Three top Canadian motocross riders arrive in Bermuda on Christmas Day to take part in three race days the Bermuda Motocross Association have scheduled over the holiday period.

And two of the riders are women who will test their skills against Bermuda's best men.

Gannon Trott, president of the BMA, said: "We decided to put in a little twist this year by bringing in some fast females and to see if our locals can stick with them. We have Aaron Cannonier, Otis Ingham, Shakir Smith, Jonte' Smith just to name a few that are looking to disappoint the guests."

The three Canadians are Ami Houde, Whitney Locken and Dylan Kaelin.

The two women are 20-years-old while Kaelin is 16.

Trott added: "They will be racing in the expert class which is for 250 cc four stroke (bikes). They all arrive on December 25 and the race dates are Sunday, December 27, Friday, January 1 and Sunday, January 3.

"If it rains this Sunday we will have a go on the Monday (December 28). It costs a lot of money to bring them in to Bermuda so we don't want the first day to be ruined by the weather."

"These women will give our guys a good test – they are pretty fast."

Houde has been racing motocross since she was five-years-old and turned pro in 2007. She rides a CR 250F for Honda Canada and comes from top motocross stock – her father Kim Houde was the 1979 Canadian national champion and two years ago he won the 2007 Over-45 and Over-50 World Championships in Gelen Helen, California.

Houde said: "I've been a part of the motocross industry all my life and it is not only a sport but a lifestyle. I teach motocross and I work at FXR, one of the largest snowmobile and moto apparel manufactures in the world.

"I've travelled so much of the world already in the last few years with one goal in mind – to be the best! I want to win a Canadian title in the next couple of years and then venture to the US and go on to win a world title in women's motocross."

Fellow female rider, Whitney Locken, also began riding at a young age when she borrowed her neighbour's XR100. "I tried it and really liked it but I didn't have the money to buy my own bike," she said.

Locken eventually came across an old bike and bought it for $50. "It was a 1978 Honda XL175 and I spent the summer rebuilding it."

But at that time the bike was a little too heavy for her so she bought a used CR80 and started to race it.

"I set goals daily, monthly and yearly and I do whatever it takes so that I can reach them," she said.

"I know what I am capable of so I am working towards being the best. I think that when I make a mistake or don't ride well, I learn from that and it ends up being a positive experience.

"I believe that it is very important to look at any situation with a positive attitude. I try to constantly push my limits physically and mentally.

"This is a big advantage because when some other riders crash or have a bad race they usually pack it in or struggle. I keep going and I don't get upset about it – I just learn from it. You will never see me give up."

Kaelin first got on a bike when he was three-years-old.

"I started racing when I was four and I've been at it ever since," he said.

"I want to become a professional and make a living off it. When I was six-years-old, I won the four-to-six 50 cc class at the Canadian national championships. I went to Loretta Lynn's (US championships), which is the biggest amateur national championship in the world, when I was nine-years-old riding 50 cc bikes.

"I think I was born to do motocross. I'm not really good at anything else."