A SCOT has made history as the first to lead her all-female team to World Cup victory – in elephant polo.
Samantha Prentice, 45, scored all 27 goals as her Tigresses Polo side clinched the trophy at the annual tournament in Nepal.
And she was “ecstatic” to win after finishing third last year and second in 2012 – and beating her husband to the title.
Samantha, from Haddington, East Lothian, added: “We don’t have an elephant at home so it is quite difficult to train.
“My husband Peter has played and won in the past so it’s particularly sweet to have bragging rights over him this time around.”
Elephant polo involves two teams of four players. Each elephant has a player and a handler, known as a mahout, on board.
The handler steers the animal, directed by the player who tries to score by hitting the ball with a 7ft polo mallet.
Samantha said: “It’s great to finally win. I’ve been playing for 15 years and I had no idea how good it felt to be a champion until I became one.”
The eco-travel consultant first saw the game in Nepal on a gap year. Her victory last week is the 11th time a Scot has been in the winning line-up since the sport’s invention in 1983.
Husband Peter, 53, is chairman of the World Elephant Polo Association and a former world champ.
He said: “As the home of golf, I think Scotland is quite well placed to produce great elephant polo players since a lot of the skills are transferable.
“Another reason Scots might be so good at it is that you play hard during the day then at night party harder.”
