France

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Barnes Open de France and Women‘s Open finals: promises kept

23. September 2024

Yves Delorme (women) and La Fija Sandbox in paradise

After thirty-one games in the Barnes Open de France and thirteen in the women‘s competition, and above all two outstanding finals, the winners of the 2024 edition are now known: Yves Delorme (Chantilly) in the women‘s tournament and La Fija Sandbox (Argentina) in the mixed competition. These two finals went off without a hitch, thanks to a magnificent stage set to the music of the Garde Républicaine.

The qualifying and knockout rounds were particularly competitive this year, with plenty of last-minute thrills and some spectacular performances from the top players who will now fly to Buenos Aires for the highlight of the world polo season: the Tripla Corona.

The height of the French season was equally enthralling, with the two finals living up to the promise of the qualifying rounds.

In the women‘s competition, it was the revenge game between a team considered to be outsiders, Yves Delorme, made up of three players from the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly, Charlotte Garaud, Margaux Perruchot and Adèle Renauldon, reinforced by the Anglo-Australian Milly Hine, the reigning Argentine champion. On the other side, Luxembourg‘s Augustinus Bader with Argentina‘s Lia Salvo, two-time winner of the Argentine Open (with Millie Hine at her side): a duel within a duel. It was a rematch because Yves Delorme had beaten Augustinus Bader 11-5 in the pools: was that an advantage? Obviously it was, as the Chantilly Polo team once again dominated Augustinus Bader, although this time it was a little more complicated (9-7).

The key for the two professional champions was to make the most of the qualities of their three team-mates. “When I arrived here, explains Milly Hine, I was lucky enough to meet these three girls who knew each other well, who had played and won a lot together and who knew their horses well, so it was easy for me to use their qualities. We immediatly got off well together and became friends, we did lots of things together off the pitch, we had dinners together as a family, and that togetherness is important in this sport. The other key was the incredible horses that Brieuc Rigaux gave me. In short, we had everything we needed to win. But my goodness, I had stage fright. When I arrived here and saw everything the club had put in place, the glamour of the Barnes Open and all the people who were here, I got a bit stressed and found it hard to fall asleep every night.” Tonight, Milly will finally be able to sleep well.

Milly Hine and Lia Salvo will certainly meet again on 7 December in the final of the Argentine Open, this time face to face as they did in Chantilly: another chance for revenge?

Arthur Madrid: “Our secret? Harmony between the players”

In the men‘s competition, some were eager to see how the young Mungo team, also based at the Domaine de Chantilly Polo Club, would fare against the solid Argentinian side La Fija Sandbox. This confident French team has been going from strength to strength since the Deauville Silver Cup last August. After a dominant start to the game, Mungo fought back to take a 10-8 lead in the fourth chukker. That was when Fran Elizalde picked up an injury and was replaced by Alfredo Capella. With this luxury substitution, La Fija Sandbox inflicted a 4-0 defeat in the final chukker to claim the title for their third participation. The secret of this team? More or less the same as the women‘s champions, according to Argentina-based French captain Arthur Madrid: “We had six fabulous games with these guys, including a final that was probably the most intense, very difficult match, and I‘d like to congratulate our opponents, four ultra-fast players… the only secret in sport is harmony between players and that worked for us. We hardly knew each other before this tournament and we quickly became best friends. It‘s that understanding off the pitch that has given us our strength on it.” Fran Elizalde adds on a more technical explanation: „We knew we were up against a strong team and we just had to be patient and play our polo. Despite a very long season, our horses were very competitive.” The magical duo formed by this player and Rufino Bensadon will remain one of the most beautiful sporting images of this 24th Barnes French Open.

This great French season comes to an end with a little tear of nostalgia… although it‘s not really over yet, because there‘s still the epilogue, the French Championships, which start next week. A few Argentinians (one per team allowed) will stay in Chantilly for two extra weekends. The others, handicaps 7 and 8, who lit up the 24th Barnes Open de France and the 13th Women‘s Open, will have already flown out to tackle the ‚alta temporada‘ (high season), which begins on Tuesday with the Abierto de Hurlingham for Fran Elizalde (against La Natividad… hoping he recovers from his injury) and Rufino Bensadon in the colours of Cria La Dolfina (against La Hache)… we told you they were big champions).

Finals results

13th French Women‘s Open

Yves Delorme : Margaux Perruchot FRA 2 (1 goal), Adèle Renauldon FRA 2, Charlotte Garaud FRA 3 and Milly Hine AUS (8 goals including 6 penalties).

Augustinus Bader : Mendoza Houben NED 0, Paloma Lauro LUX 3 (2 goals), Ambre Ploix FRA 4 (2 goals) and Lia Salvo ARG 4 (3 goals including 2 penalties)

Progression Yves Delorme : 3-2 / 7-3 / 9-4 and 9-7

MVP Soriano Motori (Most Valuable Player of the final): Ambre Ploix (Augustinus Bader)

BPP (meilleur cheval du match) : Irenita Galan ridden by Milly Hine owned by Brieuc Rigaux

24e Open de France Barnes

La Fija Sandbox : Arthur Madrid 0, Francisco Elizalde 8 (3 goals), Rufino Bensadon 7 (7 goals, don‘t 3 pénalités), Nicolas Tomasevich 1 (2 goals). Rempl. : Alfredo Capella (1 goal). + 1 Penalty one.

