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Thanks to the thousands of pukka people who have looked at our site in over 200 countries & territories so far, including Abu Dhabi, Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Burundi, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo Braazaville, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Dubai, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hong Kong, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyz Republic, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestinian Territory, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & The Grenadines, Sudan, Surinam, Sweden, Swaziland, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tibet, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turks & Caicos Islands, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, U.S. Virgin Islands, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe…..plus the people who have clicked on us via a satellite provider, who could be anywhere in the world!
Welcome To Our Site
The 28th WEPA World Elephant Polo Championships were held between 30th November and 5th December at Tiger Tops Karnali Lodge in the Bardia National Park, in South Western Nepal.
12 teams gathered in Nepal from England, Scotland, Australia, Thailand, the UAE and USA and Nepal, and were split into 3 groups, the Pukka Chukkas drawing the tournament favourites TEPA, from Thailand, the Fosroc Sepoys from the UAE and the Karnali Dolphins (an invitational team).
There were 3 trophies being fought for - the WEPA World Championship, the Chivas Regal Olympic Quaiche (a competition ratified by the Nepalese Olympic Committee) and the Karnali Platter,
Following a disappointing round of group matches, where we struggled with find our form , we ended up being tied for 3rd place in our Group with the Karnali Dolphins (with whom we had an exciting 8 - 8 draw!)
After a very tense penalty shoot-out to decide the final shake up of the 3 groups, with the Chief saving the team twice from elimination by scoring 2 from 2 from the spot, The Pukka Chukkas reached the semi-finals of the Olympic Quaiche.
A closely contested match against the Fosroc Sepoys of the UAE ensued and it saw The Fosrocs', whose side contained 3 experienced and Nepalese speaking players (and who benefited from a very generous handicap!) gaining a deserved 4 - 2 win.
In the 3rd place playoff, the Pukka Chukkas secured the Bronze Medal by beating the New York Blue 3 - 1 in a hard fought but highly enjoyable match, the highlights of which included the first goal in Elephant Polo for Simon "Flash" Ashton" and the goal of the tournament scored by elephant polo rookie Greg Scott.
The team is currently in Kathmandu and the website will be updated when there are better internet connections and when the Chief has waded through the 3600 odd photos that we have - in the meantime, however, he has uploaded a few shots....
Top left to right - Simon "Flash" Ashton, Jason "Chief" Wheeler (Capt), Greg Scott, Andy Tan
Bottom left to right - Simon "Boris" Race, Tim Edwards, Kristjan Edwards, Melanie Wheeler
We took part for two reasons - one was to try to win a World Championship event, the other was (and still is) to raise as much money as we can for charity. If you have stumbled into this website by mistake, please click on the link to the Multiple Sclerosis Society to see what the money is for, and make a donation, however small. Thank you in advance - every little helps.
The Chief congratulates fellow Pukka Chukka Greg - between them they scored 4 penalties from 5 attempts to see off Angus Energy and to qualify for the Quaiche.
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Charity & Sponsorship
This is one of the main reasons why the Pukka Chukkas was formed....
The Multiple Sclerosis Society (UK)
The Multiple Sclerosis Society (Australia)
To Donate online, please click here to go to our dedicated, secure, website:
Australian Donors Click Here or Go to our Charity Page
The above total includes our Australian fundraising and donations made by cheque.....
It was with much sadness that we learned of the death of A V Jim Edwards on March 24th 2009, aged 73.
Without his inspiration, the Pukka Chukkas would never have existed - we miss him terribly.
Please Click Here for his obituary, courtesy of Tiger Mountain.
