The eleventh King’s Cup Elephant Polo tournament concluded on Sunday, bringing to an end five eventful days of competition and social escapades.
First launched in Hua Hin by Anantara Resort in 2001, this five-day tournament has, according to the organizers, become the “sixth largest annual event in the Thai tourism calendar,” attracting ever greater numbers of spectators and participants.
This year saw 12 corporate backed teams, fight it out for the coveted King’s Cup, driven on by colorful commentary that infused flavor and additional absurdity to the games.
The low-octane sport proved fiercely competitive, as talented amateurs and hard-core professionals – like Citibank’s Prince Carl-Eugen Oettingen Wallerstein, Princess Yoanna Otto, and Agustin Kronhaus – chased their lumbering mounts up and down the 100m pitch.
The will to win was ever more evident towards the championship climax, and the final day was energized by the presence of a representative of the King of Thailand’s Privy Council, who compelled an impassioned performance from the players, mahouts, and their eager pachyderms.
Pushed hard-up against the side lines, eager onlookers gasped and cheered through the final match, in which the organization and clinical passing of the King Power team proved too much to handle for defending champs Audemars Piguet.
The victors were however, forced to shared their thunder with Pattaya’s favorite offspring, the team from Miss Tiffany Thailand.
The lovely ladyboys squared off with three talismanic alumni of the New Zealand All Blacks whose brute force and enduring competitiveness was met with flicks of the hair and seductive demeanor.
So enchanting was the performance that those viewing from the Johnny Walker tent were totally ambivalent to the final score.
Though it sporadically rained through the week, the inclement weather failed to dampen the spirits of far-flung tourists, celebs, VIPs, and esteemed associates of Coconuts Bangkok, who were spoiled by pitch-side hospitality, and the odd massage.
Festivities continued away from the pitch at Saturday night’s Gala Dinner at Anantara Hua Hin. The evening began with a Veuve Clicquot Champagne reception, followed by sit-down meal, an emotive jazz performance, and a dazzling cabaret show from Miss Tiffany.
The evening’s highlight, and embodiment of the week’s pageantry, was the charity auction. With a range of items on offer, including two prized Audemars Piguet wrist watches, sponsors and guests bid generously and collectively raised THB3.3 million (USD107,000) for various elephant charities.
While the King’s Cup is a fascinating sporting spectacle and a raucous social excuse, the efforts of Anantara and fellow corporate sponsors deserve sincere applause.
All the event’s proceeds, which total an impressive USD600,000 to date, are donated toward charities which help support elephants and mahouts across the kingdom, in what are trying times for these culturally revered creatures.
Projects receiving funding from last year’s event include the construction of the first elephant hospital in Krabi, a THB500,000 gantry to help lame elephants stand has been donated to the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre (TECC), and 4,000 trees have been planted in Hua Hin to shelter elephant corridors from electric fencing in the area.
Projects to benefit from the 2012 tournament are currently being finalized and will include an extension of the ongoing Thai Elephant Therapy Project being undertaken in conjunction with Chiang Mai University Department of Occupational Therapy, with future clinics to include children with Down syndrome and other conditions.
—
Final Leaderboard for 2012 King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament:
1. King Power
2. Audemars Piguet
3. Mercedes Benz
4. Rueng Chang
5. Citibank
6. Blue Label
7. Sara Story Design
8. KASIKORNBANK
9. PricewaterhouseCoopers
10. The Nellies
11. PTT
12. Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas
Reader Interactions