Genghis Khan Polo Club Tournament 2015

September 02, 2015

Genghis Khan Polo Club Tournament 2015

Spoiler alert: my team won the tournament. Manjeev’s team was runner up (tight score: 8-7)

This was the first proper polo tournament we ever participated in so it was really incredible to do so well. It’s a testimony to the progress we have made since we arrived.

The six teams played against each other over two days in very tight matches. There was a mix of Mongol players (invariably the best players) and foreigners in each team. One of the guys on my team, called Simon, actually plays elephant polo and was playing horse polo for the first time. He was a real hero to play on even though his back gave up on him. Luckily, the shaman wasn’t far and helped him (and us) to make it through.

We were fortunate with beautiful weather (very hot, though) up until the final at which point it looked like the sky was going to implode. It did rain a bit but not enough to cause any disruptions.

Some travellers joined in and cheered with the audience. They were driving by and were pretty shocked to see, out of nowhere, a polo tournament!

We won products from the Stick & Ball company (a gorgeous shawl made from baby alpaca wool). I didn’t know this brand until the tournament but they do really beautiful stuff. I am completely in love with their ponchos even though we never are in climates cold enough (for the time being at least) to warrant the investment. Elizabeth, the founder, is adorable and I encourage you to check out what they do: http://stickandballco.com.

We ended the day with the traditional bodok (goat cooked with hot stones sown inside the stomach), airag drinking and usual singing. This time I was well prepared and when I was asked to sing I chose the French nursery rhyme ‘Frere Jacques’ which I sang with my mum. We were astounded to see that almost everyone there knew the song and joined in with us.