Elephant polo tournament in Chiang Rai
Posted by paul on April 1st, 2008 filed in UncategorizedBesides the Thai cuisine, postcard perfect beaches and golden Buddhist temples, Thailand’s most beloved characterising symbol must certainly be its mighty elephant. It is not really a surprise that the 25-year old elephant polo sport, which was introduced here seven years ago, immediately enjoyed huge success.
Never had the chance attending a match of elephant polo? Well, now you can as the King’s Cup Elephant Polo tournament will take place in Chiang Rai’s Anantara Golden Triangle from March 31 until April 6. The event is absolutely worth the journey up north. Obviously it isn’t common considering polo played by 10-ton elephants as a serious sport. However, since the early eighties competitions have been played in Sri Lanka, Nepal and India and the sport is currently trying to achieve Olympic recognition.
It all started when two English aristocrats at a Swiss pub, enjoying several cocktails were discussing the possibility of an elephant polo competition. Today elephant polo is enjoying the recognition it deserves. World-famous people including Ringo Starr, Billy Connolly and Steven Seagal starred in annual competitions. Also several athletic stars from many traditional sports featured in the games. And underneath all the fuss, there’s a firm doses of heart as well: via charity auctions and entrance fees raised money is donated to organisations protecting the Siamese endangered elephant itself.
World Elephant Polo Association
Only a century ago, 90 per cent of Siam was lushly forested. Drastic development projects have reduced the nation’s forested areas to less than 15 per cent and this resulted in a miserable natural habitat for the population of the Thai elephant. About 100 years ago there were still over 100,000 elephants living in Siam while today a population of 4,000 is all what’s left. The majority of those 4,000 have to live in captivity avoiding the number to increase further.
Obviously it isn’t an easy task taking good care of so many of these gigantic animals. It is the in Lampang located Thai Elephant Conservation Centre’s main task to figure out a way of avoiding the numbers to drop further. One of these ways is organising the King’s Cup annual Elephant Polo Tournament, which so far has raised an amount of 5.1 million baht for the conservation centre.
The first five editions of the elephant polo tournament took place in Hua Hin but since 2006 the event is being held in Chiang Rai. The new location’s ideal position being closer to the elephant’s natural habitat is a great improvement. This year’s event promises to be more spectacular than all the ones before offering an unforgettable northern Thailand culture festival along with many more elephantastic celebrations.
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