Info here. March 22-29 in the town of Chiang Saen, in the northern province of Chiang Rai, right on the Mekong River, with Laos across the way. (The town is on the river, but the tournament is a bit back from it.) Sponsored, as always, by Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas.
If you have never seen this, it’s well worth a day or even two. The local Anantara up there, the Anantara Golden Triangle, is a great place to stay, but there’s more reasonably priced accommodation inside the town itself. (The Anantara is outside of town, but the tournament is played in the town at a local schoolyard.)
The World Elephant Polo Association enforces strict rules governing elephant treatment, and the beasts seem to enjoy themselves while playing. The Anantara has its own elephant camp next to the resort and been instrumental in elephant conservation. Always open to the public free of charge, all proceeds from the tournament via donations, sponsors and a big auction at a formal ball on the final night go toward the cause.
I don’t play anymore myself, ever since my shoulder problems, but here I am in action in September 2006. I’m the one on the right in the blue shirt. (September is the height of the rainy season, which caused all sorts of problems. They’ve since moved it to this time of year, the height of the dry season.)
Do the elephants really get into the game and follow the ball? I’ve watched regular polo and seen how some of the horses lock onto the ball and very much get into their jobs, very much throw themselves into the game.
They seem to know exactly what’s going on. But there’s a mahout on the elephant along with the player, to help steer the beast.
Wouldn’t it be a hoot if one of the elephants decided “The heck with this, these humans can’t get the job done properly” and picked up the ball in its trunk to fling at the goal?
During a practice session, one dug my ball out of a hole it had gone in. I believe they used to use larger balls, but the elephants liked to stomp on them to make them pop, like people do with that plastic bubble wrap.
Ha! Elephants are a hoot!
Oh, I almost forgot. This sort of did come up in the last tournament I played. In one match – not one I was playing in – the elephant did not fling the ball across the goal with his trunk, but rather accidentally kicked it across as he took a step forward. There was some deliberation about this, but Jim Edwards, the Brit who operated the Tiger Tops Resort in Nepal, where he created elephant polo, was on hand and decided the elephant could indeed score a goal. Jim’s word was always law.
Jim died a year or two ago. RIP.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm… Given how smart elephants are, are you sure that one didn’t do it deliberately? 
And after an intense week of competition, Audemars Piguet defeated King Power 10-6 to claim the 2010 championship.
Story here.