A BUSINESSMAN will become the new Eddie the Eagle when he goes from sitting behind a desk to racing his two husky dogs as they pull him in a sled in Germany.

By day Matt Hodgson is the managing director of HM Ledgers in Brighton but next month he will be racing his two dogs when he represents Great Britain at the European Sled Dog Championships.

Matt will be racing in the snow for the first time when he takes on the best in the world.

He said: “I started quite a few years ago after hearing of the Sled Dogs in the North contest held in Alaska and thinking I would like to get involved in the sport.

“That must have been 10 or 12 years ago now when my interest first began to develop. There are husky sled dog races all over the UK and my speciality is the category where only two or three dogs are used to pull the sled.”

The sport has allowed him to travel to different corners of the UK to compete, from the New Forest, to Thetford, Sherwood Forest, Forest of Dean and Aviemore in Scotland.

After becoming British champion for his category in 2013 with his two dogs Invi and Fury, Matt will now go on to compete for the European title.

This will be his first attempt at racing on snow, having only taken part in land races to date.

The 40-year-old said: “I discovered there was a whole sled dog racing scene in the UK with events happening all over the country in various forests throughout the winter months.

“This is obviously not done on sleds but on wheeled carts called rigs due to the lack of snow.”

The huskies he currently uses are a half brother and sister team of Canadian Eskimo dogs named Invidia and Ira.

Canadian Eskimo dogs are an extremely rare breed of arctic dog which nearly became extinct as in the 60s and 70s.

The World Sleddog Association (WSA) will host the competition in Inzell in Germany from February 2-5.

With more than 20 member organisations representing some 3000 mushers (sled dog racers) from New Zealand to Russia, Europe and South Africa, the WSA is the world’s largest sled dog organisation.

A spokesman for the WSA said: “Our main objective is to organise in alternating years the World and European Championships for purebred sled dogs.

“In addition, we organise the Eurocup, a race series that runs between December and February and consists of six races in Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.”

The ambitious sled dog racer added that this is probably his “Eddie the Eagle” moment but well worth it just for the experience and joy of watching his dogs do their best.

Matt will leave the UK at the end of January to go to a training camp in Austria before heading on to the WSA race.