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BRYAR PATCH
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passion for sled dog racing.
“I had friends back in Ontario who dragged me into this, and through that, I met Brittany. So
now here I am today,” Lee said. Together the happy cou- ple race two teams of German Shorthaired pointers and grey- hounds, some purebred, some mixed with a bit of huskie. Al- though they may not be the typ- ical huskies one thinks of in sled dog racing, they are well-suited
for the sport.
“These dogs are fast. They
just love to run,” Brittany said. Besides their two race teams, the couple also has young dogs who take their own trip out on the trail, where they can begin to
learn the intricacies of racing. “Profile Falls is great for us to practice at because we live only about ten minutes away,” she said. “When we get done run- ning the two (race) teams, we can also take our puppies out for a training run. So it’s a good place
to do it.”
Brittany and Lee transport
their dogs in a trailer outfitted
GRANITELIFE.ONLINE
February 2023
Veterinarian Dr. Brittany Colbath and her husband, Lee Van Dorp of Franklin, hooked up their lead sled dogs, Pepper Jack and Shelby, earlier this month for a training run at nearby Profile Falls. Photo by Donna Rhodes
teams at Profile Falls for practice runs for the more local World Championship Sled Dog Derby, scheduled for Feb. 17-18. From there, Brittany said she and her husband had plans to take their dogs to Maine for yet another sled dog race, where they also hope to have good results.
While some teams might practice throughout the summer, having their dogs pull an ATV down the dirt trails at Profile Falls, Colbath said she feels it gets too hot for her dogs that time of year and, therefore, typically runs her teams from September until April when the temperatures tend to be a bit cooler.
This winter, it’s her husband Lee manning the sled, though, and for a good reason- Dr. Brit- tany is pregnant. After ensuring each dog is properly harnessed and hooked to the sled, she climbs aboard a snowmobile to follow along and ensure they’re all safe. According to their race schedule, it turns out that April will be the perfect time to have the next member of Bryar Patch Racing welcomed into the world.
with large crates for each of them. Once they arrive at the recreation area, one by one, they hitch individual team members up outside the trailer, where Brit- tany then harnesses them and prepares them for a run of six miles or more across the snowy trail. Most are outfitted with boo- ties to protect their paws, while
one or two with more sensitive underparts are slipped into spe- cialized spandex suits designed especially to keep them warm while out on the trail.
Those pups couldn’t be in bet- ter hands with a veterinarian in charge.
Bryar Patch Racing, the name used as a salute to Uncle Keith
Bryar, competes whenever and wherever possible in the win- ter. Unfortunately, an event in Quebec in which they planned to participate in, was canceled when temperatures reached -25 degrees. In the first weekend of February, however, with a tem- perature of four degrees in Bris- tol, they joined other sled dog