Sport of Kings

With outstanding facilities and world-class sporting disciplines to match, the THAI POLO AND EQUESTRIAN CLUB puts Thailand on the map as the region’s most recognised polo and equestrian facility. reena hallberg visits

Just the drive alone from the Thai Polo and Equestrian Club’s entrance to the main club house is a memorable one. Lush green fields surrounded by wooded mountains, canopied tree-lined pathway alongside lakes, and horses running parallel to our vehicle is one that conjures an image straight out of a movie. Except that it is reality – 2,000 rai of picturesque reality – east of Pattaya, just 150km from Bangkok. Conceived by polo enthusiasts Harald Link, president of the Southeast Asian Equestrian Federation, and Nunthinee Tanner, considered the first female polo player in Thailand, the Thai Polo and Equestrian Club has grown significantly in size and stature since opening in 2005. With three full-sized polo fields, two practice grounds, stabling for more than 250 horses as well as leisure clubhouses, the Thai Polo and Equestrian Club is undeniably one of Asia’s most outstanding facilities for the sport of kings. After a light lunch at the club’s Chukka Bar – an exact replica of the famed polo bar in the Langham Hotel in London – complete with original polo trophies and sports memorabilia – we headed for a private tour of the grounds with leading Argentinian veterinarian and general manager Santiago Bachmann. The heavily accented and knowledgeable Argentine started us off at the stables where we met with his team of Thai, French, British and fellow Argentinean farriers and trainers. The veterinary facilities, including a horse hospital that opened in 2013, comprises one treatment room, four intensive care stables and state-of-the-art medical equipment offering PRP (platelet-rich plasma) treatment for injured horses. The on-site quarantine facilities are secondto-none in the region, making it possible for horses around the world to be stabled on site and be able to compete in local competitions. The club also houses the renowned Rege Ludwig International Polo School, run by leading American coach and instructor Rege Ludwig, who spends six months of the year at the facility, helping not only to raise

the standards of regular players, but also introducing and training novices to the sport. The grounds also feature an international standard cross-country course, designed by Wayne Copping, which allows players – both amateur and from all across the world – to regularly visit the club to play in prestigious tournaments held all through the polo season (November to April). The club’s three significant competitions are the Thai Polo Open; the Queen’s Cup Pink Polo, a women’s tournament which raises funds to support breast cancer research; and the Princess Pa’s Cup Beach Polo, the only one of its kind in Asia, and held annually in Hua Hin. The annual tournaments have become important milestones for the club not only for the sport, but also for philanthropy, as they raise funds for deserving Thai charities such as the HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s Chitrlada Vocational School project, The Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer, and Nabha Foundation under HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha. In addition to its monthly tournaments, the club is part of a unique polo league of Thai, Malaysia and Singaporean clubs, with each club taking turns to host a round-robin. The Thai Polo and Equestrian Club is also the only place in Thailand that holds derby show jumping competitions, with jumps as high as 1.4 metres. The club’s facilities extend to an 80-km endurance course, as well as indoor and outdoor dressage and eventing. Equestrian sport aside, visitors can also while their afternoon away in the lively club house, host to extravagant social events, enjoy a refreshing dip in the salt-water swimming pool, indulge in an over or two of cricket in the field or even choose to stay overnight at one of the Thai-style houses, which overlook rolling farmlands and the ocean in the distance.