Elephant Polo: The Sport of Kings

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" I enjoy sipping cool drinks watching grown men make asses of themselves. "

 

Christopher Linch

 

http://usarealestatelist.com/elephant-polo-the-sport-of-kings/

 

Elephant Polo: The Sport of Kings

 

Published in March 2nd, 2009

Posted by Christopher Linch in New York

by Christopher Linch

 

One thing I must do before I kick the proverbial “bucket” is to see an

Elephant Polo game. Elephant Polo, as you might guess, is a variant of

polo played aboard an elephant. The home of the game is Tiger Tops

Jungle Lodge, Nepal, but can also be found in Thailand, Sri Lanka,

India and England. New York has a team: the Blues. Treetops is the

home of the World Elephant Polo Championships. The 2008 Champions were

England’s “Air Tuskers”.

 

Basic polo equipment is used, although the mallet is modified to reach

from the back of the elephant to the ground, some six to nine feet.

The field or “pitch” is shorter than a standard polo field (the

reasons for this will be discussed in a moment). Due to the difficulty

in steering perhaps, each elephant has two riders. The first is the

“mahout”. Familiar to us from Rudyard Kipling novels, this is the guy

who rides on the elephant’s head and encourages both movement and

direction. The second rider actually plays the game by whacking the

ball and calling out directions to the mahout.

 

As one would expect (and indeed, pay for) several differences to

standard polo are immediately apparent. For one thing, elephants are

not aerodynamic. They do not turn well, and frankly, they do not care

for running as a general rule. This explains the shorter pitch

mentioned above. The game can move glacially slow. Particularly if one

of the participants steps on the ball. This requires a shovel for

retrieval as it will be buried several inches into the turf. In

addition, the ball is often lost, hidden behind and under the mounts

legs. This is part of the attraction for me. I enjoy sipping cool

drinks watching grown men make asses of themselves.

 

The World Elephant Polo Association governs the play in Nepal and

Thailand. The WEPA strictly enforces rules regarding elephant welfare

and game play. Other tournaments are managed independently. Most games

are played today for charity. Aside from winning the game, other

prizes include Best Dressed Team. Any excuse for champagne will do.

 

Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge is the pioneer eco-wildlife safari lodge of

Nepal and Asia and is located in the heart of Chitwan National Park, a

World Heritage Site. Famous for it’s tree houses and bungalows, it’s a

model of conservation, and organic cuisine. The Lodge offers wildlife

safaris, many on elephant-back, with naturalists and conservation

experts. The area abounds with Bengal Tigers, One Horned Rhinoceros,

and Indian Bison, among other species.

 

Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge is an award winning wildlife safari and eco

lodge in the heart of Chitwan National park. The Lodge is noted for

it’s eco-tourism model, it’s conservation activism, it’s organic

cuisine and it’s tree house accommodations. The lodge offers elephant

safaris to view Bengal Tigers, Bison and Rhinoceros,.

 

The championships are usually scheduled at the end of November and

beginning of December.

 

About the Author:

Chris Linch operates a website where you can book Cheap Hotel Rates.

This information was contributed by his experiences and research.

 

 

 

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http://www.stopelephantpolo.com

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