Exciting Thai Polo Open 2009 Held in Pattaya

Polo players on the field of play
 

The picturesque Thai Polo & Equestrian Club is very close to Pattaya’s beautiful Lake Mabprachan and the famous Horseshoe Point Country Club & Resort. This fabulous event began on 9th January with eight international teams fighting to get into the finals.

On a perfect Saturday afternoon the grand fnals were played with the Malaysian “La Sarita” team (on 10 handicap) playing against the BRDB-Elevation team (on 9 handicap), and BRBD’s captain Satinder Garcha was the man who led this team to victory. The “La Sarita” team captained by Asad Jumabhoy also had excellent international polo players, such as Diego Uranga & Gaston Otamendi, Quzier Amba & Ameer Jumabhoy. Because of the one point handicap advantage over BRBD the stronger team La Sarita gave up a half a point advantage as is the regulation in polo.

In an exciting finish, the BRDB team were able to squeeze ahead and win by a very narrow margin of 6½ - 6, with famous players like 2008 champion Dato Mohamed Moiz, Edham Shaharuddin, Shaik Reismann & Peter Abisheganaden winning by the half a point given for the handicap. Between Chakras (rounds), a delightful ‘high tea’ of food and drinks was served to the guests who attended this year’s fnal tournament, and there were also a large number of small pavilions, offering a wide selection of high quality items for sale. Star riders put on a performance of fine polo playing tactics, and expert horsemanship, and during the tournament it was estimated that close to one thousand people visited to enjoy this year’s event.