Mungo : Ulysse Eisenchteter FRA 1(2 goals), Lolo Bayugar ARG 4 (4 goals), Alti Garros ARG 5 (6 goals dont 2 pénalités) et Pierre Henri Ngoumou FRA 6 (1 goals) + 1 Penal 1.

BPP : Oriental Griega played by Bartolome Bayugar (Mungo).

AACCP BPP : GT Astrid played by Rufino Bensadon (La Fija Sandbox).

MVP by Soriano Motori : Rufino Bensadon (La Fija Sandbox).

MVP Amateur : Ulysse Eisenchteter (Mungo).

Standing Rock Fair Play Award : Mungo

Progression La Fija Sandbox : 3-2 / 6-4 / 8-7 / 8-10 / 12-10.

Yves Delorme (women) and La Fija Sandbox in paradise After thirty-one games in the Barnes Open de France and thirteen in the women‘s competition, and above all two outstanding finals,…

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24th Barnes International Open de France: a new grand cru announced, from 4 to 22 September 2024

25. August 2024

The Barnes International Open de France, or rather “les” Opens de France, as there is a women’s version, is the climax of the French season, which also marks the end of the European season. It is a title that the top French and Argentine professionals are keen to add to their palmarès. The 2024 edition promises to be as fiercely competitive as in previous years, with 11 of the world’s top 40 competing in Argentina’s emblematic “Triple Crown”, the pinnacle of the sport.

In France, this “pinnacle” is the Barnes International Open de France, Europe’s top grass-court tournament at the end of the season. The world’s greatest players, that is to say, from Argentina, have discovered this peaceful haven on the edge of the Trios-Forêts and return each year to enjoy both the competitive nature and friendly atmosphere of the tournament. There will be 11 champions in Chantilly this year who have played, won, or will be vying to qualify for the legendary Argentine Open. Among them, Nicolas Pieres (H8), who won the ‘Abierto’ in 2012 and became well acquainted with Chantilly last year… by winning the French Open with the French Kazak team.

“I found the French Open very competitive with 18 teams, which must be a record for a single tournament. That made Kazak’s victory even more valuable. It’s a huge club, and the competition was really well organized,” said Pieres.

This year, the organization has set the number of teams at 16, and, to the delight of the Chantilly public, this mallet artist will be back to defend his title with Kazak.

Argentine Stars

These star-studded teams hail from five different nations—the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, France and, of course, Argentina, the home base of French captain Arthur Madrid (La Fija Sandbox), who returns this year well-armed with two Abierto plays in his ranks: Rufino Benson (H7) and Fran Elizalde (H8). A solid duo, but who will have to face Guillermo Terrera (H8) playing alongside the young French players from Eternal J, Julien Reynes, and Louis Jarrige (H4). They’ll too have to contend with Diego Cavanagh (H8), a recent Queen’s Cup finalist and pillar of the La Baule team; Brittany Polo Club. H8 Argentines Jero Del Carril and Facundo FernandezLlorente are primed for the challenge with La Magdeleine, as they put forth the youngest of the Castagnola siblings (Barto and Jeta, reigning Argentine champions and still revered for their visit to Chantilly in 2020).

We’ll see more handicaps 7 or 8 for Esso (Toly Ulloa), Tédélou, where Juan-Gris Zavaleta will join his cousins Simon and Ramiro, and for Amanara with SantiagoChavanne, whose son Lorenzo (17) is one of Argentina’s most promising talents that we see progressing in Chantilly year after year with his Dutch team.

The remaining teams opted for more balanced compositions, with a mix of 4, 5, and 6-goalers respectively.

The Women’s Open, more international than ever.

The Women’s Open, established in 2011, was formed in response to a modern phenomenon in polo, the rise of female players in the sport. This tournament has no shortage of household names in the women’s division, where Lia Salvo (ARG and multi-time champion of the women’s Argentine Open and French Open), Great Britain’s Hazel Jackson (who holds several titles from Palermo and Chantilly), as well as Argentina‘s Milagros Fernandez Araujo, winner of this women‘s Abierto on four occasions with La Dolfina, are once again set to headline this 2024 edition. From September 17–22, the matches will also naturally feature several talented French players, such as the Venot sisters and Ambre Ploix, all trained at the Chantilly club. The tournament is just as international as its men‘s counterpart, where players from Argentina, Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Hungary, Poland, the USA, and France will all meet on the field.

With the French Opens, September is a dreamy month for polo fans and those who wish to discover the sport with the Chantilly crème de la crème of polo. Throughout this month, Europe’s biggest club is transformed into ‘Argentine territory’, as Nico Pieres will attest: “Chantilly is very much the kind of club you’d find in Argentina, especially in Pilar, where we (Ellerstina) are based, there are many similar clubs. Maybe not as big, but with entirely the same spirit.” It’s a culture and atmosphere eager to be experienced during these three special weeks, where access is free for the public (match schedules can be found at www.poloclubchantilly.com or by downloading the ChukkerApp app).

The Barnes International Open de France, or rather “les” Opens de France, as there is a women’s version, is the climax of the French season, which also marks the end…

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The second Polo Nations Cup for France

24. June 2024

Six nations, including three newcomers to Chantilly, ten teams, twenty-five games, including those of the subsidiary cup won by Italy, ten days of tournament action ending in a beautiful final won by the French team from Occitanie. This is the outcome of the second Polo Nations Cup, now firmly established in the European calendar of prestigious competitions. This is the kind of tournament a captain wants to add to their list of achievements. On Sunday, that lucky captain was a Frenchwoman, Isabelle Larenaudie.

