Polo Players' Edition is the official publication of the U.S. Polo Association. Dedicated to the sport of polo, it features player profiles, game strategy, horse care, playing tips, polo club news and tournament results.
Issue link: https://polo.epubxp.com/i/31965
pristine Northeast coast, in 1982. He plowed under the sugar cane and replaced it with a polo field, stables, and gorgeous waterfront villas. He built it, and they came (the polo elite, that is), and by 1988 he was still operating Chukka Cove as a polo resort. But even though Chukka Cove was well patronized by the polo crowd, Danny did not want to be constrained by what was (bless their hearts—and their wallets) a very limited client base. Meanwhile, an ever-growing flotilla of cruise ships belatedly following the lead of Christopher Columbus (who in 1494 described the place as “the fairest land mine eyes have ever seen”) was making regular landfall in nearby Ocho Rios. To serve this burgeoning market, Danny founded Chukka Caribbean Adventures in 1983 offering a horseback ride-and-swim tour at Chukka Cove. The soaring popularity of the tour with the increasing flow of cruise ship passengers soon led Chukka Caribbean Adventures to add more pieces to its repertoire, including the Zion “Bob Marley” Bus Line Tour, which transports passengers to the interior mountain village of Nine Miles, birthplace of Jamaica’s immortal Bob Marley. Danny wanted his tours to be profitable, naturally, but he also wanted them to be uniquely Jamaican, and to benefit Jamaicans as well. “Yes, we are motivated by dogsled tour—and later, when the sun settled into the horizon and the legendary libations of Jamaica worked their enchanting magic— spoke rapturously of a Jamaican dogsled team that would compete in the daunting races across the frozen northern tundra. Yes, definitely, it would be north to Alaska, all the way, he declared—but all he heard in response was “outright laughter.” Danny laughed too, of course. But one person laughing with him rather than at him was singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett. The two men saw in the idea an opportunity for the advancement of Jamaica on many levels. First of all, both understood that the desperation of Jamaica’s social and economic situation cannot be underestimated. If anything were going to succeed in attacking that—even if only in a symbolic way—it would have to be something of extraordinary vision and the capacity to play out in real time, in real life. By virtue of their successful histories in business and art, and their ample resources, they were willing to take on the challenge. Jimmy Buffett and his famous Margaritaville chain agreed to become official sponsors of the project. The challenge itself had two main aspects: First, establish a team of working sled dogs in Jamaica to train dogs and been put down. Sadly, not every applicant could be accommodated. The dogs had to show some aptitude in conformation and temperament. The Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was eager to help and worked closely with Chukka and the team to monitor the dogs and their shelters, and provide additional dogs as necessary. It is a story of second chances—not a likely possibility for anyone down on their luck in a place like Kingston. There is severe and widespread poverty there and an embedded culture of crime that is truly world class. It seems the government is so deeply in debt that they would have to borrow money to fix a pothole—and so, they don’t. In the midst of all this was born the Jamaica Dogsled Team. When Jimmy Buffett saw the first mismatched rag-tag Jamaican sled dog team run he said, “Well, they look exactly like a the bottom line, but we also want our efforts to show Jamaica in a good light.” It should be clear that Danny Melville has a great imagination, no inhibitions about sharing it, and a willingness to commit deeply to what he sees as a good idea. Today, Melville’s company operates 28 tours in Jamaica, as well as in Belize and Grand Turk Island. Never happy to leave things as they are, Melville was in Edmonton a few years back taking a look at custom-made dune buggies for a new Chukka Caribbean Adventures tour when he spotted an odd-looking dogsled designed for dry-land racing. What a great idea for Jamaica, he thought. He told people of his plans to create a Jamaican mushers in the techniques of sled driving; this would also create a modest revenue stream by taking paying visitors for rides. Second, train a team of competitors that could overcome the quixotic juxtaposition of a traditionally snow-bound sport with a third-world country on a remote tropical island—and ultimately be seen as a serious presence in the arena of the sport. The first part was difficult enough, but relatively easy compared to the second. The Dogs The first 12 dogs recruited for the team, mainly strays from the mean streets and animal shelters of Kingston, were given a new lease on life as they would likely have Jamaican dogsled team should.” I am sure they took it as a complement. The First Jamaican Mushers Devon Anderson was the first musher to emerge from the Chukka Cove training ground. In January of 2006 he headed out to Aviemore, Scotland, to compete in the Siberian Husky Club sled dog rally with Alan Stewart as his coach (and provider of sled dogs for the event). Anderson managed to place 27 out of 40 in the grueling cross- country races. The Jamaican Dogsled Team had made its debut. The Iditarod leaves mushers in the vast frozen wilderness, at times alone and hundreds of miles away from any reasonable food or shelter. POLO PLAYERS EDITION 33
