After two intense weeks of qualifying games in which sixteen teams fought valiantly, the Barnes Open de France has produced its first verdicts: we now know the semi-finalists who will meet on Friday at 14.30 and 17.30. They will be Jolly Roger (Sweden) against Mungo (France-Chantilly) and La Fija Sandbox (Argentina) against defending champion Kazak (France).
The qualifying phase of the 24th French Open came to an end on Saturday with an anthology of a match between two great teams, Essso and La Magdeleine: spectacular moves, great flights at full gallop, players of incredible skill and very few fouls. It was the kind of game you do not want to end… and it ended in an incredible way. Essso, who had dominated the match from the first to the fourth chukker, went into the final period with a one-goal lead: a situation that La Magdeleine, led by the virtuoso Argentine Open 2023 semi-finalist Jero Del Carril, reversed at the very end of this game rewarded with the Coupe Arts et Élégance, the event that brought Chantilly to life all weekend. Essso, the beautiful team concocted by Ian Gallienne, left the tournament with honours… we‘ll miss them.
Quarter-finals: the same scenari!
This scenario of turnarounds right at the end of a game was the trademark of this 24th edition of the Barnes Open de France. So there was no reason for things to change in the quarter-final phase.
On Sunday, while Sainte-Mesme seemed to be cruising towards the semi-finals thanks to the authoritative play of Raul Laplacette and a particularly inspired young Maitena Marre, after trailing 3-7 in the third period and 5-8 at the end of the fourth, Sweden‘s Jolly Roger came back into the game thanks to a tight team play. England‘s James Beim scored eight of his team‘s nine goals, including the fatal blow one minute before the final whistle.
It was a similar story in the second quarter final, where the French ‚Bleus‘ from Eternal J held off a strong team from Pilar, Argentina‘s La Fija Sandbox, who they played evenly to the end, losing only in the final minutes. Louis Jarrige and Julien Reynes made life easy for Guillermo Terrera, who rounded off a fine team performance by scoring all ten of his team‘s goals. Argentina‘s Fran Elizalde had no qualms about having the last word, but our French players emerged from the Open Barnes with their heads held high.
The third quarter final was another breathtakingly close affair, with the lead still minimal at the end. But this time there was no real turnaround in a fast-paced match (the first three chukkers went by very quickly). In the fourth chukker, Mungo seemed to have the match in the bag (+2), but as has become the norm, La Magdeleine came back in the fifth to level the score at 7-7. It took a magnificent solo effort from Ricardo Garros to close the scoring and send Mungo through to the semi-finals.
The exception that proved the rule in the last quarter final was that Kazak qualified for the semi-finals by scoring not one but two goals to keep the battle for their title alive. The classic scenario almost played itself out when Alfredo Capella scored from the spot with a 30-yard penalty to bring Clinova level with a minute to go. But Nicolas Pieres pulled the strings in the dying seconds. Clinova fell to the sword and once again a great team lost this fantastic Barnes Open de France.
That leaves two French teams in the semi-finals: the defending champions Kazak, the team from the south of Paris and their crack Nicolas Pieres, and the team from the Chantilly Polo Club, Mungo, who pulled off a real upset yesterday by eliminating the 2021 champions.
It‘s the women‘s turn
As far as the local teams are concerned, we‘ll also be keeping an eye on the Women‘s Open, which starts today (Tuesday 17 September), where the Chantilly team, French champions under the colours of Yves Delorme (Charlotte Garaud, Margaux Perruchot and Adèle Renauldon) will be joined by Millie Hine, the British player and three-time Argentine champion, who will be taking on other champions such as Lia Salvo, the Argentine playing for Luxembourg‘s Augustinus Bader, and Hazel Jackson, the Englishwoman playing for the Dutch team La Monarquia – Nipas. Other players from the Chantilly club will be competing in foreign colours, such as France‘s No. 1 Elena Venot, who will be playing for the Argentinian Indias polo team, and her sisters Lucie and Pearl for German captain Nina Frühauf. Eight teams will be competing in this women‘s competition, which promises to be just as open as the Barnes Open!
From now on, between the Women‘s Open, the final and the subsidiary finals of the Barnes Open and the Castel Trophy, the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly will be playing polo every day until the semi-finals on Friday (20 September) and the final on Sunday (22 September): forty matches to go! The schedule is available on poloclubchantilly.com, on Instagram @opendefrance_polo or by downloading the ChukkerApp app. You can also watch all the games live (with commentary) on pololine.tv. But the best thing to do, if the weather is fine, is to come along: access is free, the games will be commented, the Tacos Bar food truck will be present at every match and, on the weekend of the semi-finals and final, a village will be set up with stalls and other food trucks. And for classic car fans, there‘s the Rallye de l’Open, an extension of the Arts and Elegance weekend.
