T THAILANDhe Argentine

by Tom Claytor

On 25-28 February 2010, The Argentina Ambassador’s Cup was held at VR Sport Club and Siam Polo Park in Thailand. The tournament was hosted jointly by H.E. Felipe Frydman, The Argentinean Ambassador and Khun Vichai Raksriaksorn, The Chairman of King Power and President of Ham Polo Club.

The tournament was held at a 0-6 goal level to allow recent beginners in different parts of Asia the opportunity of playing in a tournament with more experienced players. The tournament exceeded all expectations. This year, there were 8 teams – the largest number of teams ever to play a tournament in Thailand – and the teams were comprised of players from 11 different countries spanning 6 continents

Busan, Korea. His polo club is the fi rst polo club in Korea, so the sport is indeed growing across Asia.

The Ambassador’s Cup this year was also special, because all the teams were hosted by sponsors. We had Siam Commercial Bank, Airports Authority of Thailand, Beverly Hills Polo Club, Thailand Tatler, Singha Beer, Coke Zero, Mitavite, and everyone’s favourite, the Thai National Team playing in red Air Asia shirts. The tournament was fair, and well-umpired. It was evident early on, that anyone could win this one.

polo players were quite

the opposite

even though the females w were extremely

around the globe. Of course, everyone was charmed to have our old friend Adolfo Casabal come out to Captain the Singha Beer team, but no one expected that he would bring the beautiful Ham Polo Club member from Russia Olga Grishina with him. Olga was a complete pleasure to have in the tournament, and it was the fi rst time that we have ever had a Russian player in a tournament in Thailand. We are hoping that she will come back again soon.

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We were also honoured to have J.B. Lee from Korea on the Coke Zero team. J.B., at -2 goals, was playing like a 2 goal player, with several spectacular runs down the fi eld. J.B. has been gaining experience with polo to help him with his polo club that he has recently started in

ell qualifi ed, the male

Khun Vichai joined the SCB team on the third day of action and shocked everyone with two spectacular goals. The fans were asking where SCB got this new player. On Saturday evening was the Argentine Ambassador’s Asado with over 200 invited diplomats, socialites and guests.

The highlight of the evening was the long-awaited Beverly

Hills Fashion Show with some of Bangkok’s most alluring long-legged international female models. The male roles were fi lled by polo players, and this was the most amusing part of the evening, because even though the females were extremely well qualifi ed, the male polo players were quite the opposite. This made for a very entertaining performance that was enjoyed by all.

The players held a moment of silence paying tribute to our dear friend and mentor Mr. James Ashton who was the interim President of F.I.P. and who lost his life in a polo match at Polo Escape in Thailand some weeks previously. James had been the Director of Polo at the 24th Southeast Asian Games held in Thailand in

2007, and his charisma, enthusiasm and gentle humility were admired by all. He also was a great teacher and reminded us all to “take the man fi rst.” “Polo is a passing game, so pass the

Ambassador's Cup

ball;” he would remind us. His greatest mentor was the Australian player Sinclair Hill who was a leading player in the 50’s and 60’s and who got to ten goals. He used to say, “the faster you’re going, the slower you hit.” James’ spirit was with us all during the Ambassador’s Cup. After the highly amusing fashion show, there was a Tango performance with an Argentinean-

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