Each September the Anantara Resort Hua Hin plays host to the King's Cup Elephant Polo Tournament, a charitable event which raises money for Thailand's National Elephant Institute in Lampang, northern Thailand. The 2005 King's Cup will take place from Monday 5th to Sunday 11th September.

The tournament was introduced to Thailand in 2001 by Anantara Vice President, Christopher Stafford. In just four years it has gone from a small 2-day event with 6 teams into a week-long elephant polo extravaganza featuring 14 teams from 3 continents, 55 players from 15 countries and corporate sponsors which include the likes of Mercedes Benz, Chivas Regal, Nokia, PricewaterhouseCoopers, American Express, British Airways, DBS Bank and many other international companies.

The Thailand tournament is played according to World Elephant Polo Association rules and 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.

To date the tournament has raised over US$100,000 for the National Elephant Institute, which provides medical care, sustenance, employment, welfare and mahout training to Thailand's elephant population. It is estimated that Thailand has around 2500 domesticated elephants and 1500 wild elephants. This is down from an elephant population of around 50,000 in 1950 and 100,000 in 1900. The National Elephant Institute's Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in Lampang is famous for its painting elephants and its elephant orchestra.

To find out more about this free spectacle, click here

Photos courtesy of John Borthwick ©