Photo by Bruce Bumstead / Brandon Sun
Trainer Leslie Hayward leads the way for home-grown golden retriever Cosmo as he competes in the Meyers Norris Penny dog-and-horse relay event at the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair on Tuesday evening. Cosmo is a Brandon dog who won the relay of the International Superdogs last year.
Like Superman in Clark Kent mode, these mild-mannered canines hide their super powers as they doze in their kennels.
But cue the music and the roar of a crowd and these SuperDogs are ready to leap tall barrels in a single bound and race faster than a speeding horse.
The ever-popular SuperDogs show returns to the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair with three shows daily.
This year's show, entitled "Woof, Rock 'N Roll" sets a wide array of racing and agility competitions to a soundtrack of classic 1950s rock and roll.
"The show has evolved to the point it would rival a Broadway show if we had all the theatrical lighting and so on," said Superdogs producer Herb Williams as several dogs and their handlers ran through their paces prior to a show yesterday afternoon.
"We just finished performing in Greenville, South Carolina, and before that we were in Washington. Next Sunday we will be in Montreal with $500,000 worth of lights, big theatrical production, lasers, fog machines. What the people see here in Brandon is exactly what the dogs do but without all the trappings."
The show includes 50 dogs from across Canada and the United States. Individual agility and training, not breeding, make a Superdog, Williams said, adding many of the show dogs were rescued from animal shelters.
"What makes a Harlem Globetrotter a Harlam Globetrotter as opposed to a basketball player? They are entertainers, there is a little more finesse to what they do," Williams said.
Williams said Brandon audiences are among his favourites because they haven't become jaded by the high-gloss entertainment of larger centres.
"The people aren't media worn-out. When you go to Los Angeles or New York, unless it's 40 decibels and out-Disneys Disney, they are the most blasé people because they have been exposed to everything.
"Here people really are appreciative, which you don't normally get. It's a joy to be here."
