| “ | You see, where most folks enjoy hobbies like whittling or needlepoint, we Berkians prefer a little something we like to call Dragon Racing! [src] | ” |
| — Hiccup's opening narration |
Dragon Racing is a new sport among the Hairy Hooligan Tribe of Berk. Dragon Racing is very popular, as seen from the sheer number of people attending in the audience.
History[]
According to The Art of How to Train Your Dragon 2, the Dragon Races were invented because of the lack of excitement for the residents of Berk, ever since the War with dragons ended. Considering there is a lot of excitement, physical contact, opportunities to play dirty, and little to no rules, it is described as the perfect game for Vikings.
The movie short, Dawn of the Dragon Racers, details how Dragon Racing came to be. Following the end of the First Berserker War and a truce between Berk and Alvin the Treacherous's Outcasts, Silent Sven's sheep escaped him when they became scared of his newfound voice. The riders were then ordered by Stoick to round up the sheep. During the round up, they decided to make it a game. After Stoick left to look for wood for his boat in the annual Regatta, the Riders had another race against Hiccup's wishes. However, Hiccup decided to hold another dragon race.
However, Astrid broke her arm during the race. Despite this, Hiccup, the twins, and Snotlout continue onto a third race. Hiccup then asked Fishlegs to be on his team. At the Berk Dragon Training Academy, Hiccup and the other racers prepared. Stoick arrived and decided to allow it in place of the Regatta. He also provided face paint for the races.
Hiccup then allows another dragon race to be held with Fishlegs as his teammate and Astrid as the referee. Stoick then arrives and is pleased with the new sport. He then has all the riders put face paint on before the first real dragon race begins.
During the race, Hiccup and Fishlegs were winning. However, Snotlout and the twins then cheated by painting a white sheep as black. However, Fishlegs was able to get the real black sheep and thus won the race.
Two years after the first dragon race, Snotlout then invented a Sheep Launcher to throw sheep around during the races. Tuffnut and the others also improved their face paintings and added paint on their dragons.
The Hooligans continue to hold Dragon Racing competitions for years afterward. How to Train Your Dragon 2 starts when the Dragon Racers are playing the sport and ends the same way. Even after the death of Stoick the Vast, the Dragon Races are still being held.
A year after the events of How to Train Your Dragon 2, Berkians appear to have given up on playing Dragon Racing, possibly due to the fact that the island became crowded beyond belief, which made even walking a difficulty. It is unknown if they have started playing again after moving to New Berk.
Game Play[]
Rule 1[]
| “ | Riders fly their dragons in an ever-changing course around Berk. It can circle just the village or run across the whole island! | ” |
| — Astrid in To Berk and Beyond |
Rule 2[]
| “ | The goal is to catch as many white sheep as you can. Each is worth 1 point. But watch out! You only want the sheep with targets painted on their wool. Plain sheep are out of bounds. You may also want to watch out for any dragons that might try to "accidentally" eat a sheep-I'm looking at you, Hookfang! | ” |
| — Astrid in To Berk and Beyond |
White sheep are worth one point each. Riders must collect white sheep from the ground, picking up the selected few then complete a lap by dropping them into the marked net. The net has wooden planks with drawings of the dragons competing in the race.
The sheep themselves are decorated with paint on their sides to indicate legitimate sheep in play. This likely came out of the twins' attempt to cheat by taking sheep that weren't Sven's during the first official race.
Rule 3[]
| “ | Here's where it gets interesting! Each race has a single black sheep that is worth 10 points. The black sheep get launched by a catapult during the last lap and must be caught midair. When is the last lap? That changes every game-just listen for the game horn! | ” |
| — Astrid in To Berk and Beyond |
The black sheep is the sheep worth the most amount of points. In the first Dragon race the black sheep was worth only 5 points. However, the black sheep then became worth 10 points and therefore most of the dragon riders try to get this sheep. The Black Sheep launched into the air by Gobber using Snotlout's sheep launcher in the final lap. In the franchise the other riders can give or steal the sheep from each other. It is announced with a horn blown by a Viking.
Rule 4[]
| “ | Riders drop every sheep they've caught into their specialized game baskets. Mine's the one with the Deadly Nadder painted on it! | ” |
| — Astrid in To Berk and Beyond |
Rule 5[]
| “ | The rider with the most points at the end of the last lap (usually me when Hiccup and Toothless aren't around) WINS! | ” |
| — Astrid in To Berk and Beyond |
Additional Rules[]
| “ | Got all that? Good. Now I want you to forget EVERYTHING. Because Dragon Racing is a game where cheating isn't just tolerated - it's encouraged! Riders are allowed to taunt and tease, steal sheep from each other, force other racers off the track - whatever it takes to win. It's the Berk way! |
” |
| — Astrid in To Berk and Beyond |
Face and Wing Paint[]
To Dragon Race, the players must have face paint and sometimes Dragons have face paint too but they have it on their wings and heads. Colors that would used were the ones used for the family crest.
Equipment[]
Racing Horn[]
This Horn isn't like the horn of an animal. It is an instrument that makes a loud sound so the racers know the black sheep is about to be thrown. The Horn's shape resembles a Thunderdrum.
Various weapons[]
Riders could use variety of weapons on hand. In How to Train Your Dragon 2, one weapon used during a race was a hammer wielded by Snotlout.
Sheep Launcher[]
To play this game the Dragon racers need a catapult to shoot the black sheep in the sky.
Dragon Racers[]
- Hiccup Haddock III
- Astrid Hofferson
- Ruffnut & Tuffnut Thorston
- Eret, Son of Eret
- Fishlegs Ingerman
- Snotlout Jorgenson
Appearances[]
How to Train Your Dragon 2[]
Dragon Racing both opens and closes the second film, indicating the perseverance of the Hooligan people.
Dawn of the Dragon Racers[]
This movie short details the invention of Dragon Racing.
DreamWorks Dragons: To Berk and Beyond![]
To Berk and Beyond is a self-described scrapbook of Hooligan and Dragon life. It contains passages from the major characters in the Franchise. Astrid has an entry detailing the rules of Dragon Racing.
Games[]
School of Dragons[]
A form of Dragon Racing appears in this game, called "Thunder Run Racing". It is an activity that players can part take in. There is a single-player mode and a multi-player mode for up to six people. Players race on their dragons in various courses for a total of three laps. The goal is to beat the other players in the shortest amount of time. Sheep are available to gather, but do not figure into determining a winner. Players may use various tactics and power-ups to increase their chances of winning or decrease others' chances.
Trivia[]
- There are a few differences in the game in How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Dawn of the Dragon Racers. In How to Train Your Dragon 2 , the sheep are found most around the village of Berk. But in Dawn of the Dragon Racers, the sheep were found in caves, ice mountains, floating on a raft at sea etc. In Dawn of the Dragon Racers, the sheep were released from their pen by Sven. But in How to Train Your Dragon 2, they were launched by a sheep launcher Snotlout invented.
References[]
| Dragon Racing uses Creative Commons Licensed content from the DreamWorks School of Dragons Wiki page Thunder Run Racing. The list of authors can be found on the page revision history (view authors). | 
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