WAYNE & DIANE BAKER
Originating in Queensland, Diane Baker was introduced to sled dog sports when her mother Wendy Newton (Chuckchii Kennels) imported the first three Siberian Huskies to Australia from Derry George in 1973. Her mother later imported more Siberians from England, and then Alaskan Malamutes.
"I would have been a teenager. I had a couple of Siberians, and Wayne bought a dog from my mother. That is how we met."
The couple then moved to Queensland in 1986, taking their Siberians with them. They went on to join the Northern Exposure Gig Racing Club in 1993, but were aware that there was racing in Victoria. Wayne and Diane are also the founding members of the Siberian Husky Club of Victoria.
Starting with Siberians, they bred and raced a few litters of their own. But these days, they have moved to Alaskan Huskies. Diane bought their first Alaskan Husky from Jozsef Toth in 1997 for Wayne who loved the Alaskans that were in the Iditarod. As their Siberian’s passed, they increased their Alaskan teams.
"We moved to Alaskans due to watching them race overseas. The dog suited Australian conditions better than the Siberians we had. Jozef Toth brought a couple of Alaskans to Australia from Tim White, who visited the country around 1993."
Wayne and Diane have had the joy of owning a number of great dogs over the years. One of Wayne’s memorable leaders ‘Shrek’ was a natural single leader who never needed a handler.
"Attitude is the most important quality when choosing the dogs we bred."
The fruits of this breeding goal could be seen when Diane was racing a six dog team at Wingello, NSW, and she took a corner too fast, rolling the rig. She subsequently broke her broken collar bone. The team waited until she got back on the rig and took every turn home without her direction.
"I was in so much pain and they had ran the track the previous day. They knew I was not in a good way."
The team was made up of siblings – Charlie, Bobby, Galena, Flea, Taz, and Libby. They still pulled Diane to second place that day, shy of winning by 11 seconds.
During training, Wayne and Diane make a plan and work the dogs up to the distances plus more for each of their races. They believe strength builds speed, and use a quad bike to implement this. They plan a mixture of speed and strength training sessions per week, using hills, timing, and conditions to their advantage to ensure they will be fit enough for the coming race.
“[We run on] forest trails with flat roads and steep hills”
They also free run the dogs a couple times a week letting them chase the quad. They use a mix of trail surfaces to ensure their feet are toughened ie. gravel, dirt, mud, and rocks.
For their equipment, they initially made their own harnesses. It soon became obvious it is cheaper to buy bulk from the USA, so they now use a mix of Taiga and Dog Booties. Wayne makes their own cable lines using toggles instead of clips to attach the harness to the tug.
When asked what is one thing you’d change about the sport today, Diane reflected that she loves the sport has canicross and bikejoring classes, as it supports people who have one dog and would like to race…
She regrets to admit that due to the costs of owning and running six and eight dog teams, these classes will cease in the future – but that is a sign of the times.
“The sport will continue to evolve to suit the conditions, dogs, and costs of the sport.”
Diane, Beth Bobroff, Cliff French, and Karen McCarthy founded the Australian Sleddog Sports Association (ASSA). The International Federation of Sleddog Sports (IFSS) was keen to have Australia affiliated to count in the number of countries joined so that the sport may be included in the Winter Olympics.
Andrew Gersbach joined the committee a year later, where he was able to establish cheaper insurance costs for all sleddog organisations. They also introduced the National Pointscore and Championships we all continue to enjoy today.
