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Madeline Merritt and Larry Hagman at the Dallas Polo Club Soirée |
Dallas Polo Club Soiree
Rob E. Walton Cup to Benefit Spinal Chord Research
Photos by Milt Dana & Kent Waldrep Foundation
The Dallas Polo Club Soiree, a benefit for spinal chord research, will be held field side at The Dallas Polo Club in September. The money raised for the center will help support basic research in nerve growth, function and regeneration.
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Madeline Merritt and Larry Hagman at the Dallas Polo Club Soirée |
According the Kent Waldrep National Paralysis Foundation website, "100,000 people are permanently disabled every year as a result of brain and spinal cord injuries. Two-thirds of those injured are people under 30, making spinal cord and brain injury the leading killer and disabler of children and young adults."
Kent Waldrep was a junior running back at Texas Christian University in 1974, when he suffered a broken neck and was paralyzed while playing in a college football game against Alabama.
After his injury, Waldrep was determined to help find a cure for paralysis. He established the Kent Waldrep National Paralysis Foundation in 1985, and with the help of gifts from the foundation, The Kent Waldrep Foundation Center for Basic Neuroscience Research was established on the campus of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
"Paralysis is a tragic circumstance that can touch any family in this country at any moment of any day," stated Waldrep in a 1997 Associated Press article. "There are no warning signals and there are no preventative measures other than education"
The Dallas Polo Club became involved with Waldrep and fundraising for the center in 1996, shortly after club president Bil Walton’s brother Rob was injured in a polo accident. Rob Walton was one of the top polo players in the world when he was paralyzed in a fall during a tournament in Malaysia. Each year the club holds the September Soiree, which is highlighted by the Rob E. Walton Cup, a polo match named in honor of the polo pro. Rob Walton was inducted this spring into the USPA Hall of Fame in recognition of his contributions to the sport as both a player and now, as a coach. Rob Walton now splits his time between California and West Palm Beach coaching high-goal polo teams in some of the sports most prestigious tournaments. Unlike some other traumatic injuries, injuries to the spinal chord are not without hope. Recent medical advances and ongoing research provide hope for paralysis victims. The players and supporters of the Dallas Polo Club are proud to work with the Kent Waldrep Foundation to raise money for this worthy cause each Fall.
4:30 PM - Seating, Rules Explanation, Demonstration of Equipment and Techniques, Exhibition Match
5:00 PM - Cocktails and Hors d' oeuvres
5:30 PM - Rob E. Walton Cup
7:30 PM - Dinner
9:00 PM - Live Music, Dancing
