Elephant polo
Elephant polo is a variant of polo played whilst riding elephants. It is played in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Rajasthan (India), and Thailand. Equipment consists of a standard polo ball and six to ten foot cane (similar to bamboo) sticks with a polo mallet head on the end. The pitch is three-quarters of the length of a standard polo pitch, due to the slower speed of the elephants. Two people ride each elephant; the elephants are steered by mahouts, while the player tells the mahout which way to go and hits the ball.
Although elephant polo was first played in India at the beginning of the twentieth century, the modern game originated in Meghauli, Nepal, following a meeting in Switzerland between the late Jim Edwards and James Manclark. Tiger Tops in Nepal remains the headquarters of elephant polo and the site of the World Elephant Polo Championships.[1]
Elephant Polo in Nepal and Thailand is played under the auspices of the World Elephant Polo Association. WEPA enforces strict rules regarding elephant welfare and game play. Other tournaments, such as those played in India and Sri Lanka, are managed independently of each other and the World Elephant Polo Association. Sri Lanka held an annual tournament in Galle under the auspices of the Ceylon Elephant Polo Association. In 2007 an elephant went on a rampage during a game, injuring two players and destroying the Spanish team's minibus.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ "Bushell at elephant polo World Cup". BBC News. 5 December 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7768225.stm. Retrieved 27 April 2009. "A team from England have become the new world champions of elephant polo. Air Tuskers beat Scotland's Chivas, on Friday in Southern Nepal."
- ^ "Why you should never make an elephant angry". Adelaide Now via London Daily Mail. February 16, 2007. http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/why-you-should-never-make-an-elephant-angry/story-e6freo8c-1111113010144. Retrieved 2011-03-21. "The four-tonne, 2.8m pachyderm threw off his mahout and U.S. rider as the island's sixth annual elephant polo tournament got under way, rampaging off the pitch and attacking the Spanish team's minibus."
[edit] External links
- Press Release from World Elephant Polo Association
- World Elephant Polo Association
- The Pukka Chukkas - Playing Elephant Polo to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis charities
- Financial Times January 13, 2012 Elephant polo by James Crabtree
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