The new wave

Opposite and this page The setting was as impressive as the horsemanship and the New Year’s Eve event attracted around 1,000 spectators

Alongside the Pacific Ocean on New Zealand’s North Island, lies the coastal settlement of Porangahau. With only a handful of people, a few dogs and some sea birds, this rural Kiwi paradise with a long, sweeping beach, proved the ideal venue for the country’s inaugural beach-polo tournament.

The New Year’s Eve event attracted around 1,000 spectators, including the Argentinian ambassador, Fernando Escalona, and guests from the Cable Beach Polo Club. All judged it to be a fantastic event and one to be repeated.

China-based, third-generation local Hamish McLean spearheaded the Kiwi entry into this exciting sporting venture. Fuelled by a passion for horseriding and the opportunity to promote a new community experience, he energised family and friends to bring the event to fruition. Tide-dependent, it comprised six sponsored teams in three categories: two women’s teams, one that combined Porangahau and Mongolian players, and a thrilling 14-goal match featuring six top New Zealand professionals.

The global connection began last summer, when eight Mongolian riders came to upskill their game alongside members of the district’s Wanstead Polo Club after McLean met with the patron/founder of the Genghis Khan Polo Club, Christopher Giercke. Giercke’s two sons – both international players – featured in the event.

Supporting his enterprise back in Porangahau is McLean’s long-time friend, fellow Wanstead Club member and former polo player Harriet Kuru. The McLean-Kuru family friendship adds depth to this multi-threaded story. Spanning three generations, the common denominators are horse-riding, breeding and handling, plus a passion for polo. McLean learnt his skills from Harriet’s father and Wanstead Club icon Turoa Kuru, riding the family’s well-known station-bred coloured ponies. Turoa’s original sire and brood mares were given to him, in turn, by Hamish’s great-uncle 70 years ago. McLean and Kuru have now formed a partnership based on teaching polo and horsemanship skills to young riders, both locally and internationally, and the Mongolian national polo team is currently training at the Kuru farm alongside a trainee from the Hurlingham Polo Association.

The Porangahau Beach Polo Event event has top-level endorsement. It is sanctioned by the Florida-based International Beach Polo Association Chairman Alex Webbe, with the support of Marilynne Paspaley AM, who is the Founder and Chair of the annual Pinctada Cable Beach Polo tournament – an event held in Broome, Western Australia, that commands worldwide attention. Her support was garnered after a meeting with McLean at Broome last year.

For McLean, the Porangahau event delivered on its promise of fun in the sun and some thrilling polo, along with helicopter rides and music provided by a South American salsa DJ. ‘Crowd support was widespread,’ he says, ‘and augurs well for next year’s event.’

Nonetheless, challenges also accompanied this first-time event, among them, finding sponsors, providing horses for visiting players and balancing tide times. However, McLean is excited about having brought beach polo to Porangahau and, with it, the associated economic opportunities it promises, seeing this as a key catalyst for future visitor and community growth opportunities. ‘I’m confident our special Antipodean community will continue to present a world-class event in its totally unique Porangahau way,’ he says.