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Elephants no more remain the animals meant only for rides or amusements. Nowadays, they have started playing polo too. Thailand played a perfect host to 50 elephants at the 13th annual King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament. As many as 16 teams with players from around the globe participated awarding some forgettable moments at VR Sports Club in Bangkok. Introduced in Thailand in 2001, the King’s Cup Elephant Polo, one of the biggest charitable events in Thailand, is the brainchild of Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas. The event began with a gala dinner hosted at Anantara Bangkok Riverside Resort & Spa in the presence of top dignitaries, players, celebrities. The players at the 13th annual King’s Cup Elephant Polo included the Olo Brown, New Zealand All Blacks’ Mark "Cowboy" Shaw and Charlie Riechelmann, Thai supermodels and many leading international horse polo players. There was something for everyone, starting from an opening parade that witnessed the opening ceremony by the Thailand’s last ‘elephant spirit men’ (Kru Ba Yai), and with traditional dancers. The second day started with 2000 children from different schools all across Bangkok, who came together at the Little Elephant Day to know about their national animal. A number of activities were organised for different age groups near the venue. These included educational walks, interesting games and activities, which taught the benefits of elephant conservation and well-being. Day three was dedicated to ladies as the ‘Ladies’ Day,’ which saw women from all walks of life dressed to impress with the best dressed lady winning a week’s holiday at Niyama in the Maldives. The day also saw a ‘High Tea-Off’ competition with three Bangkok hotels competing to be voted the best high tea. On pitch, entertainment included Thai bands and a specially choreographed show by Tiffany Show Pattaya, Thailand’s most famous trans-gender cabaret. The tournament was a great success, which is growing year on year as a key event in Thailand, attracting more sponsors and raising more funds for Thailand’s elephant population. There are a number of projects, which will benefit from this tournament and have been selected very meticulously. An extension of the Thai Elephant Therapy Project will also be a part of the same. This project has been going on since 2009 under the guidance of Chiang Mai University Department of Occupational Therapy. It is planning to include clinics for kids in future. The thrilling finale was a holiday treat for polo lovers that witnessed a head on penalty shootout between the King Power Duty Free and Audemars Piguet and seeing the King Power clinching it in style.
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