Mush! Thousands of dogs compete in annual husky race in Scotland

It’s a sight you would normally expect to see in Alaska or Canada – but these hundreds of teams of huskies and their handlers gathered in the Scottish Highlands for an annual sled spectacular.

More than 1,000 dogs gathered for the Annual Sled Dog Rally in Aviemore in what is the largest race of its kind.

Organised every year by the Siberian Husky Club of Great Britain, the race is now in its 34th year, and sees 250 mushers driving teams of two to eight dogs around a four to seven-mile trail in the Highlands.

Siberian Huskies are joined by Alaskan Malamutes, Samoyeds, Greenland Dogs and Canadian Eskimo Dogs – all breeds that first pulled sleds in Arctic conditions hundreds of years ago.

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The race route, which begins at a car park, follows a designated cross-country ski course and is through a vast forest.

And if there’s no snow, it doesn’t ruin the fun – with the races continuing with mushers using a three-wheeled rig that looks like a tricycle without a seat.