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.

The game was apparently a favorite of the British Colonial period in India, and reemerged after a heavy evening of drinking by the owner of Tiger Tops and his cronies. Some celebrity adherents of the game include Ringo Starr, Bryan Ferry of Roxie Music, the actor Steven Seagal, and the late adventurer Sir Edmund Hillary.

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.

The game is played under the auspices of the World Elephant Polo Association (and yes, you can get a polo shirt!) which governs the play in Nepal and Thailand. The rules regarding elephant welfare are strictly enforced. Tournaments are not lengthy, and generally are played for charity once a year. Other prizes eagerly anticipated include the coveted Best Dressed Team Award.

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.

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