WESTERN BUREAU:

Twenty-six-year-old Oswald Marshall has developed a 'stone-cold' drive to succeed as he moved from being employed as a gardener at Chukka Caribbean Adventures to now being Jamaica's first international musher.

A musher is someone who drives a dogsled team. Marshall was the first Jamaican to participate in the 2009 Yukon Quest 1,000 Mile International Dogsled Race.

"It was a lot of sacrifice that I had to make in order to even qualify for the dogsled race. I had to complete a rigorous 300-mile dogsled race before I could move on to the Yukon Quest. It was tough, but I made up my mind to do it and I did," an enthusiastic Marshall told The Gleaner in an interview recently.

Yukon Quest takes place every February in North America during extremely cold weather conditions covering 1,000 miles. But performing under these conditions was a daunting task for this Jamaican who is accustomed to the tropical climate. While this was his first time abroad and in such cold climate, this did not deter the resilient Jamaican who was determined to make his country, family and employer proud.

This avid dog lover and international musher was born and raised in the Garden Parish of St Ann with four younger siblings. He began a programme at the Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning but insufficient funds meant he was unable to complete it.

Plans to continue studies

With the thrust into the international spotlight following this accomplishment, he plans on continuing his studies and adds, "No matter how life may seem hard, you can't give up. It will take some time to achieve what you want, but don't give up."

According to Marshall, family and his employer, Chukka Caribbean Adventures, played an integral role in his bid to take part in the competition. However, his success was not without sacrifices as Marshall explained, "It was hard to get sponsors. We had to go around, myself and my boss (Danny Melville), trying to get sponsorship for the team because a lot of people did not believe we would do well at this sport."

Hopes for corporate support

Marshall hopes that with his success in the 2009 Yukon Quest 1,000 Mile International Dogsled Race, corporate Jamaica will support the Jamaica dogsled team in its efforts to compete on the international stage.

Marshall participated in Alaska's Copper Basin 300 in 2009 and the Percy DeWolfe Memorial Race in 2008, where he won the Sportsmanship Award.

He also intends to participate in upcoming international events, where he hopes to earn a better place than his 12th-place finish in the Yukon Quest.

sheena.gayle@gleanerjm.com.