Over the past five years, Isabelle Larenaudie has built this fine Occitan team, known as Tédélou in other tournaments, around two Argentinian brothers who grew up playing polo at the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly. Simon and Ramiro Zavaleta are French at heart and speak the language fluently. This brotherhood is the strength of this team, which is completed by the talented Breton Jules Legoubin. From the outset, the French team took control of the match, leaving little room for the star of the Pakistan team, handicap 7 Tito Ruiz Guiñazo: „We had a plan for Tito,“ reveals Simon Zavaleta, „to neutralise him at all costs. Nobody was going to mark him in particular, but as soon as someone was near him, he had to be taken out at all costs.” The plan worked well, especially for Simon, who scored 7 of his team‘s 8 goals, including a sublime golaso in the second chukker, and was rightly named MVP of the final: „On an individual level, it is a great reward, but this is above all a team performance. There were five of us who won this title, including Nicolas Corti Maderna, who replaced me in the semi-final when I was ill, and who qualified us for this final“. Unbeaten throughout the tournament, the team always led until Pakistan came back to 7-6 in the final chukker: „But Ramiro scored a magnificent goal at that point to give us a two-point lead and definitively some breathing space. I think it was a great game for the fans. Now we‘re not going to stop there: we want to win the Trophée du Coquetier d‘Or next week, then the Coupe d‘Or in Deauville in August, and the Open de France here in Chantilly in September. Everything!” An insatiable young Argentinian.

This summer: an „Olympic“ France against United States, followed by a promising Open de France

The Polo Nations Cup 2024 marked the end of the first half of the season, with the prospect of a summer full of high-level events at the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly just around the corner. The nations will once again be in the spotlight on 7 August with the Paris Games Polo Challenge 2024, a test match between the national teams of France and the United States which, right in the middle of the Olympic Games, will commemorate the great era when polo was part of the Olympic programme. In 1924 in particular, the Olympic tournament kicked off with a game opposing France and the USA… largely dominated by the Americans. A rematch 100 years on!

Then, in September, it‘s time for the flagship tournament of the French season, the 24th Open de France (4-22 September), for which twelve teams have already entered nine of the world‘s top forty players, including the title holder with Kazak, Nicola Pieres, a former winner of the Argentine Open. On 17 September, the women will be taking part in the French Women‘s Open, which will also feature top players such as the winners of the Argentine Women‘s Open, England‘s Hazel Jackson and Argentina‘s Lia Salvo. The aftermath of the Olympic Games will be just as sporting and just as enjoyable to savour for three weeks on the magnificent grounds of the Apremont Farm.

The final in numbers :

Occitanie – France (12): Isabelle LARENAUDIE 0, Jules LEGOUBIN 3, Simon ZAVALETA 5 (7 goals, including 2 penalties), Ramiro ZAVALETA 4 (1 goal).

Lahore – Pakistan (12) : Haider NASEEM 0, Elena VENOT 2 (1 goal), Hilario RUIZ GUINAZU 3 (1 goal), Tito RUIZ GUINAZU 7 (4 goals, dont 2 pénalités).

Progression France : 2-1 / 3-1 / 5-2 / 7-4 / 8-6.

MVP by Majoa Paris (Most Valuable Player) : Simon Zavaleta (France)

MVP Amateur by Majoa Paris : Haider Naseem (Pakistan)

BPP (Best Playing Pony) : West, played and owned by Tito Ruiz Guinazu (Pakistan)

Six nations, including three newcomers to Chantilly, ten teams, twenty-five games, including those of the subsidiary cup won by Italy, ten days of tournament action ending in a beautiful final…

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Polo Nations Cup goes from strength to strength (13 to 23 June)

11. June 2024

Launched in 2023 at the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly under the auspices of the French Polo Federation (FFP), the Polo Nations Cup has immediately established itself as the most important early season event on the French international calendar and welcomed three new countries this year: Pakistan, the ancestral home of polo; Belgium, which is making a comeback on the world polo scene; and Italy, one of Europe‘s leading nations.

Ten teams from three continents and six nations: the Polo Nations Cup has taken off. Among the values of the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly, founded in 1995 by Patrick Guerrand-Hermès, that of friendship between peoples, to which it is attached, is given full expression by this innovative competition.

Over ten days, teams from the United States, Pakistan, Germany, Italy, Belgium and France will compete for this prestigious trophy. The teams will also include some of Argentina‘s top professionals, with famous names such as Tito Ruiz Guiñazu, a regular at the Argentine Open, Simon and Ramiro Zavaleta and Valentin Novillo Astrada, who come from great Argentine families and dynasties that have written the history of the sport.

Playing for South-East France, the PACA team, title holders and 100% French, is made up of three young players, Dorian Bulteau, Louis Jarrige and Julien Reynes, thanks to the loyal commitment of their captain, Jean-Claude Legrand. Other young French professionals will also be taking part, including the talented Elouan Badarello (aged 19), playing for the Americans from Illinois, and Jules Legoubin (Occitanie), who is making great strides this year. And let‘s not forget Elena Venot, a professional female player who holds a key role in mixed teams such as Pakistan, a country she played in last year and a team she is part of in this Polo Nations Cup. Some of these young talents will represent France in the commemorative match of the 1924 Paris Olympic Games against the United States next August.

Kick-off on 13 June with :

France (Rhône-Alpes) – Pakistan, followed by Italy – Germany (Hamburg).

