Abu Dhabi: Elephants and the UAE may seem something of an oxymoron, but not if you’ve spoken to Abu Dhabi-based Wael Soueid or some of his friends.
Doing their bit to protect the pachyderm, Soueid and four other polo enthusiasts are set to take part in the Anantara’s King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament in Bangkok starting August 28 --- even if it means there are no elephants to practise with in the UAE.
Innovative training
Soueid says he has been perching atop high jeeps to get his strokes right. “We’ve been going through some innovative training. Unlike traditional polo where we have control over the horse, the mahout controls the elephant in the case of elephant polo, so we only have to hit the ball with the mallet.”
Soueid, who works with the Anantara Hotels, Resorts and Spas in Abu Dhabi, said the group’s annual tournament, now in its 13th year, has become one of the biggest charitable events in South East Asia. “The aim is to protect elephants from being targeted in the wild. Thai elephants are highly endangered as they are poached for ivory and elephant calves.”
Every year the Anantara event helps around 65-75 elephants. It has raised over $750,000 (Dh2,754,750) which has been used to set up elephant shelters or housing of mahouts and their families or a mobile blood centrifuge and elephant ambulance for the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre (TECC). The tournament has also helped fund an elephant therapy project, a world first technique using domestic elephants in therapy sessions with autistic children in northern Thailand.
Soueid said the five-day event is more of a carnival. “The tournament is a fun game with three elephants on either side. The pitch is smaller than the regular polo pitch and 16 different teams take part.”
He said the atmosphere is very festive with the event starting off with a formal elephant blessing ceremony. Besides the tournament, street elephant parades, open air art exhibitions and auctions to raise money for the charity are also held.
Soueid said he is representing the Anantara Arabian Knights team from the UAE along with Steve Thompson, Stuart Allan, Kristin Grube and Amer Braik. This is the second year that the Anantara Arabian Knights from the UAE is participating in the tournament, he added..
