Just got back to the hotel from the banquet and Newton did himself and Jamaica proud. Besides winning 7th place, which is the first money position paid, Newton was voted by all the other mushers as the best sportsman on the trail and won the ' Sportsmanship Award' for his friendliness and helpfulness to other mushers on the trail. Pretty damn nice!!!!!
Two French videographers did a private 7.5 minute video of the Percy and near the end interviewed Newton about how he sings reggae songs to the dogs while running on the trail. For the rest of the video as background they played " One Love" ....it was very moving!! It was a great evening for Dawson dog mushing and a proud night for Jamaica.
Danny you should be especially proud of your determination to see this venture through blood, sweat , tears and yes cash, to this point but I'm positive you and Jamaica have only seen the beginning of a wonderful human and canine interest adventure that will continue for many years.
One mush,
Dick
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Susie from the finish line in Dawson
Hi Danny and all,
The race was FANTASTIC! Hans said the Americans in Eagle loved Newton. They were so into having a Jamaican there as a dog musher! Of course Newton read the food board and asked for the Curried Chicken.
Newton gave lots of interviews on the trail, well lot's for up here on a dog race anyway, so I can tell you some of the things I heard him say to the people. First, he said he sings to the dogs to get them moving faster. They asked what he sings and he started singing a reggae song right there in the check point, dance moves and all. It was just great. He was there in his big parka with his dog team behind him. They asked if he could sing as he left the checkpoint but I don't know if he did or not.
Newton said that the race was very tough but enjoyable. He said the glaciation was the worst part, having the dogs skidding all over the place and his sled fish tailing downward toward the jumble ice, (which is brutal by the way - you have no idea. It's like four foot chunks of steel sticking out of the river at all angles.) But he said he made it and liked it.
Hans was debating whether to wait for Newton at that particular point because even in his opinion, it was really bad. Then he thought no, Newton's on his own and this will really test his skills and his ability to keep going. It was dark at the time as well by the way, making it just that much scarier and worse. Also, Newton lost the trail on the river at one point. That might sound like no big deal because after all, you are on a river. But this river is a km wide at points and that is not even the big deal at all. The problem is that at some places in the center or even close to shore, it is open water. You fall in that and you are dead. Next worse thing to the open water is the jumble ice as I described above. It can ruin the team, the sled, and the musher. You tend to bounce over the first two or three chunks then you smash into one.
There was very little rest. Newton ran a hundred miles straight, then spent 6 mandatory hours in Eagle, Alaska, during which time he had to feed the dogs twice, massage injured shoulders, take care of feet, put out straw etc. plus eat himself and then get the whole outfit set up to take off again which takes about 45 minutes if you really know what your doing, just on its own. As a result, Newton had about 2 hours to himself over 2 one-hundred mile runs. He said he slept about 1 h 45 minutes, then was up looking after the dogs again. Welcome to the Yukon Quest.
Anyway, Newton wasn't even tired when he got into Dawson. We think he's going to make it on the Quest.
Newton came into Dawson with Eastwood in the sled bag, that being his largest dog. Eastwood looked a little too comfortable in that sled bag! There were lots of good pictures.
John Stewart had a great run too, and most importantly they are both qualified for their 200 mile race for the Yukon Quest now. They came in far ahead of the required time limitation behind first place so they made it easily into qualifying. In fact, out of 16 mushers, Newton came in 7th, meaning he did very, very well especially for a FIRST serious race. Most would have rested a lot longer in Eagle, waited for daylight and so on, but he took off right on time.
That's all for now.
Take care all, it was a great race and there is a lot more to tell, lots of laughs and so on.
Susie
The race was FANTASTIC! Hans said the Americans in Eagle loved Newton. They were so into having a Jamaican there as a dog musher! Of course Newton read the food board and asked for the Curried Chicken.
Newton gave lots of interviews on the trail, well lot's for up here on a dog race anyway, so I can tell you some of the things I heard him say to the people. First, he said he sings to the dogs to get them moving faster. They asked what he sings and he started singing a reggae song right there in the check point, dance moves and all. It was just great. He was there in his big parka with his dog team behind him. They asked if he could sing as he left the checkpoint but I don't know if he did or not.