Launched in 2023 at the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly under the auspices of the French Polo Federation (FFP), the Polo Nations Cup has immediately established itself as the…

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Polo Nations Cup, Year 2

19. April 2024

After a successful first edition in which the French PACA region beat South Korea, the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly announces a second Polo Nations Cup that will be even more competitive and international, with ten teams representing six nations.

In the world of equestrian sport, especially for the Olympic disciplines (show jumping, dressage and eventing), the Nations Cup is the flagship team event of a season and a federation. The Nations Cup is the only team class in the individual disciplines, alongside the team European and World Championships and of course the Olympic Games.

This high-profile concept had never existed in polo before, even though it is a team sport par excellence! The prospect of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris inspired the French Polo Federation (FFP) and the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly to create the Polo Nations Cup in 2023, a 12-goal tournament that opposes teams representing a nation, region or state.

Polo has always been part of the Olympic family and the FIP is a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It has been an official discipline of the Olympic Games five times. First played at the 1900 Summer Games in Paris, it was dropped from the programme after the 1936 Summer Games in Berlin. An Anglo-American mixed team won the first gold medal in 1900, followed by Great Britain twice (1908 and 1920) and then Argentina (1924 and 1936).

Perhaps the Polo Nations Cup will allow us to gradually return to the glory days of polo at the Olympic Games, but above all it will attract the general public to the sidelines and continue the development of polo in France!

The 2024 edition of the Polo Nations Cup will take place from 13 to 23 June and will be contested by ten teams: Belgium, Pakistan, Italy, the German regions of Hamburg and Lower Saxony, the American states of Illinois and California and the French regions of PACA, Auvergne Rhône Alpes, Île-de-France and Occitanie. The basic rule is that the captain of each team must be a native of the nation or region under which they have registered. Some teams recruit mainly Argentinian reinforcements. For example, Tito Ruiz Guiñazu, one of the best players in the world, was a finalist wearing the Korean colours last year. This year, the „mercenary“ was recruited by Haider Nassem‘s Pakistan team. In the first edition, victory went to an all-French team, PACA, who will be back to defend their title this year. Another 100 per cent national team, the Hanseatic city of Hamburg, includes Heinrich Dumrath as well as the two Craseman brothers and their father Daniel.

The Polo Nations Cup is the highlight of the first half of the season in continental Europe. The French international season promises to be particularly rich this year with the Paris Games Polo Challenge 2024, a match between France and the USA in homage to the opening match of the 1924 Olympic tournament in Paris (on 7 August, see save-the-date below), and the eagerly awaited Open de France in September, the most competitive European tournament with twelve teams already entered. All this on the largest polo ground in France, if not in Europe (9 grass fields and the headquarters of the French Polo Federation), where access to all games is free.

After a successful first edition in which the French PACA region beat South Korea, the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly announces a second Polo Nations Cup that will be…

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Ladies Polo Cup: Augustinus Bader defends their title

25. August 2023

The first title awarded in the 2023 Barrière Deauville Polo Cup: The Ladies Polo Cup — Diane Barrière. It was a particularly challenging tournament this year with five teams, each with at least one player participating in the flagship women’s polo tournament: the Argentine Open. It is with the two-time champion of this Open, Lía Salvo, that Augustinus Bader signs a double in Deauville after their premier victory last year. But how tough it was!

It is the third Deauville title for Lía Salvo, who won it for the first time in 2018. To reach the final, she had to defeat two of her teammates from her Argentinian team, El Overo: Milly Hine in the quarterfinals and Clarita Casino yesterday. For this afternoon’s sublime final, Lía had to contest the young Milagros Sanchez (22 years old), finalist last year of this same Argentine Open with La Irenita.

With players of this caliber, one could only expect a spectacular final, one that marks the continuous progress of women’s polo: the spectators were not disappointed! After a tense start to the match, it took until the middle of the second half to see Anais Rezkallah open the scoring. Then, in the third chukker, the players went shot for shot: the intensity of the match amplified! The American captain Megan Manubay gave Augustinus Bader a 2-3 lead late in the third chukker. After Paloma Lauro’s leveling of the score, we were heading towards an overtime period when, 17 seconds from the final bell, Lía Salvo, true to form, delivered the fatal blow.

“It was a very tough final, but I like this kind of match because it shows the level of the women’s here in Deauville is getting better every year. You could see it today with a very close and tough final where no one gave in. Today was a great show of teamwork: everyone scored their goal, Anais was voted best player in the final, and she helped me a lot. The other team was amazing, they were the same: four young players who played really, really well and hung on until the end. I knew it was going to be tough,” said Salvo.

For the Argentine champion, winning in Deauville is always close to her heart. :“I love coming here, it is my favorite destination. My father won the Coupe d’Or in 1974. For me, playing in Deauville is a tradition and it reminds me of him. I always have a lot of people I love here in Deauville.”

After a tournament in England, Lía Salvo will return to France to play two tournaments in Chantilly, notably the French Open, with the same Agustinus Baderteam before flying to her country and preparing for the biggest date of the year—the Argentine Open with a brand-new team.

