Elephant polo in northern Thailand

1. COREADVENTURE
TRUNK
TO DO
BEFORE
#19
YOU DIE
ELEPHANT POL
O
CALL
Fulfil your international sportsman
dreams and follow MH’ s Jonathan
ONCE IN A LIFETIME
Thompson into the humid high What?
Jump on an elephant to
year and cash-permitting,
you can play year-round
with elephants hitting
25mph. And anyone
jinks of elephant polo play in a far cooler take
on the sport of toffs in
in Thailand, Nepal and Sri
Lanka. It’s best to avoid
can play – there’s not
a jodphured Argentinian
The King’s Cup, held in the respective rainy beefcake in sight.
Thailand’s Golden seasons though. The
Triangle, where the King’s Cup takes place How?
northern jungles meet in September. Contact Anantara
the borders of Laos and Resorts, Golden Triangle:
Myanmar, on the banks Why? (+66 (0) 53784084;
of the Mekong River. Besides the inevitable anantara.com). Or book
abundance of eccentric through Travelmood at
When? characters and stranger- travelmood.com. Find out
Elephant polo celebrates than-fiction moments, more about elephant
its 25th anniversary this it’s an exhilarating sport polo at elephantpolo.com.
T
he golden gong
booms. Game on. My
trusty steed and I are
thundering over the pitch like an
intemperate juggernaut. And
fortune smiles on us: the tiny
white ball is bouncing our way.
Hanging on for dear life with one
hand, I raise my mallet with the
other, lean sideways out of the
saddle as far as I dare, and take
an almighty swing. “Aaaaah!”.
The decidedly un-euphoric
response from the crowd confirms
what I think has happened – I’ve
completely missed it.
As a boy, I’d often dreamed of
my competitive international debut,
but had envisaged appearing for
England versus Germany at
Wembley, not astride a four-tonne
elephant named Dodo in the
jungles of northern Thailand.
Elephants never
forget – neither will
Welcome to the Golden Triangle –
you if you fall off the lush, undulating region where ᮣ
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2. COREADVENTURE
ᮤ Thailand meets Laos and It’s got to beat
Myanmar – and to the bizarre,
pushing trees over
with your forehead TALKING ELEPHANT
but increasingly popular and A tactical masterclass, courtesy of the thisisthelife.com team, King’s Cup holders
exhilarating sport of elephant and three times World Champions representing the Chivas Regal Scotland team
polo. The game celebrates its THE RULES
25th anniversary this year; 1 The game is played with
B
in that time it has grown from 1 THE PACHYDERM
ROADBLOCK
three on each team, on a pitch
a gimmicky pursuit of the eccentric 100 metres by 60 metres
into a seriously competitive sport, Although riding across the front using a standard size polo ball.
with established international rules, of your opponent as he dribbles 2 No more than two elephants
a complicated player-handicapping the ball isn’t allowed, good may be in the D at one time –
system and big-name sponsors. anticipation can put you in the one from each team.
right place at the right time to 3 Men may only play the stick
IN CHARGE OF THE create a pachyderm roadblock. with the right hand, ladies
HEAVY BRIGADE As team A’s attacking elephant may use both. In a dispute,
Here in the town of Chiang Saen, advances, the team B the umpire shall determine
12 international teams from five goalkeeper watches carefully a player’s sex (this caveat
continents have assembled to and when the ball is played, he was added after a dispute
compete in one of the most plays the elephant and not the over a ladyboys’ team).
prestigious events on the world ball. This slows down A and 4 Elephants cannot lie down in
elephant polo calendar – the annual allows B’s defending team-mate the goal-mouth. To do so
King’s Cup. Anybody can enter the to track back behind him and constitutes a foul and a free
tournament, which benefits from clear the ball. Crucial to this hit from the semi-circle in
royal patronage, a priceless move is B’s goalkeeper vacating front of the goal.
commodity here in Thailand. The the defensive D zone to allow 5 An elephant may not pick up
majority of the teams have entered his team-mate in as only one the ball in its trunk during play.
