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There is an equine sport that is growing the in UK and abroad at an impressive rate. Road trials were originally set up in the early 1900s but as a result of WWII disappeared. However, Dalmatian Road Trials have seen increasing popularity over the last few years and it is showing no signs of slowing down.

 

As a Dalmatian owner myself I know and appreciate how intelligent these dogs are and how much exercise they need. Our dalmatians are almost 2 years old and we give them between 3 and 4 hours of exercise per day. When I heard about the road trials, I just had to investigate, not least because I thought it was something that my dogs would love to have a go at.

 

Dalmatians have historically always been the breed chosen to work specifically with horses – there is even evidence that the Egyptians used them to run beside their chariots and then the Romans and Greeks followed suit. In the 1800s they became known as ‘coach dogs’ and were used to protect the horses and carriages from stray dogs that may attack the horses. Dalmatians are also known to be a calming influence on horses and have been kept as stable dogs for this reason. It was this quality that endeared them to the fire stations when the horse drawn fire trucks were used – calming the horses at the blaze and also protecting the fire hoses because people did want to steal or destroy them for insurance purposes.

 

Road trials were established in America as a celebration of this close bond between human, horse and Dalmatian. The Dalmatian must be trained to stay with the handler under any conditions or situation and complete an endurance trial of either 12.5 miles within 3 hours or 25 miles within 6 hours. The dog’s health is carefully monitored by vetinary professionals during the course of the endurance race at set check points.

 

There are 9 elements to a Dalmatian Trial and the dog is scored out of 100 points in 6 of the areas. The Dalmatian must acquire 51 points or more in an exercise to pass. The elements are:

 

For those not confident in the Dalmatian Road Trials there is also the option of the Stable Dog Trials whereby the owner can choose from a list of trials that a stable dog should be able to do and obtain points for each one, although the Dalmatian cannot perform the exercise more than 3 times. The trials include warning barks on command, finding owner’s property on command via scent, retrieving items in the stable, distraction stay e.g. dog must stay while a rat runs away, finish exercise i.e. leaving the stable and being sent to a blanket.

 

Sounds interesting? Watch out for our article coming soon on Dalimiles!