The Barrière Deauville Polo cup continues with the qualifying matches of the Coupe d‘Or Lucien & Marta Barrière (final on the 27th). Already three games are on the books, and what games they were, full of intensity and suspense. The first to games were decided in extra chukker on golden goals from Bautista Bayugar (8-goaler, Los Dragones Rouge) and Juan-Gris Zavaleta (7-goaler, Barrière), while yesterday’s match saw the “firework” signed Guillermo Terrera (8-goaler Eternal J) who scored 6 of his team‘s 7 goals. All players who also shine in their flagship tournament… the Argentine Open! Of course…

It is certainly the best the sport has to offer at the Barrière Deauville Polo Cup 2023… as it has been for Coupe d’Or’s 73-year history.

Finale Ladies Polo Cup – Diane Barrière

Augustinus Bader (LUX): Paloma Lauro (2, 1 goal), Aurelie Molitor (1, 1 goal), Anais Rezkallah (2, 1 goal) et Lía Salvo (9, 1 goal)

Bar du Soleil (USA) : Megan Manubay (0, 2 goals), Leah Kawamoto (2), Polina Nazarova (4), Milagros Sanchez (7, 1 goal)

MVP: Anais Rezkallah

Progression Augustinus Bader: 0-0 / 0-1 / 2-3 / 4-3

PRACTICAL INFORMATION :

GOLDEN CUP
August 7 to 27 – 14/16 Goals – final Sunday August 27 at 5:30 pm

COUPE DE BRONZE
August 14 to 27 – 6/8 Goals – final Sunday August 27 at 3:30 pm

Deauville—Hippodrome de la Touques, access from boulevard Mauger. Attention, visit the website to watch the times of passage on the days of the matches. Free parking. Free entry on weekdays, €10 on weekends and €20 on August 27 (Finals Or and Bronze).

www.deauvillepoloclub.com

Continue the fun:

Polo Afters parties in the village: small Afters on Tuesdays with aperitifs until 10:00 p.m. and large Afters on Friday evening with DJs until midnight!

Photos by R&B Presse/Pascal Renauldon

The first title awarded in the 2023 Barrière Deauville Polo Cup: The Ladies Polo Cup — Diane Barrière. It was a particularly challenging tournament this year with five teams, each…

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The 23rd edition of the Open de France de Polo 2023

20. July 2023

Eighteen teams, six nations: A record-breaking 2023 edition!

The 23rd edition of the Open de France de Polo (September 1st to 17th, 2023), born with this century, promises to be gigantic. And yet, since the beginning of its history, and even more so since 2020 when the tournament took a new turn, French polo‘s top event has always offered thrilling moments with world-class teams and players.

The apotheosis was reached in 2020 with the anthology game between two of the three current young wonders of Argentine polo, the Castagnola brothers, Barto and Jeta, in a match between Talandracas (France) and Les Lions (Great Britain) which ended with a score that was both overwhelming and extremely close: 14 to 15! But this year‘s French Open is sure to take on a whole new dimension, particularly with a record of 18 teams already entered. Thus, the French tournament outstrips major English ones such as the Queen‘s Cup and the British Open (Gold Cup) in terms of the number of teams entered.

To host all these teams, the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly has teamed up with the La Magdeleine club, which will host three of them and, as well as with Sainte-Mesme, who will host part of the tournament in the south of Paris. Some subsidiary cup matches will also be played at La Moinerie, located in the same geographical area. La Magdeleine, winner in 2021, and Sainte-Mesme, winner in 2009, 2011 and 2018, will of course be taking part in this edition of the Open.

Seven 8-goalers in Chantilly!

Beyond the numbers, it‘s the quality of the players that will also mark this 23rd edition, with some of the world‘s greatest professionals, led by Nico Pieres (h8), winner of the most prestigious and famous Argentine Open, which is played in the heart of Buenos Aires, in Palermo, the „Cathedral of polo“, in front of 18,000 spectators. The Argentine Open is reserved for the world‘s top forty players, fourteen of whom will be in Chantilly in September: a first for France!

In addition to Nico Pieres, the young prodigies Juan Matin Zubia (h8) and Rufino Bensadon (h7) will be in Chantilly for the title holder Talandracas, thus presenting the same formidable line-up as last year. Bautista Bayugar (h8, Los Dragones, FRA), La Dolfina players Guillermo Terrera (h8, Eternal J), Alejandro Muzzio (h8, Clinova, UK) and Diego Cavanagh (h8, Brittany Polo) and Facundo Llorente (h8, La Magdeleine, winner of the Franch Open in 2021 and recent Queen‘s Cup finalist) will also be present. Also of note is the return to Chantilly of Facundo Sola (h7), 12 years after his French Open victory with Murus Sanctus and who was a finalist in the Argentine Open in 2013 and 2018.

Six nations will be represented at the 2023 Open de France: Argentina, England (including the legendary Emlor team), Sweden, Germany, Netherlands and, of course, France with thirteen teams.

Women take centre stage

The Women‘s Open is not to be outdone, with the maximum possible number of eight teams already entered! Teams from Germany, England, Luxembourg and, of course, France will be joined by some of the world‘s greatest female players, including British 10-goalers Nina Clarkin and Hazel Jackson, and Argentine 9-goaler Lia Salvo, who is returning to the competition after the birth of her daughter India in April. Year after year, women‘s polo is progressing at lightning speed, and these matches are just as interesting to follow as those of men‘s polo or rather „mixed“ polo as women can take part in all the tournaments, like Dutchwoman Nicky Sen and Frenchwomen Isabelle Larenaudie and professional Elena Venot, who will be seen in the mixed Open de France.

