Hua Hin to Host 2012 King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament 12-16 September

The popular King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament, a charitable event which has to date raised over half a million dollars in charity to help Thailand’s elephants and now in its eleventh year, will be held in the Thai royal seaside town of Hua Hin from 12-16 September.

The event has gone from a small two-day event in 2001 to one of Thailand’s major and internationally best loved events.

Last year’s tournament featured 12 teams encompassing over 40 players, including German royals, Prince Carl-Eugen Oettingen-Wallerstein, his wife Princess Anna and daughter Princess Joanna along with members of the New Zealand All-Blacks rugby team.

A celebrity auction was also held with international celebrities including Olympic 100 metre Gold Medalist Linford Christie, Grammy Award winners Lady Antebellum, UK fashion designer Anja Hindmarsh and Korean Pop Star Park Jung Min.

Fundraising from last year’s event has been donated to three projects in Thailand.

The first is to continue to support research and clinics using elephants in therapy sessions for children in Thailand living with autism. In addition, the money raised has also been used to launch the first and only elephant hospital in southern Thailand, as well as a human-elephant conflict project between the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation (GTAEF) and the Elephant Conservation Network (ECN) charity who works in a wildlife reserve in Kanchanaburi.

“The eleventh year of the tournament promises to be bigger and better in terms of teams, fun and activities,” said Mr. Bill Heinecke, CEO Minor International and owner of Anantara. “But we must never forget the true meaning of holding the event and that is to make a considerable donation to the conservation and welfare of the Thailand elephant population and this year we are determined to raise more money than ever.”

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