We all watched in utter amazement last February when our very own Dogsled Team, driven by the smiling Newton Marshall, took part in the Yukon Quest, a thousand mile journey in -30ºF temperatures between Fairbanks, Alaska and Whitehorse in the Yukon. To the World’s amazement (but not ours) our team came in at 13th place. Thanks to long-time sponsors Chukka Caribbean and Margaritaville, next year Newton and his irrepressible dogs plan to take on the Iditarod, the most challenging dogsled race.
- Photo JamaicaDogsled.com
According to legend, laidback businessman, Danny Melville, was in Canada shopping for dune buggies for Chukka when he came across a weird contraption: a wheeled dogsled used for practice during the summer. The wheels of Danny’s mind started to turn, he had a drink or two with Jimmy Buffet, and quicker than you could say “Bellevue” the Jamaican Dogsled Team was born!
Devon Anderson and then Newton Marshall were trained to use these contraptions, pulled by rescue dogs from the JSPCA. Neither man nor beast knew what hit them. Soon a professional trainer joined the team and they all bundled up and headed for the frozen north to start mushing.
A year or so later they were deemed ready and started to take part in serious races culminating in February’s Yukon Quest. Next year they have set their sights even higher as the Iditarod is longer and even more gruelling. We wait with bated breath for 6th March 2010 when Newton and his sixty-six competitors will line up in Fairbanks, Alaska for the start of “The Last Great Race on Earth.”
The Jamaica Dogsled Team will be holding a Fundraiser in Toronto, Ontario in November.
Jamaica Dogsled Team Fundraiser
If you can’t be there then make a donation on their website. Let’s show the world that there is nothing our little Rock can’t accomplish!
Read more about Jamaica at Jamaica-Allspice.com
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