Bangkok Bank wins polo tournament

The tournament came to a close on Sunday, 1 September 2013, in the royal seaside town of Hua Hin in Thailand.

The tournament was introduced to Thailand in 2001 by Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas and has grown to become one of the biggest charitable events in Thailand, raising funds for projects that better the lives of Thailand's elephant population. Saturday night's gala dinner at Anantara Hua Hin Resort & Spa hosted a gathering of top dignitaries and well known celebrities, with the night's auction raising over four million Thai Baht, taking the total raised to date by the tournament to an impressive US$750,000.

Tough street life

A total of 50 street elephants took part in this year's tournament, during which they are well fed, provided with a native forest environment, and receive essential vitamin supplements, full veterinary checks and care for the duration of the event. Street life can be tough for an elephant, walking through crowded tourist areas and busy roads for ten hours a night, forced to rest during the day on small green spaces within the cities, often without shade and water.

The King's Cup schedule is deliberately designed to give these elephants rest and relaxation on a scale they are never afforded in their normal lives. Lead sponsors for the event were Audemars Piguet, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas and this year for the first time, Saturday was Ladies Day with the best dressed lady winning a holiday to Anantara in the Maldives including flights.

Benefits of conservation

On Chang Noi (Children's Day) hundreds of children from local schools were invited to visit the pitch, where there was a baby elephant camp and educational games teaching children the benefits of conservation for elephants in Thailand. Funds raised from this year's charity auction will be donated to various projects in Thailand and will include an extension of the ongoing Thai Elephant Therapy Project being undertaken since 2009 in conjunction with Chiang Mai University Department of Occupational Therapy, with future clinics to include children with Down syndrome and other conditions.

Other significant benefits from money raised has gone to building the first elephant hospital in Krabi in the southern part of Thailand; a THB 500,000 gantry to help lame elephants stand has been donated to the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre; 4 000 trees have been planted to create elephant corridors in Kui Buri to shelter from electric fencing in the area and to help avoid elephant/farmer conflicts; funding the first educational computer application for children to teach them the importance of conservation and protection of wild elephants in Thailand and funding Asia's first workshop to show traditional elephant trainers and camp owners the benefits of Positive Reinforcement Training for domesticated elephants.