A team from Anantara Hotels, Resorts, and Spas in Abu Dhabi will participate in Anantara’s King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament, which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand, from August 28-31.
The “Anantara Arabian Nights” team from the UAE will comprise oarea general manager Wael Soueid, who will be joined by Steve Thompson, Stuart Allan, Kristin Grube, and Amer Braik. This will be the second time a team from the UAE will participate in the event.
Commenting on the event, Soueid said: “Our team members come with good mallet skills developed as regular horseback polo players with the exception of our secret weapon, Amer, who has no polo background whatsoever.
“Despite our experience as polo players, trading our trusty polo ponies for the gentle giants is a completely different game. It’s an exciting spectator sport and highly entertaining for the players as well supporting charitable causes.”
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The annual tournament, now in its 13th year has become one of the biggest charitable events in the region.
In 2013, the tournament attracted 50 players and raised more than US $750,000 for projects that care for Thailand’s wild and domestic elephant population.
The funds raised were donated to a number of projects in Thailand including supporting research and clinics using elephants in therapy sessions for children living with autism; building the first elephant hospital in Krabi in the southern part of Thailand and donating a gantry to help lame elephants stand to the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre (TECC).
59 street elephants will take part in the tournament this year, during which time they will be well-fed and provided with a native forest environment, offering rest from their “normal” lives when they are forced to walk through crowded tourist areas for up to 10 hours a night.
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