After a rigorous selection process, a group of hoteliers have been selected to play in a unique polo tournament in South East Asia.
Anantara Hotels, Resorts and Spas in Abu Dhabi announced that a team of their staff has been selected to represent the UAE in the King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament, which is held in Bangkok.
The team of five players will be packing their trunks to travel to the tournament at the end of August, as the highly anticipated event takes place from Thursday 28th August to Sunday 31st August.
The team, known as the Anantara Arabian Knights, comprises of five members: Steve Thompson, Stuart Allan, Kristin Grube, Amer Braik and Wael Soueid. Soueid, a hotelier for over 20 years, commented on the team’s credentials.
“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,” said Soueid.
Soueid continued, “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 as supporting charitable causes.”
The annual tournament, which is now in its 13th year, has become one of the biggest charitable events on the continent, with over $750,000 raised since its inception in 2001.
Last year’s event saw 16 teams encompassing over 50 players, including Thai supermodels, professional horse polo players and the New Zealand All-Blacks rugby team.