Newton said that the race was very tough but enjoyable. He said the glaciation was the worst part, having the dogs skidding all over the place and his sled fish tailing downward toward the jumble ice, (which is brutal by the way - you have no idea. It's like four foot chunks of steel sticking out of the river at all angles.) But he said he made it and liked it.
Hans was debating whether to wait for Newton at that particular point because even in his opinion, it was really bad. Then he thought no, Newton's on his own and this will really test his skills and his ability to keep going. It was dark at the time as well by the way, making it just that much scarier and worse. Also, Newton lost the trail on the river at one point. That might sound like no big deal because after all, you are on a river. But this river is a km wide at points and that is not even the big deal at all. The problem is that at some places in the center or even close to shore, it is open water. You fall in that and you are dead. Next worse thing to the open water is the jumble ice as I described above. It can ruin the team, the sled, and the musher. You tend to bounce over the first two or three chunks then you smash into one.
There was very little rest. Newton ran a hundred miles straight, then spent 6 mandatory hours in Eagle, Alaska, during which time he had to feed the dogs twice, massage injured shoulders, take care of feet, put out straw etc. plus eat himself and then get the whole outfit set up to take off again which takes about 45 minutes if you really know what your doing, just on its own. As a result, Newton had about 2 hours to himself over 2 one-hundred mile runs. He said he slept about 1 h 45 minutes, then was up looking after the dogs again. Welcome to the Yukon Quest.
Anyway, Newton wasn't even tired when he got into Dawson. We think he's going to make it on the Quest.
Newton came into Dawson with Eastwood in the sled bag, that being his largest dog. Eastwood looked a little too comfortable in that sled bag! There were lots of good pictures.
John Stewart had a great run too, and most importantly they are both qualified for their 200 mile race for the Yukon Quest now. They came in far ahead of the required time limitation behind first place so they made it easily into qualifying. In fact, out of 16 mushers, Newton came in 7th, meaning he did very, very well especially for a FIRST serious race. Most would have rested a lot longer in Eagle, waited for daylight and so on, but he took off right on time.
That's all for now.
Take care all, it was a great race and there is a lot more to tell, lots of laughs and so on.
Susie
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Newton Finishes 7th in The Percy!
Guys, I can't get anyone on the phone in Dawson....but from the official results
Newton is 7th, in a time of 24hrs and 44mins. This is a wonderful result;
the winning time was 22hrs and 20 mins. Hans was 4th with 22hrs 58mins.
Newton has now completed one of two qualifying races for the Yukon Quest. I
can't tell you how proud I am of this young Jamaican braving -20C and racing
on a sled for 24 hours........try it if you think it is easy.
More when I talk to Susie, Hans and Dick.
One mush
Danny
Newton is 7th, in a time of 24hrs and 44mins. This is a wonderful result;
the winning time was 22hrs and 20 mins. Hans was 4th with 22hrs 58mins.
Newton has now completed one of two qualifying races for the Yukon Quest. I
can't tell you how proud I am of this young Jamaican braving -20C and racing
on a sled for 24 hours........try it if you think it is easy.
More when I talk to Susie, Hans and Dick.
One mush
Danny
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Newton on his way in The Percy
Newton and his team began their run in The Percy at 10:14am PDT. According to the Dawson City page on the Yukon tourism site it's -21C -- that'll get anyone mushing!
Keep track of Newton in The Percy with Google Earth
The Percy DeWolfe Memorial Mail Race is now underway. There are live hourly updates on Google Earth. Very cool, check it out just click the link from The Percy homepage (thepercy.com).
Go Newton.
Mush mon!
Go Newton.
Mush mon!
More on Crystal from Ken at Elfstone Kennel
Crystal was born March 23, 2003. She is always on the right side in the photos of Robb's team. She is due April 11 with her first litter. Right now she looks like a big sausage with legs. Cute as can be. She either has 4 big ones in her or a whole herd. Not sure which.Top: Donna with mom-to-be Crystal
Bottom: Crystal in action on Robb's team
Ken (proud papa)
Elfstone Kennel
Saginaw, MN
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Pups on the way at Elfstone Kennel
Hello….some news from Minnesota: Robb’s main leader Crystal is pregnant, she will be Robb’s leader next year in the 6 dog events. Robb was here when she was bred and will get to name one of the pups. Looking ahead to a 3rd season some of these pups could be on the JDT-sprint team! Check back for name and baby pics.
