Meet the Vet Team
Chief Vet-Race Veterinarian—Dr. Sergio Maffi
Dr. Maffi is an Italian veterinarian and 1987 graduate of the University of Milan. He is the medical director and owner of a companion animal veterinary clinic specializing in sporting and working dog medicine and surgery. He holds licenses to practice medicine in Norway, Sweden, and temporarily in Alaska. He is a board member of the ISDVMA, and a founding member of several national and international veterinary associations dedicated to snow and dryland sled dog medicine. Over the past 17 years, he has served as Chief Veterinarian, Trail Veterinarian, and WADA Doping Control Officer for numerous snow and dryland mushing events worldwide. In addition, he has organized veterinary services for major national, European, and World Championships and he has worked in leading roles for long-distance races such as the Polardistans, Bergebyløpet, and Vildmarksracet, as well as serving as a Trail Veterinarian on the Yukon Quest, Finnmarksløpet, and Femundløpet. He has authored scientific studies, lectured internationally, and supervised doctoral theses at Italian universities. Beyond his professional activities, he volunteers with animal welfare campaigns in India, South Africa, Romania, and Spain to provide medical care for stray dogs. Dr. Maffi is fluent in English as well as his native Italian. Dr. Maffi enjoys hiking in the Alps, relaxing at home among the Franciacorta vineyards with his wife, Tania, and their dog, Amala, and playing rugby for charity.
Race Veterinarian- Dr. Jorge Luque
Dr. Luque is a 1991 graduate of the Veterinary College at the University of Córdoba, Spain. He has co-owned his own clinical practice since 1999. Dr. Luque is certified in traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, and chiropractic medicine. His experience in sled dog medicine since 2009 includes positions as a Chief or Trail Veterinarian on multiple races in Spain, France, Italy, Norway, and Sweden including the Finnmarksløpet, Femundløpet, and races in the Pyrenes as well as IFSS European and World Championships on snow and dryland. He has given numerous lectures on canine sports medicine, physiotherapy, and rehabilitation in Europe and he is an active member of the ISDVMA and numerous other Spanish, European, and International veterinary organizations dedicated to those disciplines within canine sports medicine. He is fluent in English as well as his native Spanish.
Race Veterinarian- Dr. Linn vada
Dr. Vada has been practicing veterinary medicine in Norway since 2003. She has owned her own small animal practice since 2013. She is also educated in animal chiropractic at International Academy of Veterinary Chiropractic in Germany in 2018, and she teaches students in animal welfare at her second clinic she started at an agriculture high school in 2014. Dr. Vada has been serving as a sled dog race veterinarian since 2014. While she has years of experience at many races in Norway, most of her experience has been with the Finnmarksløpet and Femundløpet marathon races. Recently, she has added multiple European and World Championship IFSS dryland races to her résumé. She is fluent in English as well as many Scandinavian languages. Besides her compassion for race dogs, she has been participating in training police dogs for a decade, and she has been travelling several times to South-Africa to work with conservation in her holidays, saving rhinos from antipoaching, and working with elephants, giraffes, zebras, wilderbeasts and African wild dogs!
Race Veterinarian- Dr. Hanna Smedstad
Dr Hanna graduated from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in 2009 and has been working in mixed animal veterinary practice ever since. Combining her professional expertise with a lifelong passion for working dogs, she has become a familiar and respected presence within the sleddog community.
Since 2011, Hanna has served as a veterinarian at some of Scandinavia's most renowned long-distance sleddog races, including Femundløpet, Finnmarksløpet, Vildmarksracet, and Amundsen Race. Her extensive experience in canine health and welfare has contributed to the care and safety of countless dogs competing in these demanding events.
Outside her veterinary work, Hanna enjoys an active life with her two Alaska Huskies. In recent years she has taken part in canicross competitions, while the winter season is dedicated to recreational skijoring and sledding, sharing her love of the outdoors with her dogs.
Hanna brings a unique combination of veterinary knowledge, practical race experience, and genuine passion for sleddog sports, making her a valued member of the community and an advocate for canine welfare and athlete support.