mile-a-day, three-stage event at Cross Lake, Manitoba starting tomorrow until Sunday, March 1.
The total prize pot to be shared between the top 10 finishers in this weekend’s race equates to £18,200 with a first place prize of £5,150.
After finishing fourth out of 23 teams at the latest 14-mile-a-day, two-stage race at the Prince Albert Festival in Saskatchewen at the weekend, Mr Stewart is feeling confident about taking a top prize at the next big test on the Canadian circuit.
The young adventurer has been on tour since the start of December, driving 60 dogs around with him in a large trailer in preparation for weekend events spanning northern US states like Wyoming, Minnesota and Alaska, and now Canada.
Since 2010, he has been training each winter at Streeper Kennels in Fort Nelson, British Columbia, which is run by his mentor, Buddy Streeper – a multiple champion and the fastest sled dog racer in the world.
Mr Stewart was invited to help train the Streeper family’s prize-winning dogs at their kennels after he became the youngest qualifier for the 1,150-mile Iditarod in Alaska in 2010.
Mr Stewart’s dad, Alan Stewart, who runs the Cairngorm Sled Centre at Rothiemurchus near Aviemore with his wife Fiona, said that the next race for the young adventurer “will be a cracker”.
He added: “John has been racing and training his dogs every day and this time round there is going to be a huge purse up for grabs, so it’s pretty big.”
Mr Stewart, who got in to the sport at the age of six after his parents got their first husky, funds his racing through oil industry diving in the North Sea when back home in Scotland.
He hopes to set up his own kennels in the USA in the near future with his wife of four months Lina, whom he met across the pond when training.