These three weeks of top-level competition on the magnificent facilities of the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly are magical. Moments of encounter between the great Argentine players, who are very accessible, and the young French professionals, inspiring interactions, horses that are more and more extraordinary every year, matches every day, in the calm of the early hours of the week or in the excitement of the weekend, with live commentary and re-commentary in the evening in the Orangerie bar (particularly during the convivial ‚Vendredis du Polo‘ with asado and fiesta), parallel tournaments such as the highly competitive Trophée Castel, where you can also see some great players, and, to cap it all, a flamboyant and festive finals day.

The Open de France: The French polo event not to be missed. Access to the grounds is free, even on the days of the semi-finals and finals.

Photos by R&B Presse

TEAMS

Eighteen teams, six nations: A record-breaking 2023 edition! The 23rd edition of the Open de France de Polo (September 1st to 17th, 2023), born with this century, promises to be…

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Polo Club Saint-Tropez wins the 2023 POLO RIDER CUP

26. June 2023

Polo Club Saint-Tropez wins the 2023 POLO RIDER CUP, beating Amadeus Polo Club 13 ½ – 9 goals in the final at the Polo Club Saint-Tropez, Haras de Gassin.

Amadeus Polo Club started the game solid, winning the first chukker 3-1 ½ goals, but from then, Saint-Tropez Polo Club let the opponent get closer, and from the second chukker, the host team started to run away with the game.

In the fourth chukker, the Italian team tried to get closer in the middle of the fourth chukker, but as soon as Polo Club Saint-Tropez decided to be more offensive, they ran away with a five-goal lead.

The final result ended with 13 ½ – 9 goals for the French team to win the 2023 POLO RIDER CUP.

Lorenzo Chavanne was named the MVP for the tournament, and the pony ‘Channel from, Lorenzo Chavanne won the Best Playing Pony of the match.

Martin Aguerre H and Salvador Jauretche were the Best Scorers, and Pedro Chavanne was the Rookie of the tournament. Earlier, Aquedotto Romano Polo Club and Evviva Polo Saint-Moritz battled it out in the third-place playoff.

Last year’s runner-up, Evviva Polo Saint-Moritz, won 9 – 7 ½ goals.

Evviva Polo Saint-Moritz came out strong, dominating the game from the outset and making it hard for Aquedotto Romano Polo Club to keep up with the score.

At the end of the fourth chukker, the Swiss team was leading 8-5 ½ goals, but then the Italian team staged a comeback, and towards the end of the fifth chukker, they were just ½ goal down.

And that’s when Evviva Polo Saint-Moritz once again pulled out the extra stops to stay in the lead, with Martin Aguerre H scoring the victorious goal for his team.

The finals for the CHALLENGE CUP were held in the morning.

The match between Araucaria Polo Club and Golden Greens Polo Club witnessed a thrilling victory by the Argentinian team, which won 6-5 goals to lift the CHALLENGE CUP trophy.

Golden Greens Polo Club got off to a fairly strong start in the first chukker, but when Araucaria found their rhythm, they took the lead in all the chukkers. The match was hotly disputed until the end when, with a lot of hard work and concentration, Luca Maier scored the golden goal for the Argentinian victory.

During the podium ceremony, Matías Nigoul Jr.’s pony ‘La Roja’ was crowned Best Playing Pony of the match.

Earlier before, the first game of the day between Coronel Suárez Polo Club and Polo Club Schockemöhle ended with Coronel Suárez Polo Club taking the third place with a final score of 11-8 goals.

It started off as an equal match, with the first chukker seeing the two teams tied 2-2 goals, but Coronel Suárez took the lead right from the start of the second chukker and the Argentinian team ended up with a six-goal lead after the fourth chukker, 11-5 goals.

In the last chukker, Polo Club Schockemöhle came back stronger, scoring three goals in a row, but they ran out of time, and the final score was 11-8 goals.

POLO RIDER CUP – DAY 8
3rd / 4th CHALLENGE CUP

CORONEL SUÁREZ POLO CLUB 11 – 8 POLO CLUB SCHOCKMÖHLE

Score progression: 2-2 / 5-4 / 8-4 / 11-5 / 11-8.

Coronel Suarez Polo Club: Alexandra Rodzianko 0, Misha Rodzianko 2 (3 goals), Ignacio Badiola 5 ( 6 goals), Gaston Beguerie 5 (2 goals). Total HC: 12.

Polo Club Schockemöhle: Vanessa Schockemöhle 0 (1 goal), Giordano Magini 2 (1 goal), Matias Nigoul 4 (1 goal), Tomas Pieres 6 (6 goals). Total HC: 12.

Umpires: Juan José Diaz Alberdi & Martin Haurie.

FINAL CHALLENGE CUP
ARAUCARIA POLO CLUB 6 – 5 GOLDEN GREENS POLO CLUB

Score progression: 1-2 / 4-2 / 4-3 / 5-4 / 6-5.

Araucaria Polo Club: Luca Meier 1 (1 goal), Fabian Bolanteiro 4, Salvador Jauretche 5 (4 goals), Fabio Meier 2 (1 goal). Total HC: 12.

Golden Greens Polo Club: James Peter Holoweslco 0, Matias Nigoul Jr 1 (1 goal), Marcos Harriot 5 (3 goals), Manuel F. Llorente 6 (1 goal). Total HC: 12.

Umpires: Nicolás Scortichini & Hugo Iturraspe.

