Kids learn dog sledding at Rancho Luna Lobos with Youth Sports Alliance – Park Record

For the past three weeks, kids with the Youth Sports Alliance have been getting a look into the world of dog sledding at Rancho Luna Lobos. Owners Fernando and Dana Ramirez have been guiding the kids, bringing them into the pack and providing instruction during a four-week course.

“I just love working with dogs and getting to see them,” participant Ada Robinson said. “I don’t have any at home, so I love seeing them.” 

While interacting with the Luna Lobos pack the kids learn about sled dog racing, covering new topics and activities each week.

“It’s a mini taste of what we do in our kids’ camps,” Dana said.

In the first week, the kids were paired with a dog that would be their buddy for the next four weeks. The main activity the second week was a “safari ride,” where they ran with the dogs in a Polaris.

This week, as the kids arrived to class, they greeted the dogs and waited for any who might be arriving late.

“Amigos!” Fernando called to gather the group.

The kids started by reviewing topics learned in previous weeks before participating in several activities, including a team-building exercise, storytelling, taking a herd of puppies for a walk around the ranch, and feeding the dogs, which gave them a few more moments of quality time with their canine companions.

The team building exercise placed an emphasis on trust and teamwork. 

“Who remembers what this is called?” asked Fernando, holding the gangline — the main line that connects the pulling dogs to the sled. He held it up, waiting for a response, until a shout came from the back of the group naming the term. 

The kids lined up around the gangline, preparing for the exercise, which would ask them to pair up along the line mimicking the sled dogs’ positions.

They stood side by side, holding onto a tugline, waiting for further instruction, their attention fixed on Fernando.

“Here’s the challenge amigos,” said Fernando. “Right side of the gangline, you guys are going to be blind.”

The exercise took the kids on a trail that looped around a portion of the ranch, where they encountered obstacles such as rocks, logs, and rope lines that created challenges requiring communication between partners to proceed.

The kids guided their blindfolded partners through the first half of the trail. Then they switched roles, and blindfolds, for the rest of the way.

This activity is inspired by the story of Humberto, a sled dog that had to have his eyes removed. While the staff at the ranch believed this meant the end of racing for Humberto, he proved them wrong and went on to become a lead race dog.

Humberto’s story, one of determination and resilience, is also one of acceptance.

He had to be accepted by his pack to become a lead dog, which Fernando said illustrates how we as humans need to be accepting and help the human pack. He and Dana encouraged the kids to show the same compassion and patience toward one another that they do with the dogs.

“Next time you feel like you are handicapped in some way, metaphorically or physically, think of the blind dog that became the lead dog,” Fernando told them.

This is the first year that Youth Sports Alliance has partnered with Rancho Luna Lobos. 

The Youth Sports Alliance provides a variety of after-school programs for kids in grades 1 through 12 that range in topic and structure. 

“What we’re hoping to get out of this is to just get more kids involved in our activities between here and on the east side, like North summit and South Summit,” said Heather Sims, programs director with Youth Sports Alliance, “we offer a variety of programs from art all the way to ski programs.” 

“This one is so unique,” said Sims, referring to the partnership with Rancho Luna Lobos. 

The goal behind Youth Sports Alliance programing is to provide all kids, regardless of their economical background, an opportunity to participate in new sports and activities that may lead them to discovering new passions.

Needs based scholarships are available to lower barriers of participation.

For more information visit ysausa.org.