Crystal says hi.
Ken DavisElfstone Kennel
Saginaw, MN
Jimmy Buffett cheers on Newton
Team godfather, singer and songwriter Jimmy Buffett had these words of encouragement for Newton for his upcoming run in The Percy: “You are one brave Jamaican mon up there in the frozen North. From all the way down here in the Caribbean, I send you all my good wishes, admiration and most of all respect for what you have accomplished and what you will accomplish.”
Monday, March 24, 2008
Newton Marshall Preparing for 210-mile race, March 27-28, 2008
Newton has been training his team since November and it looks ready for The Percy. Newton's main leader Felix will not be running, he is out of the race due to a pulled hamstring. That is a set back because Felix is a double Golden Harness leader - which means he won the Yukon Quest twice in lead. He would have had absolutely no problem leading a winning team across the finish line in the Percy DeWolfe. So it's too bad he's gone, his enthusiasm and skills will be missed.
Newton started with a pool of 14 dogs and aside from Felix he has lost one other to injury so he still has 12 dogs to choose a 9 dog team from. I just asked him who he's running with and he said that a small (35 pound), 3 year old white dog with black eye lashes and blue eyes, named 'Killer', is taking Felix's place. She is a young leader and will run lead with Mona, an 8 year old veteran leader.
In swing will be Nell and McKinley. Both have come in first place in the Yukon Quest and know what they are doing, and Nell can lead if she needs to. Behind them, the first team dog is Einstein running solo without a partner. I confess that he was in fact in Hans' Iditarod team this year, he is a bit of a ringer for the team. But was dropped due to the hot weather on the trail and he doesn't deal with heat well. Frazier and Sly will be the pair of team dogs behind Einstein. Einstein is running without a partner because this is a 9 dog race and he is the best to be alone. He tends to intimidate his partners unless it is his old buddy Wyatt, who barks right back at him. Wyatt is in John Stewart's team though.
Newton's two wheel dogs, Eastwood and Redford are huge strong dogs. They look like a pair of horses.
We have a couple dozen plastic bags of dog food stacked in the feed shed ready to be packed into the dogsleds, plus the cookers, jackets, snacks and personal gear. Right now I'm looking out the window and Newton is brushing snow off his sled with a hand whisk. That is TOTALLY unneccessary but kind of cute to watch. Now he's lining up the velcro on the top so it zips up perfectly and there he goes, walking it over to the garage to put it inside. He's taking good care of the equipment and sleds.
I just had this email interupted by a phone call saying that we have two rooms at the Aurora Inn in Dawson City. Also we are getting emails from other mushers asking when we are heading up the highway. It is a 500 km drive and there will be at least 11 teams driving up from Whitehorse, no doubt we will see each other on the mostly empty road.
Just about all the teams in this race are from extremely competitive yards, (including Newton's and the three other teams going from here), but there are a few less competitive yards going up too, such as Simi Morrison. Simi moved here from East Germany a few years ago and is just getting her team together. She has run a few 200 and 300 mile races but is still considered a new comer and a rookie. That goes to show you what Newton is up against seen as this is his second race ever, and his first race was only 30 miles on a great trail. This trail is different. I was going to skijor the race but the ice is too difficult this year so I am taking a sled.
We're all restless to load up the trucks and getting driving to Dawson.
Bye for now, Susie
Newton started with a pool of 14 dogs and aside from Felix he has lost one other to injury so he still has 12 dogs to choose a 9 dog team from. I just asked him who he's running with and he said that a small (35 pound), 3 year old white dog with black eye lashes and blue eyes, named 'Killer', is taking Felix's place. She is a young leader and will run lead with Mona, an 8 year old veteran leader.
In swing will be Nell and McKinley. Both have come in first place in the Yukon Quest and know what they are doing, and Nell can lead if she needs to. Behind them, the first team dog is Einstein running solo without a partner. I confess that he was in fact in Hans' Iditarod team this year, he is a bit of a ringer for the team. But was dropped due to the hot weather on the trail and he doesn't deal with heat well. Frazier and Sly will be the pair of team dogs behind Einstein. Einstein is running without a partner because this is a 9 dog race and he is the best to be alone. He tends to intimidate his partners unless it is his old buddy Wyatt, who barks right back at him. Wyatt is in John Stewart's team though.
