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Elephant PoloBy Judith Ritter
Some elephant polo aficionados around us, study the seven day tournament schedule with the intensity of gamblers at the track at Hialeah. They follow elephant polo the way we follow the World Series. And, like Shirley Kennedy, a British ex-pat living in Bangkok, they know the names of players and can wager which teams are strongest. Kennedy, a follower of horse polo, loves the elephant version for its lumbering suspense. “The elephants are so slow compared to the horses and you think they’ll never get anywhere, but they do and the surprise is delightful!”
The royal parade is elaborate opening for a game whose rules are as simple as those of ringette. Two teams of three elephants, the polo players strapped onto their backs, face off. The riders tussle over one tiny ball in order to get it, past their opponent’s goal, The languid pace of the game left us and other fans lots of time for chatting. In between matches, signaled by the clang of a giant brass gong, the gentle elephants loll around the sidelines, tearing huge branches off trees in the encroaching jungle. Now and then they wander to the snack tables in search of a banana, until called back to the sidelines by their Thai trainers. It is possible to get close to these lovely animals, as they wait out their turns to play. We were even invited to climb up and got to ride around. That was more exciting than even the most intense moments of any match we saw. Though the whole peculiar and entertaining event seems to be just another indulgence for bored jetsetters, it is really about the elephants. The competition is a fundraiser for the Thailand Elephant Conservation Centre, a group that has a number of projects to protect elephants. The polo and the charity events surrounding the competition are organized by the Anantara Resort and Spa. Most of the elephant polo aficionados stay at the fourteen acre garden- and –beach resort, a reproduction of an old Thai village. The accommodation leaves lots of opportunities to meet players around the pool and bar. The highlight of the social events is a gala dinner and ball, where all the guests are required to wear something in silk. That gave us a chance to go into the small town to explore the silk shops and night market. Hua Hin, a unique destination any time of year, is Thailand’s oldest beach resort and has an aristocratic history. For anyone longing for a feeling of Indochina, before cell phones and wall –to-wall condos, this is the place. The town that hosts this royal elephant event has been the summer home of the king since 1926. The result is the streets are lined with illuminated billboard- size portraits of the beloved royal family (His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Her Majesty Queen Sirikit). The town, once a small fishing village, still has the feel of old Siam. Unlike Thailand’s other beach resorts, such as Phuket or Pattaya which mainly attract foreign tourists, Hua Hin’s mainstay, since the 1920’s when the railway first came here, is well-to-doThai tourists looking for a break from the impossible summer swelter of Bangkok. Many wealthy Thai nationals have stunning homes along the five- mile stretch of sandy beach- all a perfect backdrop for a week of elephant polo. “Jolly nice, don’t you think?” we were asked many times over the week. “Abolutely spiffing!”, we, of course, answer. More about elephant polo - http://www.elephantpolo.com More about Anantara Resort and Spa- www.anantara.com More about Elephant Conservation Centre’s projects to protect elephants- www.changthai.com To find out more about the 2006 King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament in Hua Hin Thailand. - www.anantara.com More about travel in Thailand - Tourism Authority of Thailand- www.tourismthailand.org How to go to Bangkok- Thai Airways has four flights a week from Los Angeles www.thaiair.com/ How to go from Bangkok to Hua Hin- Photo credits: |
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TM
Organizers of big international sports events know many of
their fans will travel great distances for big competitions. At Wimbledon,
soccer’s World Cup or the Grand Prix, the stands are full of tourists who have
come from around the world just to see championship matches. Like those fans, we
flew several time zones and thousands of miles for what might be the world’s
quirkiest sporting event, Thailand’s King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament. This
most curious event took place in Hua Hin, a small beach resort on the Gulf of
Siam, where we experienced a week of sun, spa, shopping, eating and, most
importantly, the pachyderm playoffs.
The truth is, watching a couple of dozen, four ton Asian
elephants and their sweaty pith-helmeted riders with oversize polo mallets,
lumber after a tiny white ball, doesn’t make for one of those
keep-you-on-the-edge of your seats sports fan experiences.
While elephant action does beat the nearly comatose pace of those fly-fishing
competitions you see on TV, elephant polo does not have the icy breathtaking
moments suited to North Americans weaned on luging, bobsledding and hockey.
Still, elephant polo carries a peculiar charm, redolent of a defunct empire in
tropical climes. 
The empire’s representatives are a
collection of satin-shirted teams made up of players ranging from ex-pat Brits,
old world Indians, officers of the King’s Royal hussars, (the ones, by the way,
who led the charge of the Light Brigade), a smattering of Americans and
Canadians living in Thailand, and, the most popular players, an absolutely
stunning transgender team, called “lady boys”, (This most eccentric team,aptly
named “Screwless Tuskers”, has become a fixture of the King’s Cup as a result of
the team members’ friendship with a prominent and wealthy ex-pat who is a major
supporter of the sport)
During a week of matches, we sat on the edge of the
football-sized field under white tents, shading us from 35-degree heat, drank
icy fresh coconut milk and watched teams from Australia to Nepal riding giant
elephants who seemed to take great delight in chasing the ball down the field,
sometimes ignoring their aristocratic riders and kicking the ball themselves
with their huge grey feet.
Like some of the mystified Japanese, Dutch and British
tourists around us, we’re not familiar with horse polo so we just let the wacky
event unfold before us. When the game gets exciting now and then (top elephant
speed is only thirteen or fourteen miles per hour) and elephants bump up against
each other and their riders poke at the tiny ball in the dirt with six foot
bamboo sticks trying to whack it down to a goal post at the end of the field,
the crowd roars. Between matches there’s even a chance to talk to the riders.
Heroes of the sport like Angad Kalaan of India, with his Bollywood looks and
aristocratic bearing, are mobbed. When Victoria, Canada-born John Mackay, an
international lawyer, slides off his elephant to talk to us, he compares the
game to hockey: “The ball is tougher to hit than a puck and you’re further away
from it. And it certainly isn’t as dangerous as hockey!” There, the
comparison ends.
Elephant
polo is above all a social event. Like an upscale tailgate party, its mostly
high society players, have replaced beer and chips with champagne and cucumber
sandwiches. “Any excuse for a party, It just has to be on your calendar!”, Jim
Edwards says. He should know. He’s the co-inventor of elephant polo, an idea
hatched at the bar of the St. Moritz Tobogganing club and sealed over a
champagne lunch at the famed Tiger Tops Resort in Nepal. The “ must-do” event is
an opportunity to hobnob with old friends whom you haven’t seen since quail
hunting season. These folks never miss an elephant polo tournament. It’s easy
not to since there are only three; one in Nepal, another in Sri Lanka and this
one in Thailand.
The King’s Cup, in honour
of the King of Thailand, is surely the most stylish of the three events.
While the king never shows up, he does give his official blessing. That means we
experienced a majestic opening ceremonial parade, where we saw dozens of
decorated elephants, Thai dancers, musicians shimmering in silk and gold, and
polo players bedecked in satin.