The search for SA’s most courageous, committed and hardcore charger begins now.
The Striped Horse Challenge presented by Zigzag in association with RVCA, Hurricane and Twig Surfboards is a big wave competition open to any Saffa surfer who is willing to put their head down and paddle themselves into the biggest and/or heaviest waves that thunder through during the waiting period. The competition runs until 30 September, after which the winner – judged by a panel led by 2013/14 Big Wave World Tour champion Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker – will be awarded not only a trip to Hawaii, but also cash and prizes totalling more than R50 000 (plus R10 000 to the videographer who records it).
“We are stoked to bring a big wave surfing event to South Africa,” said Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker, co-sponsor of the Striped Horse Challenge. “There is fantastic local talent out there, and we are looking forward to providing a platform for these guys to show their skills and then push on to a world stage. The growth in big wave surfing is exponential on a global scale and our surfers belong on that stage.”
The idea behind the Challenge is to send SA’s best performer of the winter overseas, so they can keep getting clips to enter the WSL Big Wave Tour’s #ProveIt challenge and earn a place on next year’s tour. We are fortunate in SA to have the easiest route to qualifying for the Big Wave Tour, because of our abundance of big wave spots and the opportunity to get them under our belt before the northern hemisphere winter starts. It’s possible to qualify in one year for the Big Wave Tour by riding five big waves, compared to the Championship Tour that takes years and many events to earn a spot. If someone has a few good rides here at home, he can then head north and back them up. That’s what this event will try to ensure.
If they link up for another moment like this, Matt Bromley and Dungeons could be the winning combination.
And although rides from anywhere in the world will count for the Striped Horse Challenge, the opportunity is most definitely there for the winning wave to be ridden in South Africa. Mzansi is home to some of the world’s best big wave spots; not only the notorious Dungeons and massive peaks of Sunset Reef, but tucked away all over the coast are reefs capable of holding size and shape too. And there’s no better time of the year to guarantee that we will be walloped by swell.
Grant Rushmere, co-founder of Striped Horse Craft Beer says, “big wave surfers are constantly exploring the limits of what is possible on a surfboard. Harnessing the most dangerous conditions in the ocean to show the beauty and excitement of their sport. We are hoping for a few good Cape storms to come through to give the challengers the conditions to thrill us.”
The rules for entry are simple; you need to be a South African and charge hard. Entries need to have been ridden during the contest period, and evidence of the ride can be captured either by photo sequence or video and uploaded to the event portal: stripedhorsechallenge.co.za
Weekly prizes will also be awarded to online followers of the #StripedHorseChallenge. When a new entry is submitted, you’ll have the chance to share your thoughts in the comments below and the best of these will be awarded epic prizes by the event sponsors. So stay tuned-in.
Check out all the prizes and learn more about the Striped Horse Challenge presented by Zigzag in association with RVCA, Twig Surfboards and Hurricane at stripedhorsechallenge.co.za
