Elephant Polo. The name alone conjures images of romance and glory. I will not rest until I see a game. A variation of standard polo, the game take place using elephants instead of horses, (as one might surmise from the title). I can only imagine the chaos that results. The home of the game, and the World Elephant Polo Championships is Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge in Nepal, but matches can also be found in Sri Lanka, India and England. While New York has a team: "The Blue Elephants", the current champions are England's own "Air Tuskers".
The equipment consists of a regular polo ball with an extra long (six to nine foot) mallet. Instead of one player, an elephant requires two: a "mahout" to steer the elephant, and the player to call out directions and hit the ball. The length of the field, or "pitch" is smaller than a standard polo field in order to accommodate the slower pace (and one assumes the lesser enthusiasm) of the elephants. Given the mounts, a few differences from regular polo are readily apparent. This is the mounted equivalent of chess. Slow. Elephants are unwieldy creatures, and their turn radius is not small. Nor are they spritely to begin with. Moving the ball is often difficult. Not only is it hard to see from the back of an elephant (it sometimes is under the beast, making it hard to reach) the elephant will sometimes step on the ball, causing it to be buried several inches into the turf. This causes a delay in the action, while the ball is dug out and the game restarted. So why am I so anxious to see a game? Any activity that requires an afternoon in the sun, drinking whisky, in an exotic, locale watching rich men make fools of themselves has my wholehearted approval and support.
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.
The equipment consists of a regular polo ball with an extra long (six to nine foot) mallet. Instead of one player, an elephant requires two: a "mahout" to steer the elephant, and the player to call out directions and hit the ball. The length of the field, or "pitch" is smaller than a standard polo field in order to accommodate the slower pace (and one assumes the lesser enthusiasm) of the elephants. Given the mounts, a few differences from regular polo are readily apparent. This is the mounted equivalent of chess. Slow. Elephants are unwieldy creatures, and their turn radius is not small. Nor are they spritely to begin with. Moving the ball is often difficult. Not only is it hard to see from the back of an elephant (it sometimes is under the beast, making it hard to reach) the elephant will sometimes step on the ball, causing it to be buried several inches into the turf. This causes a delay in the action, while the ball is dug out and the game restarted. So why am I so anxious to see a game? Any activity that requires an afternoon in the sun, drinking whisky, in an exotic, locale watching rich men make fools of themselves has my wholehearted approval and support.
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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