3 rd / 4 th POLO RIDER CUP
AQUEDOTTO ROMANO POLO CLUB 7 ½ – 9 EVVIVA POLO CLUB ST. MORITZ

Score progression: 1 ½ – 1 / 2 ½ – 4 / 3 ½ – 6 / 5 ½ – 8 / 7 ½ – 9.

Aquedotto Romano Polo Club: Andreas Bihrer 0 (1 goal), Sebastián Sorbac 2 (2 goals), Fabián Bolanteiro 4 (1 goal), Gastón Maiquez 6 (3 goals). Total HC: 12.

Evviva Polo Club St. Moritz: Valentín Farinati 1 (1 goal), Ignacio Kennedy 5 (3 goals), Martin Aguerre H. 7 (5 goals), Thomas Rinderknecht 0. Total HC: 13.

Umpires: Juan José Diaz Alberdi & Nicolás Scortichini.

FINAL POLO RIDER CUP
AMADEUS POLO CLUB 9 – 13 ½ POLO CLUB SAINT-TROPEZ

Score progression: 3-1 ½ / 4-5 ½ / 5-9 ½ /7-10 ½ / 9-13 ½.

Amadeus Polo Club: Robert Kofler 0, Hilario Ruiz Guiñazú 3 (1 goal), Bartolomé Bayugar 4 (2 goals), Santiago C. Marambio 6 (6 goals). Total HC: 13.

Polo Club Saint-Tropez: Nicky Sen 0, Pedro Chavanne 1 (6 goals), Lorenzo Chavanne 4 (5 goals), Santiago Chavanne 7 (2 goals). Total HC: 12.

Umpires: Nicolás Scortichin & Hugo Iturraspe.

Check results at www.poloresults.com

Polo Club Saint-Tropez wins the 2023 POLO RIDER CUP, beating Amadeus Polo Club 13 ½ – 9 goals in the final at the Polo Club Saint-Tropez, Haras de Gassin. Amadeus…

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Amadeus Polo Club and Polo Club Saint-Tropez finalists of the 2023 POLO RIDER CUP

23. June 2023

Amadeus Polo Club and Polo Club Saint-Tropez will dispute the 2023 POLO RIDER CUP Final on Saturday 24 June.

In a thrilling first semi-final, Argentina’s Amadeus Polo Club beat Aquedotto Romano Polo Club 12 goals to 9 ½, securing a place in the final.

Aquedotto Romano got off to a perfect start thanks to the outstanding performance of Gaston Maiquez, and the Italian team more or less controlled the game until about halfway through the third chukker.

Then Amadeus Polo Club really started turning on the heat, and in the latter part of the fourth chukker, Amadeus took the lead for the first time, with Santiago C. Marambio scoring three goals in a row, leading his team to a convincing win in the very last minutes, 12 goals to 9 ½.

The second spot for the final is for Polo Club Saint-Tropez, the host team, after defeating Evviva Polo Club St. Moritz by 14 ½ – 11 goals, the runner-up from the 2022 edition.

The French team, with Niky Sen and Chavanne‘s family, had the mission to get through from the very start, and they dominated the game with grace, composure and concentration from the very first ball that was thrown in.

Evviva Polo Club St. Moritz came up closer in the second chukker, but then Polo Club Saint-Tropez started running away with it, keeping up the pressure and finally winning the game to join the finals of the POLO RIDER CUP.

Earlier in the morning, the CHALLENGE CUP semi-finals were played, with Araucaria Polo Club and Golden Greens Polo Club emerging victorious.

Arucaria Polo Club beat Coronel Suarez Polo Club by 13-12 goals in the first match. The Argentinian team led by the Swiss brothers Luca and Fabio Meier played very well, and the team ramped up throughout the game because Coronel Suárez was in the lead most of the time.

At the end of the fifth and last chukker, the result was even, 12-12, and Luca Meier scored the winning goal that sent the Argentinian team to the final.

In the second semi-final, Golden Greens Polo Club beat Polo Club Schockemöhle 7-5 with a very solid game that secured them the last spot in the finals.

Golden Greens Polo Club found their rhythm in the game a lot quicker, keeping the pressure very much up, and even though Polo Club Schockemöhle came back stronger towards the end, Golden Greens Polo Club capitalised on their strong defence, and the Indian team are through into the CHALLENGE CUP finals.

POLO RIDER CUP – DAY 5
SEMI-FINALS CHALLENGE CUP

ARAUCARIA POLO CLUB 13 – 12 CORONEL SUÁREZ POLO CLUB

Score progression: 3-4 / 4-7 / 7-8 / 10-11 / 13-12.

Araucaria Polo Club: Luca Meier 1 (1 goal), Fabian Bolanteiro 4 (1 goal), Salvador Jauretche 5 (9 goals), Fabio Meier 2 (2 goals). Total HC: 12.

Coronel Suarez Polo Club: Gleb Fetisov 0 ( 1 goal), Misha Rodzianko 2 (1 goal), Ignacio Badiola 5 ( 7 goals), Gaston Beguerie 5 (3 goals). Total HC: 12.

Umpires: Hugo Iturraspe & Martin Haurie.

POLO CLUB SCHOCKMÖHLE – GOLDEN GREENS POLO CLUB

Score progression: 1-2 / 2-4 / 3-5 / 3-6 / 5-7.

Polo Club Schockemöhle: Vanessa Schockemöhle 0 (1 goal), Giordano Magini 2 (2 goals), Matias Nigoul 4 (1 goal), Tomas Pieres 6 (1 goal). Total HC: 12.

