A pair of snowcross racing siblings from Echo Bay are back home with their hands full of hardware after completing a successful weekend at the Northern Power Race Park in Mancelona, Michigan.
Putting their snowcross skills on full display, 10-year-old Dylan Sabourin and her 8-year-old brother Kayden hopped on their skidoos and raced against some of the best riders across Ontario and the northern U.S.
Competing in two different age classes at the Michigan snowcross event, Dylan found her groove on Sunday and swept her way to top finishes in all of her qualifying heat races. The momentum carried over into the finals where she earned gold medals in both of her divisions.
Finishing second and third in his heat races, Kayden earned a hard-fought silver against 20 other kids in the final to land himself on the podium for his class.
The siblings combined for seven medals throughout the weekend, making it one of the most impressive weekend finishes in their early careers so far.
“I was nervous at first,” Dylan said. “It’s a really competitive sport, but you can get lots of medals from it. I fly off really fast at first to get ahead of everyone else.”
“We had lots of fun,” Kayden added. “I like to go really fast, and it makes me happy.”
Proud parents Henry and Ashlee Sabourin told SooToday their kids have been riding snow machines for almost as long as they’ve been able to walk, which has provided the young racers with an advantage at big competitions.
While the siblings would normally prepare for those races on a track that goes around their house, this year’s mild winter presented new challenges for the passionate snowcross family.
“They didn’t ride all winter, and then we went down to a race in Mancelona,” their mom explained. “So, it was like, ‘you haven’t ridden, go race.’”
“Their first time on the sled this year was at the racetrack, and they still ended up hitting the podium,” Henry added. “Their practices have come in the form of the races themselves.”
The kids mentioned that they participate in year-round activities to keep their strength and stamina up in time for their favourite winter sport.
Dylan has a passion for horseback riding and barrel racing, while Kayden enjoys four-wheeling and soccer.
“The sports in the summer help me a lot in the winter,” Dylan said. “I’m going faster on the horse, so I get used to going on the snow machine. It helps me get stronger.”
“I really like four-wheeling,” Kayden added. “It helps me with snowcross and makes me want to win more.”
The Sabourins are eyeing four more races to cap off a busy winter season, including two more in Mancelona, one in Sudbury, and a three-day race in Barrie for the Canadian final.
While the siblings can see themselves racing for many more years to come, they’re not feeling any pressure to overperform. Instead, they’re excited to continue doing what makes them feel happy.
“We’re always telling them you have to race against people who are better than you in order to get better,” Henry said. “But competing is all up to them. There’s no pressure – if they want to stop, they can.”
“They’ve done so well,” Ashlee added. “We’re really proud of them.”