together as groups, although there elephant from each team is 6 If a player falls from an
are a number of individuals here allowed in the defensive D zone elephant, play is stopped
too, placed into “visitor” squads by at any one time. while the rider remounts.
the organisers. Many have never
represented their countries before,
which is undoubtedly part of the a Quidditch-playing Harry Potter,
appeal, judging by the wide-eyed I scan the grass for the precious
white sphere. Each elephant carries
two people at the front: the mahout
EVERY RIDER HAS – an elephant-whisperer-cum-
THREE BRAINS TO pachyderm pilot – and a polo player
CONTEND WITH, behind, strapped into a flimsy rope
AND NONE OF 2 THE “UNDER THE
TRUNK” PASS
saddle and armed with an eight-foot
THEM SPEAK THE In this instance the attacking
mallet. As a result, every team
member effectively has three brains
SAME LANGUAGE elephant hoofs it towards goal. to contend with, and none of them
The team B goalkeeper comes speak the same language.
out to meet him with the aim of
driving him wide and narrowing HOOVES OF THUNDER
glee at the opening ceremony, “I want my ball back. the angle, or blocking as in A vocal, 3000-strong crowd has
Give it to me” the pachyderm roadblock.
where national flags are carried turned out to watch this match,
aloft. Experience may be thin on A anticipates this and before played between our hotch-potch
the ground, but enthusiasm is he gets to the D, he crosses England side and a slick-looking
abundant and by the “trunk off” the ball at 90 degrees to his trio representing Thailand.
for the first match – which my team elephant with a perfectly Attempting to make myself
has been drawn in – the excitement executed “under-the-trunk” heard over the din, I try shouting
and expectation are tangible. shot to his waiting team-mate suggestions to the mahout in front
Feeling like a cross between who is left with an open goal. of me, but it’s of little use. Either he
Hannibal (the one who crossed or Dodo has already decided where
the Alps, not the one who slipped This is a friendly “Mouse sweeping” is we’re going next: a quick lurch to
sedatives into BA’s milk) and competition, right? taken very seriously the right, and we’re bounding off ᮣ
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3. COREADVENTURE
The Olympic opening
ceremony doesn’t
even come close...
Team-building,
elephant style
A Buddhist monk
contemplates sticking a
tenner on the blue team
ᮤ down the pitch– with me clinging As the Thai striker acknowledges
on one-handed. Riding these huge the rapturous crowd, his elephant
forces of nature in full flight is quite ELEPHANT POLO: WHERE AND WHEN celebrates by defecating in the
a buzz, but not without an element There are three tournaments in the WEPA Series – all are open to the public penalty area. Instantly, the King’s
of fear: riders are occasionally Cup equivalent of Wimbledon ball-
thrown from their saddles. And Nepal girls are sprinting onto the pitch.
they go a fair lick faster than I had China Clad in elbow-high rubber gloves,
imagined – some riders have been 2 they scoop up the still-steaming
clocked at over 25mph. It’s as pile and scamper off again.
India
surreal as it is pulse-quickening. 3
Sitting high in the saddle on GAME FOR A LAUGH
a bellowing grey beast, mallet in Thailand Like many of history’s great ideas,
hand, it feels like charging into an the sport of elephant polo was
ancient battle. The adrenaline rush conceived over a few too many
and roar of the crowd only serve to 1 beers in a bar. In this case it was
intensify the experience. born at the St Moritz Tobogganing
The elephants appear to enjoy Sri Lanka Club in 1982 – the inebriated brain
the sport as much as the players. child of English hotelier Jim
They jostle, trumpet and stampede Edwards and former British
their way through the action, with Olympic bobsleigh competitor
some displaying a keen knowledge 1 THE 2 THE WORLD 3 THE James Manclark. The game,
of the rules: kicking the ball ahead TAPROBANE ELEPHANT POLO KING’S CUP usually three-a-side, is played on
and chasing after it.
