| KING'S CUP ELEPHANT POLO 2004 TOURNAMENT At the Elephant Polo Field, Somdej Phra Suriyothai military camp (the 16th Infantry Division) in Hua Hin, Prachuap Khiri Khan province Spectator entrance is free of charge. 2004 HIGHLIGHTS September 6 The King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament, the popular sport of kings, returns to the Royal Paradise of Hua Hin, Thailand for a fourth consecutive year in 2004 with the event featuring some of the world’s top horse polo players, will see three of New Zealand’s former world-ranking All Blacks rugby players make their elephant polo debut. Organised by the Anantara Resort and Spa and supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the fourth annual King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament promises to be bigger, more colourful and ‘slightly more eccentric’ than in previous years. Organised by the Anantara Resort and Spa Hua Hin in association with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, this year’s tournament promises to be the biggest elephant polo gathering ever held, with a record-breaking 14 teams taking part from around the world. According to tournament organiser and Anantara Vice President, Christopher Stafford, the interest in this year’s tournament has been unprecedented. When the first elephant polo tournament was launched in 2001, there were only 6 teams participating. Now in 2004, there are 14 teams plus a waiting list. The tournament has also evolved into a 7-day event that is broadcast around the world and the tournament is ranked as the sixth largest event on the Thai tourism calendar. As in previous years the event will take place at the Som Dej Phra Suriyothai military camp on the southern outskirts of Hua Hin. Spectator entrance is free of charge. The event will be once again raise funds for the Thailand Elephant Conservation Centre, National Elephant Institute, in Lampang, northern Thailand – an indispensable and dedicated organisation under the auspices of the Thai government, which provides welfare, sustenance, medical care and employment for the Kingdom’s 1500 wild and 2500 domesticated elephants. To date the event has raised around US$65,000. Three of the All Blacks former star players, Stu Wilson, Andy Haydn and Gary Whetton, will take part in the rugby supremos’ first foray into the world of elephant polo, an invitation which came about through ESPN presenter and former Wallabys test player, Justin ‘Sambo’ Sampson. Other newcomers this year include DBS Bank Singapore fielding Singapore Polo Club’s captain Rikard Hogberg; a British Airways Cavalry team who will be flying in from the UK to test their elephant polo mettle and another team of top-ranking pony polo players from Britain who will be playing in travel company Kuoni UK colours. The tournament’s stalwarts are back again in 2004: from Germany, Oliver Winter’s Mercedes Benz Thailand team will be back to defend their twice-won King’s Cup trophy; from Scotland, Chivas Regal, this year fielding the Duke of Argyll; from Australia, Sandalford Winery, third place finalists in 2003, this year be entering two strong teams; an international line-up from Mullis Capital including two international horse polo captains; from Thailand, two teams of top Thai horse polo players; and, also from the home country, the 2003 tournament’s media darlings The Screwless Tuskers who out of last year’s 12 teams finished a magnanimous 12th. The tournament in Thailand will be played according to World Elephant Polo Association rules with three elephants per team on a pitch measuring 100 metres x 60 metres, which is roughly one-third the size of a horse polo field. A game is comprised of two 7-minute chukkas. The players will use specially made elongated polo sticks that are 78 to 110 inches in length, depending on the height of the elephant, using standard size polo balls. Each elephant carries a polo player and a mahout. The mahout directs the elephant using his voice, hands, feet or a goad. The umpire of the game oversees the play from a wooden howdah on the back of the largest elephant. The height of the elephants range from 2 to 2.5m, and they weigh between 2 to 2.8 tonnes each. They usually eat in excess of 200 kg of food each day. The largest elephants are used in defence while the smaller ones with greater speed are used in attack. TENTATIVE PROGRAMME September 6/Monday 12.00 Elephant Blessing at Som Dej Phra Suriyothai
September 7/Tuesday 9.00 Sandalford Winery vs Screwless Tuskers September 8/Wednesday 8.00 Element Sandalford vs Kuoni UK September 9/Thursday 8.00 All Blacks PricewaterhouseCoopers vs Sandalford
Winery September 10/Friday 10.00 Quarter Final 1: winner league A vs runner-up
league B September 11/Saturday 10.00 13th place final September 12/Sunday 9.00 11th place final Tourism authority of Thailand |