Location: New Zealand
Occupation: Scientist. I am a microbiologist by training and am currently working in bionanotechnology
Next Race:
New Zealand IFSS races. I really enjoy competing against other teams in Australasia and globally, and the IFSS World Cup Series is the only way to do this.
Robert had a chance to meet Eric at the IFSS World Championships in Minocqua, Wisconsin, and we chatted about our Q & A and agreed to participate.
Did you know he thinks dog-powered sports deserve to grow and be better recognized? Times and lifestyles are changing, and we all need to adapt and support smaller classes with one or two dogs to keep everyone going. “Out of many with one or two dogs, few will go on to look after more dogs, and even fewer will start their own kennel with a vision for their dogs. Alongside growth and popularity, the sport must acknowledge the need for openness and transparency regarding dog welfare. Adhering to the highest levels of care while educating and demonstrating to the public how much our dogs truly love to run will keep us on the safe side.”
Also, he is reading Neal Stephenson’s Diamond Age. “He is a fantastic author, blending mathematics and science fiction. Highly recommended for anyone who feels the nerd even a tiny little bit.”
He would love to have Phil and Kim Ruhl, Wisconsin on the podcast. “They have been in the sport for a long time and own one of the most successful sprint kennels in the USA. They are highly knowledgeable, friendly, and stand by their own principles.”
Lastly, he always carries Safety glasses. “Driving teams most of the time in rain and mud, safety glasses keep at least some of the dirt out of my eyes, and I can at least sort of guess where the trail and the dogs are.”
Socials: Facebook
Next IFSS World Championships with our own dogs. I would love to drive our own team and really compare our own dogs against everyone else.
Norway. While I love dryland sprint racing, it would be amazing to drive teams in mid-distance as well.
Not enough teams are participating in the sport. I feel the sport could be much bigger. We need a large grassroots movement with single and two dog teams to keep the passion alive and seduce teams to grow into larger classes. 4 and 6+ dog teams are so much fun to drive, but they require a serious lifestyle change and commitment.
My dogs. Seriously. I can’t imagine a life without them anymore.
The dogs never make a mistake; it is we who fail them. Dogs are not machines and how we train and interact with them determines their own performance. I see myself as a guardian, not an owner, and this has completely changed my mindset about how to approach the dogs, training, and races.
Tektoss rigs and scooters. We also own Traczer and between the two we can cover anything from single dog to 12 dog teams.
Becoming overconfident. It is easy to sit back and relax when always doing the same/similar things and that is when stuff goes wrong.
Never be complacent – always push yourself a bit farther outside your comfort zone. This can be done by adding dogs to your team, learning to corner faster, experimenting with new line setups, trying out (and mastering) new, technically difficult trails, etc. Always experiment and try out something new.
It is very hard to compete outside of New Zealand due to the strict biosecurity rules. New Zealand is disease-free – transporting dogs from New Zealand to another country is very easy but bringing them back to New Zealand involves a lot of paperwork and quarantine. The financial cost becomes too great for a non-commercial kennel.
Be patient – this is a long game sport. Enjoy growing into it and develop your own vision. Don’t expect to win every time or at all. Focus on building a strong bond with your dog(s), learn how to train with them, and accept that sometimes things don’t go as planned. It will take a few years to truly build a team, make and learn from mistakes. Find a great mentor who shares your vision and your own principles/ethics and who can help you avoid the biggest mistakes. Find one who challenges you every step of the way.
Running dogs out on the trails. Being part of a team, where the driver has to be coach, mentor, team member, manager – all in one, is such a unique experience. The best part really is when, after a long time of training and mishaps and failures, it all comes together in a smooth run. Never know when it will happen, but the joy of seeing the dogs suddenly coming together, working as one, and feeling the power surge through the gangline is the best feeling in the world.
Snow races and training. We don’t have any snow where we live, and I have to travel abroad to train on snow. I tend to fall off the sled during the first 2 weeks of training. But I do enjoy snow races a lot.
Failing the dogs or causing injury to them. The dogs completely trust me, and this puts a lot of accountability on my shoulders. Thinking of a dog being injured because I could have done something different or better is really an awful feeling and perhaps a good motivator for me to go the extra mile, be it our kennel setup at home, dog care/recovery, dog transport, and training/races. The welfare and happiness of the dogs always come first.
Pizza…joking. For sprint racing, electrolytes after the run are great for both dogs and driver. We don’t burn as many calories during a sprint race as during mid or long distance races but encounter high-level physical exercise.
Being out with the dogs on trails. The serenity that I feel when the sun just crests the mountain range in the early morning hours, while the valleys are still covered in fog, and I have a silent dog team running in front of me. What could be better than that?
Driving too many dogs on new, untested equipment. Coming back to being overconfident. Gaby brought a new (used) Traczer rig from Europe as a lightweight sprint 4-wheeler rig. Thought I could simply drive a 6-dog team on it right away. After all, how difficult and different from my Tektoss 4-wheeler rigs could it be? Very different. On that first run, I fell off twice and got dragged. So I stepped back, started learning how to drive a 4-dog team (slowly), made a bunch of modifications to the rig and other equipment, and by the end of the season, I felt semi-confident to drive at races. Next season, I will continue training and eventually add a 5th and 6th dog – there is the overconfidence again