Newton's two wheel dogs, Eastwood and Redford are huge strong dogs. They look like a pair of horses.
We have a couple dozen plastic bags of dog food stacked in the feed shed ready to be packed into the dogsleds, plus the cookers, jackets, snacks and personal gear. Right now I'm looking out the window and Newton is brushing snow off his sled with a hand whisk. That is TOTALLY unneccessary but kind of cute to watch. Now he's lining up the velcro on the top so it zips up perfectly and there he goes, walking it over to the garage to put it inside. He's taking good care of the equipment and sleds.
I just had this email interupted by a phone call saying that we have two rooms at the Aurora Inn in Dawson City. Also we are getting emails from other mushers asking when we are heading up the highway. It is a 500 km drive and there will be at least 11 teams driving up from Whitehorse, no doubt we will see each other on the mostly empty road.
Just about all the teams in this race are from extremely competitive yards, (including Newton's and the three other teams going from here), but there are a few less competitive yards going up too, such as Simi Morrison. Simi moved here from East Germany a few years ago and is just getting her team together. She has run a few 200 and 300 mile races but is still considered a new comer and a rookie. That goes to show you what Newton is up against seen as this is his second race ever, and his first race was only 30 miles on a great trail. This trail is different. I was going to skijor the race but the ice is too difficult this year so I am taking a sled.
We're all restless to load up the trucks and getting driving to Dawson.
Bye for now, Susie
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Ken's on the mend
Ken broke his wrist and dislocated his elbow coming back from a camping/fishing trip with the dogs. He's on the mend and will be good as new before next season -- can't say the same for the fish! Thanks for the picture Rick.MarviasPanamaJournal.com and Facebook Fanclub
Check out this great shout out from Marvia Lawes, a Jamaican pastor residing in Panama, on his blog Marvias Panama Journal. Rev. Lawes found out that Canadian Gerard Bazin has started a Jamaica Dogsled Fan Club on Facebook. What fabulous support for our young mushers and SUN DOGS!
Mush mon,
The Jamaica Dogsled Team
Mush mon,
The Jamaica Dogsled Team
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Congrats to Hans Gatt on great Iditarod finish
Congratulations Hans on your 6th Place finish in the Iditarod. Good job to everyone involved with team Gatt... including the dogs! Looking forward to following the Percy DeWolfe race, and wish both Hans and Newton good luck.
Donna and Ken
Hey Hans,
Congrats on the race man. Miss you guys.
Danny
Donna and Ken
Hey Hans,
Congrats on the race man. Miss you guys.
Danny
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Robb's Return to Jamaica!
Robb returned to Jamaica on March 4, 2008, with a dashing smile and his usual charm which he takes everywhere. He was greeted at the airport with a warm welcome and then whisked away to his home (where he calls home anyway) Chukka Cove Farm, where a warm welcome awaited. Bursts of joy and laughter flooded the atmosphere; Robb was indeed a sight for sore eyes.
Our hopes and prayers did not go unanswered, what a great accomplishment and a job well done!
Our hopes and prayers did not go unanswered, what a great accomplishment and a job well done!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Snowflake Int'l, Robb places 7th in the final race for the season!!
Hello….Snowflake turned out to be the perfect ending to a very good race season. It was their 2nd largest turnout ever. All 3 teams from the JDT truck did well and had a fun time. Robb finished 7th ,I finished 3rd in the Pro and Amanda finished 4th in the Sport class. There were 23 teams total. Robb was right in the middle and ahead of a few good teams. He is definitely confident on the sled. I had the fastest day time of all sleds today….11:41, and Robb’s was 12:34, very fast. Last year I won this race with times of 12:01 + 12:10. (Amanda’s time was 15:24).
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Day 1 Results: Snowflake International Skijoring Classic, Duluth, MN
1. Ted Wallace 11:27
2. Caleb Tysver 11:28
3. Jill Biggs 11:43
4. Jacob Biggs 11:44
5. Ken Davis 11:45
6. Bob Bzdok 12:12
7. Damion Robb 12:14
Robb had a awesome run and I did too. We get to go and party at the Wallace’s tonight. Will have the finials tomorrow. Take care. Ken
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