MEDIA RELEASE: 11 March 2013
As preparations get underway for Australia’s only beach polo event, Pinctada Cable Beach Polo 2014, two indigenous polo players commence their training across the Tasman, courtesy of the Cable Beach Polo Scholarship.
The budding polo champions are Carl Malfong and Byron Malay, stockmen from the Myroodah Station in the Kimberley. They have relocated to New Zealand for two months to train with leading NZ trainer Harriet Kuru, thanks to two scholarships launched in 2014 by Cable Beach Polo with the generous support of the Opiango Polo Training School in NZ. They will practice with the Opiango Polo Club, with the opportunity to further develop their skills through matches at the Wanstead Polo Club. A highlight of their training, currently in progress, has been the opportunity to assist the professional polo players participating in the BMW Open, held on 23 February in Auckland, New Zealand.
The Indigenous Land Council has lent its support to the programme with airfares for the two young trainees and Chris Daniels, Indigenous station manager at Myroodah Luluigui Station in the Kimberley, is a passionate supporter of the polo scholarship programme.
This extraordinary feat of trans-Tasman polo cooperation will prepare Carl and Byron to be match-ready for The Kimberley Challenge, one of the showcase matches of the Pinctada Cable Beach Polo 2014. Held for the first time in 2013, The Kimberley Challenge teams young indigenous stockmen with leading polo players in a polo match that embraces the excitement of beach polo and the rich rural history of Australia’s unique Kimberley region.
Director of the Pinctada Cable Beach Polo Marilynne Paspaley AM, said the Kimberley Challenge and the Cable Beach Polo’s indigenous polo scholarship showcases the spirit, history and culture of the Kimberley.
“The Pinctada Cable Beach Polo and the Kimberley Challenge celebrate this unique region by bringing the stockmen to the sea to compete in an event that is also unique – Australia’s only beach polo tournament,” she says. “The Kimberley’s world famous landscape stretches from the pristine beaches of Australia’s northwest coast to the ancient wonders of the east Kimberley, such as the Bungle Bungle Range, and the stock stations in between are as much a part of the region’s history as its rich pearling heritage. I am delighted to be involved in an event that pays homage to both these aspects of the Kimberley’s extraordinary story.”
Marilynne Paspaley also acknowledged the Kimberley community’s support of the Pinctada Cable Beach Polo Festival.
“The community spirit in the Kimberley is as extraordinary as the landscape – this is a ‘can do’, innovative and proud community that is excited to host Australia’s only beach polo tournament,” she says. “The Pinctada Cable Beach Polo will attract many visitors to our region in 2014 and beyond, and the welcoming and inclusive spirit of the Kimberley community reflects the nature of the event.”
Pinctada Cable Beach Polo 2014 is free to watch picnic-style from the beach or tickets can be purchased to the VIP beach marquee. There is a range of events and celebrations in the three days leading up to the weekend’s polo action.
To connect with Pinctada Cable Beach Polo 2014, please visit:
Website:www.cablebeachpolo.com.au YouTube:www.youtube.com/user/CableBeachPolo Facebook:www.facebook.com/CableBeachPolo Twitter:@cablebeachpolo
For further information on Pinctada Cable Beach Polo, the Kimberley Challenge and the inaugural indigenous polo scholarship, please contact:
Sarah Carroll
BLACK Communications
Telephone: 02 8399 3005
Mobile: 0422 909 972
Email: [email protected]