TROPHY CHAMPIONSHIPS The big one, patronised a pitch three-quarters the size of a
The Ceylon Elephant Local rules mean four- by Thailand’s beloved
After the requisite seven-minute Polo Association’s elephant teams and King Bhumibol with normal polo field. As players are so
halves or “chukkas”, we come out showpiece all happens 10-minute chukkas at the action taking place high off the ground, the ball is hard
at the 17th century Tiger Tops Jungle at Chiang Saen, in
1-0 losers, thanks to a last minute to strike cleanly – a situation made
Fort of Galle, a World Lodge, on the edge northern Thailand.
back-handed Thai goal – a pretty Heritage site on Sri of the Royal Chitwan Next tournament all the more difficult by the rule that
good result considering our Lanka’s south coast. National Park in south September 2007 men, unlike women, may only wield
opponents are all seasoned Next tournament west Nepal. (infogt@anantara.com, the elongated wooden mallets one-
February 2008 (Go to Next tournament anantara.com or
players, while of the four in our geoffreydobbs@yahoo.
handed. Hitting the ball properly is
elephantpolo.com for November 2007
squad, only one had been near more information) (info@elephantpolo.com) com) an incredibly difficult skill to
an elephant before today. master, described by one ᮣ
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4. COREADVENTURE
Charge! Not
even in Kipling’s
wildest dreams…
ᮤ exasperated player as “like
trying to hit a golf ball from the NO, NOT THE MINT... STRIKING THE
top of a double-decker bus.” Four more of polo’s eccentric descendants BALL IS “LIKE
Although the sport is almost TRYING TO HIT A
1 SEGWAY
exclusively played in Thailand, Sri POLO GOLF BALL FROM
Lanka and Nepal – where The most recent fruit
of polo’s active loins THE TOP OF A
organisers have easy access to
the requisite numbers of trained
provides one of the
more sensible uses
DOUBLE-DECKER”
elephants – a number of western for the ridiculous
countries have teams, including Segway. It kicked
off in San Francisco
the USA, Australia, New Zealand in 2004 and has
and Germany. Fittingly, considering inexplicably spread chairs to the top of Humvee jeeps.
the sport’s origins, the current to Spain, Dubai Full of teutonic confidence, they
and New Zealand.
world leaders and holders of the have even brought a camera crew
segwayhtpolo.com
King’s Cup are Scotland. Their from Berlin to document their
captain, the 13th Duke of Argyll – victory. After some high drama in
or Torquhil to his friends (pictured) the semis – a mahout is sent flying
– first discovered the after his elephant loses her footing
sport while working in during a sudden tropical storm –
Asia. “If you’re sporty, the entire tournament comes
you can get the hang down to a penalty shootout
of it quite quickly,” says between Germany and Scotland.
Torquhil. “You just 2 SNOW POLO 3 CANOE POLO 4 POLOCROSSE
Thankfully, it is the grand young
Polo on ice Also known A combination
need to have a fairly was born in 1985 as kayak polo, this of polo and lacrosse Duke who lifts the King’s Cup once
on the frozen lake sport now has a that took shape in
PHOTOGRAPHY MARK CHILVERS, GETTY
strong right arm, and more, after a tense 3-2 victory. As
at St Moritz. The world championships ’30s Australia,
good hand-to-eye the elephants are led away for their
resort now hosts every two years. polocrosse is played
coordination.” the annual Cartier The goals are on horseback with sugar cane and rice balls, we head
Scotland’s main rivals Polo World Cup on suspended two racquets rather than to the nearest pavilion for some
and easy choices for the Snow. Teams of metres above the mallets. Teams well-earned liquid refreshment.
three not four, and water. Great Britain consist of three, but
role of comedy villains are horses have special are current world only the attacker is A quarter-century on, Jim Edwards
a highly talented German shoes for traction. champions. allowed to score. is at the bar – in a very similar
team, who have trained polostmoritz.com canoepolo.org.uk polocrosse.org.uk position to the one he adopted
for the event by strapping when the sport first began. I MH
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