Newton Marshall
Encyclopedia
Dogsled racing
Sled dog racing is a winter dog sport most popular in the Arctic regions of the United States, Canada, Russia, and some European countries. It involves the timed competition of teams of sleddogs that pull a sled with the dog driver or musher standing on the runners...
, who represents the Jamaica Dogsled Team
Jamaica Dogsled Team
The Jamaica Dogsled Team is a team of sled dogs and mushers headquartered at Chukka Caribbean Adventures in Ocho Rios, located in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica. The dog team is made up of strays rescued by the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and offers dryland dogsled rides,...
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Biography
Marshall joined Chukka Caribbean Adventures in 2002. He had always dreamed about working with the horses at Chukka Cove, St. Ann. His enthusiasm and hard work paid off and having moved up from gardener to other positions he was transferred to the River Valley Mountain Horseback Ride at White River Valley as a tour guide.With a need for better educated workforce Chukka Caribbean Adventures had become pro-active in trying to further schooling for employees who want to learn while working. Chukka neighbour Shelly Kennedy runs a school teaching any employee of Chukka to read and write, if they want to learn. Newton became one of her most eager pupils, having grown up in a nearby village he had to work to support his family instead of continuing his education.
Discovery
In 2005 Devon Anderson, another animal lover and operations manager at Chukka Cove, saw something special in Newton and handpicked him look after a trio of new dogs at Chukka Cove Farm, renowned for its polo and now home to the Jamaica Dogsled Team. It was there he first met the future sled dogs including Marbles and Jimmy (named after sponsor Jimmy BuffettJimmy Buffett
James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
) and his soon-to-be instructors Rick and Anette Johnson owners of Ah-Regah Kennel & Equipment in Mahtowa, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. “Rick started talking to me about dog sledding; I didn’t know what it was all about at the time. I watched them walk and talk to the dogs and wondered what they were doing. Rick hitched the dogs to a three-wheel cycle and asked me to run ahead and call to them in a special way -- I was surprised when they responded,” says Marshall.
By 2006 the team was a reality; youthful exuberance and a way with animals propelled Marshall to train with huskies in Minnesota. About this Marshall had this to say: “I didn’t know what to expect. I was looking forward to working with experienced dogs and to seeing a lot of snow. I knew it would be cold but thought it would be like a rainy day in Jamaica. On the first day they pulled me on a snowmobile -- my first time in the snow -- it was freezing and very shocking and I thought I was going to fly; so amazing to see dogs move that fast.” He was amazed by the Great Lakes Aquarium, the Minnesota Zoo, Gooseberry Falls State Park as well as the Corps of Engineers Lake Superior Marine Museum where he saw Duluth’s famous Aerial Bridge in action.
Even with all of this opportunity on his return to Jamaica some bad choices left Marshall without a job or a place on the Team. His poignant story plays out in the feature documentary Sun Dogs
Sun Dogs (film)
Sun Dogs is a 2006 documentary directed by Andrea Stewart, distributed by .-Synopsis:Rescued from the mean streets and animal shelters of Kingston, 12 stray dogs are trained to be the stars of Jamaica’s first dogsled racing team...
(2006). Throughout 2007 he worked hard to earn back the trust of Anderson and Melville and was finally welcomed back to Chukka Caribbean Adventures and the Jamaica Dogsled Team
Jamaica Dogsled Team
The Jamaica Dogsled Team is a team of sled dogs and mushers headquartered at Chukka Caribbean Adventures in Ocho Rios, located in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica. The dog team is made up of strays rescued by the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and offers dryland dogsled rides,...
to train and escort visitors on the company’s two sled dog tours in September. As fate would have it in November, Anderson, who was to train for the 2009 Yukon Quest
Yukon Quest
The Yukon Quest 1,000-mile International Sled Dog Race, or simply Yukon Quest, is a sled dog race run every February between Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon...
, had second thoughts about being away from Jamaica for so long to train and race in the Yukon and so it was decided that Newton would step in to train and qualify for the Yukon Quest.
Marshall left sunny Jamaica and arrived in a freezing Whitehorse
Whitehorse, Yukon
Whitehorse is Yukon's capital and largest city . It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1476 on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas occupy both shores of the Yukon River, which originates in British Columbia and meets the Bering Sea in...
, Yukon Territory, Canada on Friday November 29, 2007 to begin his long distance training with three-time Yukon Quest winner Hans Gatt at Gatt Kennels in Atlin, B.C. Frigid temperatures and 100-mile runs with the sled dog team were his new reality and Gatt's experience and diligence in Marshall’s training would mean his – and his team’s – survival in harsh conditions saying: “In addition to learning the skills required to mush a dogsled team over long distances, Newton will need basic dog-care and camping skills in order to survive and care for fourteen dogs for ten to fourteen days, outside in the sub-arctic in the dead of winter.”
Competition
Marshall was up to the task and March 27–28, 2008 he competed in the 210-mile Percy DeWolfe Memorial Mail Race from Dawson City, Yukon Territory to Eagle, Alaska and back. He finished in 7th place out of a field of 15 with a time of 24hrs and 44mins and received the Sportsmanship Award from his fellow mushers.Marshall successfully completed Alaska’s Copper Basin 300 (Jan 10 to 13, 2009) placing 13th in a field of 27 starts and became the first Jamaican ever to qualify to run in the Yukon Quest 1,000 Mile International Sled Dog Race. On February 26, 2009, he finished the Yukon Quest, placing 13th out of 29 racers. He brought 10 dogs to the finish line and earned $3,000. He also won the Challenge of the North Award. Race officials voted for the Jamaican musher because he best exemplified the "Spirit of the Quest," which compels mushers to challenge themselves and persevere. His bright smile and positive attitude have made him a fan favorite.
In 2010, JDT musher Newton Marshall made international headlines when he became the first Caribbean musher ever to finish the famous Iditarod - the prestigious 1100-mile race from Willow to Nome, Alaska. He finished the race in 47th position out of a field of 71 mushers. His finishing time was 12 days, 4 hours, 27 minutes, 28 seconds. He trained for the race with four-time Iditarod champion Lance Mackey.
2010 Iditarod
Marshall was one of the rookie dogsledders in the 2010 Iditarod race. He is the first Jamaican to compete in the race. His team is financially supported by Jimmy BuffettJimmy Buffett
James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
's Margaritaville
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville is the name of a United States-based casual dining American restaurant chain and a chain of stores selling Jimmy Buffett-themed merchandise...
cafes and he is using borrowed sled dogs from Lance Mackey
Lance Mackey
Lance Mackey is an American dog musher and dog sled racer from Fairbanks, Alaska, who is a four-time winner of the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest and four-time winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.-Career:...
's Comeback Kennel. Marshall has been training with Mackey for this race.
Newton came in 47th place in 12 days, 4 hours, 27 minutes, and 28 seconds.