Golden Greens Polo Club: James Peter Holoweslco 0 (1 goal), Matias Nigoul Jr 1, Marcos Harriot 5 (4 goals), Manuel F. Llorente 6 (2 goals). Total HC: 12.

Umpires: Juan José Diaz Alberdi & Nicolás Scortichini.

SEMI-FINALS POLO RIDER CUP

AQUEDOTTO ROMANO POLO CLUB 9 ½ – 12 AMADEUS POLO CLUB

Score progression: 3½ – 2 / 4 ½ – 4 / 6 ½ – 6 / 7 ½ – 10 / 9 ½ -12.

Aquedotto Romano Polo Club: Andreas Bihrer 0, Sebastián Sorbac 2, Ramiro Zavaleta 4, Gastón Maiquez 6 (9 goals). Total HC: 12.

Amadeus Polo Club: Robert Kofler 0, Hilario Ruiz Guiñazú 3, Bartolomé Bayugar 4 (4 goals), Santiago C. Marambio 6 (8 goals). Total HC: 13.

Umpires: Hugo Iturraspe & Nicolás Scortichini.

EVVIVA POLO CLUB ST. MORITZ 11 – 14 ½ POLO CLUB SAINT-TROPEZ

Score progression: 3-3 ½ / 5-6 ½ / 6-10 ½ / 9-12 ½ / 11-14 ½.

Evviva Polo Club St. Moritz: Valentín Farinati 1 (1 goal), Ignacio Kennedy 5 (3 goals), Martin Aguerre H. 7 (7 goals), Thomas Rinderknecht 0. Total HC: 13.

Polo Club Saint-Tropez: Nicky Sen 0 (1 goal), Pedro Chavanne 1 (6 goals), Lorenzo Chavanne 4 (4 goals), Santiago Chavanne 7 (3 goals). Total HC: 12.

Umpires: Hugo Iturraspe & Nicolás Scortichini.

The POLO RIDER CUP continues on Friday, June 23
SHAUGAN CUP

16:00 Grand Champions Polo Club vs Polo Club Mühlen.

18:00 Roma Polo Club vs. El Rincón Polo José Ignacio.

Amadeus Polo Club and Polo Club Saint-Tropez will dispute the 2023 POLO RIDER CUP Final on Saturday 24 June. In a thrilling first semi-final, Argentina’s Amadeus Polo Club beat Aquedotto…

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SHAUGAN CUP semi-finals

22. June 2023

Roma Polo Club and El Rincón Polo José Ignacio will play the finals of the SHAUGAN CUP on Friday 23 June.

In the first SHAUGAN CUP semifinals, Roma Polo Club beat Grand Champions Polo Club by 8-5 goals, and the Italian team secured first place in the finals.

The game started relatively open, with both teams getting on the scoresheet very quickly, with a slight advantage for Roma Polo Club at the end of the first chukker, 2-1 goals.

In the second chukker, Roma started to run away with the score, and it took Grand Champions Polo Club two chukkers to find their rhythm. At the start of the third chukker, the American team was down by four goals, and Grant Ganzi very quickly scored twice to close the gap.

Roma Polo Club had a one-goal lead at the end of the fourth chukker, 6-5 goals, and two goals by Juan Jauretche in the last chukker sent the Italian team to the final.

The other semifinal witnessed the victory of El Rincón Polo José Ignacio against Polo Club Mühlen by 14-4 goals, the highest scored game until now.

El Rincón Polo José Ignacio dominated the game from the first ball and Polo Club Mühlen couldn’t find the way to get into the game, struggling to score their first two goals in the first half. The Uruguayan team claimed a clear victory to place them in the final of the SHAUGAN CUP.

POLO RIDER CUP – DAY 5
SEMI-FINALS SHAUGAN CUP

ROMA POLO CLUB 8 – 5 GRAND CHAMPIONS POLO CLUB

Score progression: 2-1 / 5-1 / 5-3 / 6-5 / 8-5.

Roma Polo Club: Alessandro Barnaba 0 (3 goals), Juan Jauretche 6 (5 goals), Pierre Jauretche 4, Tomas Joaquin 2. Total HC: 12.

Grand Champions Polo Club: Melissa Ganzi 0, Grant Ganzi 3 (3 goals), Nic Roldan 8 (2 goals), Marc Ganzi 1. Total HC: 12.

Umpires: Hugo Iturraspe & Martin Haurie.

EL RINCÓN POLO JOSÉ IGNACIO 14 – 4 POLO CLUB MÜHLEN

Score progression: 2-0 / 6-1 / 9-2 / 10-3 / 14-4.

El Rincón Polo José Ignacio: Sacha Fedier 1 (2 goals), Martín Ferrari 2 (7 goal), Bautista Beguerie 5 (1 goal), Matías Carrique 4 (4 goals). Total HC: 12.

Polo Club Mühlen: Daniel Deistler 0, Santiago Shanahan 3 (2 goals), Patrick Maleitzke 5 (2 goals), Miguel Amieva 4. Total HC: 12.

Umpires: Juan José Diaz Alberdi & Nicolás Scortichini.

The POLO RIDER CUP continues on Thursday, June 22

10:00 Araucaria Polo Club vs Coronel Suárez Polo Club.

12:00 Polo Club Schockemöhle vs. Golden Greens Polo Club.

16:00 Aquedotto Romano Polo Club vs Amadeus Polo Club.

18:00 Evviva Polo St. Moritz vs. Polo Club Saint-Tropez.

Check results at www.poloresults.com