It’s not often you come across a young woman from rural Manitoba with plans of breaking into the snowmobile industry while shattering some gender stereotypes along the way, but have you met Sasha Bodie? This 23-year-old grew up on a farm outside of Bagot, Manitoba. riding anything and everything with a motor since she was a child. Her first snowmobile was a 1970 Arctic Cat Lynx 292 and although her current setup is a little more drool-worthy, it was enough to ignite the flame of her snowmobiling passion.
Bodie doesn’t just want to make a name for herself in the industry as a dedicated and talented rider, but she also wants to be a role model for other girls wanting to try snowmobiling. “I just want to show girls out there that with some hard work, dedication and practice you can go anywhere you want,” said Bodie. She knows the snowmobiling industry is mostly male-centric and hopes to inspire other women to be confident in sledding and not be discouraged.
Bodie’s personal goals in snowmobiling reveal wisdom beyond her years. “I want to push myself, give it my all and be the best I can be . . . It takes time, patience and courage to accomplish your goals,” said Bodie. She also works full-time as a civil engineering technologist to support her passion for the sport.
Most prairie riders make at least one annual pilgrimage out west to do some mountain riding and Bodie is no different—except she also has a deep appreciation for the terrain her home province has to offer. “Manitoba has a diverse selection of terrain from lakes to fields, valleys, sand hills and even provincial parks. There is so much selection for any riding type from speed (to) technical riding or jumping,” said Bodie.
It’s true Manitoba isn’t having the best snow year, but if more people were like Bodie, the snowmobiling industry wouldn’t even notice. “With any free time I get, I’m riding one of my sleds, but due to the low snow year I’m focusing on jumping my 600 versus backcountry riding my 800,” said Bodie. Instead of sitting indoors and complaining about the lack of snow, Bodie is using this season as an opportunity to develop her freestyle skills.
Freestyle can be quite intimidating at first, but Bodie has got it figured out. “I’m starting out small and working my way up to bigger jumps. It’s such an adrenaline rush, I can’t get enough of it,” said Bodie. Now that she is getting more comfortable in the air she is even starting to take her arms off the handlebars to practise some basic tricks. She does have a little bit of an advantage, though, since her dad builds a jump for her to practise on in the yard of their family farm!
As with anything in life, it helps having a solid family and some close friends standing behind you in support of what you’re doing and Bodie knows this well. “I would like to thank my best friends Drew and Courtney for always pushing me to do better and for always being there for me when I doubted myself. I would also like to thank my family for putting up with my crazy shenanigans on the farm,” said Bodie.
If you ask me, Bodie has a bright future ahead of her in the snowmobiling industry because she won’t have it any other way.
