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Commenting on their team entry,
Sampson said: “We jumped at the chance to participate in such a
unique charity event. I think rugby fans also will see this as a
rare opportunity to hear, see and meet three of the All Blacks
great all-time players.”
Other newcomers this year
include DBS Bank Singapore fielding a ladies team including top
Thai model and actress Cherie Srifuengfung; and the British
Airways Cavalry team, comprised of a group of dashing polo-playing
army officers from the UK who will be testing their elephant polo
mettle.
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.
Tournament organiser and
Anantara Vice President, Christopher Stafford, said: “The interest
in this year’s tournament has been unprecedented. When we started
in 2001 we had just 6 teams and it was more of a weekend
knock-round than a tournament. Now, three years later, we have 14
teams plus a waiting list, a 7-day event that is broadcast around
the world and the tournament is ranked as the 6th
largest event on the Thai tourism calendar. Next stop the Asian
games!”
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.
Played
according to World Elephant Polo Association rules, the Thailand
tournament is played 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 10-minute
chukkas, with a fifteen-minute interval.
Notable
dates for this year’s tournament include: on Monday 6th
September at 3pm the opening parade, on Saturday 11th
at 2pm the All Thailand Mahouts championship and at 4pm a
Celebrity Elephant Polo match, and on Sunday 12th at
3pm the King’s Cup Elephant Polo Final, played in the presence of
His Majesty the King of Thailand’s representative.
The King’s Cup elephant polo
tournament will once again raise money for the National Elephant
Institute’s Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang, northern
Thailand to help them in their work caring for the Kingdom’s 1500
wild and 2500 domesticated elephants.
To date the event
has raised around US$65,000 for the Institute.
Two accommodation
packages are available at the Anantara during elephant polo week.
The 5-night/6-day elephant polo package costs from US$899++ for
two people sharing and includes daily American buffet breakfast
for two, transportation from the resort to the elephant polo
field, two tickets to the Gala Dinner at the Anantara on Saturday
11th September, late check out on Sunday 12th
until 8pm. The 3-night/4-day package, which checks in on Thursday
9th September, costs from US$599++ for two people
sharing and includes all the above.
Further
information about the tournament and reservations are available on
line at
www.anantara.com. Information about the
tournament is also available at
www.thaielepolo.com.
The King’s Cup
Elephant Polo Tournament is part of the World Elephant Polo
Association world series. The World Championships take place in
Chitwan National Park, Nepal every December and the Ceylon
Elephant Polo tournament takes place each February in Sri Lanka’s
fort town of Galle.
Press Contact
For English: For Thai:
Diana Moxon
Wanida Khunthipmark
Dmoxon@minornet.com
wanida_kh@minornet.com
66 (0) 1 904 7344 (cell)
66 (0) 7 276 5520 (cell)
66 (0) 2 877 7495 (direct line)
66 (0) 2 8775803
- Ext. 1708
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