Pink Polo 2011
On February 19th, 2011, the Thai Polo & Equestrian Club was the scene for Pink Polo 2011, sponsored by St. Regis to benefit the Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer. Dr Kris Chatamra, a consultant surgeon and oncologist at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, is the founder and instigator of the centre. Breast cancer is the leading cancer among women in Thailand and the Centre provides them with Thailand’s best equipment and an innovative “Philosophy of Care.” Every week, each patient’s case is reviewed at a meeting of specialists, for a multi-disciplinary team approach. Dr. Kris (as he is affectionately known) and his colleagues work without pay to treat primarily underprivileged women, taking in 100 women every three months for treatment. Pink Polo 2011 hopes to raise over half a million Baht for the Centre.
This fundraiser and polo match, now in it’s third year, hosted over 400 guests who all came out in support of Breast Cancer research and treatment. The day’s festivities began at midday with an elegant lunch under marquees, catered by St. Regis. Pony rides for the children were a popular activity, as budding polo players were eager to get on a Thai Polo pony. Early afternoon, guests were treated to a fashion show on horseback. Models sporting Burberry were led up and down the boards, with a grande finale of a model in a wedding dress, riding side-saddle.
It was then time for the Miss Pink Polo contest and the Best Hat contest. Finalists were chosen from an endless crowd of Bangkok’s finest, dressed in every shade of pink imaginable. Creative and eye-catching outfits were the norm, no doubt having taken hours of shopping and preparation to assemble.
A little while before the Pink Polo match, a kid’s polo game was played at center-field, between a group of Thai Polo’s very own students. Though mounted on their stout little ponies, the kid’s raced up and down the shortened field and had the rapt attention of the crowd.
At 4pm in the afternoon, as the TrueSport Asia broadcast began, the two ladies’ teams were led onto the field by Khunying Finola Chatamra, Honorary Advisor of the Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer, and Nunthinee Tanner, co-owner of Thai Polo, flanked by a pink Bentley and a pink Audi.
Thai Polo’s line-up consisted of Isabel Von Morgenstern (1), Caroline Link (2), Claudia Zeisberger (2), and Katalina Bunge (6), who took on the St.Regis sponsored team of Anna Princess zu Oettingen-Wallerstein (1), Melissa Tiernan (1), Fazila Filippi (0) / Alison Chadwick Kelley (0), and Ina Lalor (6) (Ladies Handicaps). St.Regis started the game with two goals on handicap which Thai Polo managed to equal by halfway through the second chukka. With one minute on the clock, Thai Polo scored their third goal of the game, then matched by St.Regis only 16 seconds before halftime.
The score going into the third chukka was tied at three to three. Tenacious defense and missed opportunities by both teams saw the score remain at three to three over the next two chukkas. In the last minute of the fourth chukka, Katalina Bunge (St.Regis) missed a 60 yard penalty for her team. Following suit, Ina Lalor (Thai Polo) then missed the very same penalty, and the two teams remained tied. In the dying seconds of the fourth chukka, Katalina Bunge (St.Regis) broke away with the ball and headed towards goal. She wasn’t able to put it through, but Claudia Zeisberger was bringing up the rear and tapped the ball in, making Thai Polo the winners of Pink Polo 2011, and garnering for herself the award of MVP.
Amidst showers of champagne, the trophy presentation was a fun and spirited affair, all for a good cause.
For more information on the Queen Sirikit Centre for Breast Cancer, please visit www.queensirikitcentreforbreastcancer.com/