PONYLINES
LUCIA HALABICOVA -PGH LA PALMERAIE MOROCCO
ONE TO WATCH Patrick Guerrand-Hermès is something of a renaissance polo man and an unstinting ambassador for the sport. Formerly a director of Hermès, the luxury goods company, he developed the firm’s silk business. He is passionate about polo, which he started playing in 1953 as a young cavalry officer. A past president of the Federation of International Polo, Guerrand-Hermès was chiefly responsible for organising, arguably, the best World Polo Championship, in 2004 at the Domaine de Chantilly polo club, a facility he created in 1996. It now has nine fields and, during high season, hosts more than 300 players and 700 horses. His latest project is La Palmeraie Polo club in Morocco. Located close to Tangiers, the club has three world-class fields, which overlook the Atlantic, and is surrounded by sand dunes and hills. In August, it held its inaugural tournament with six teams of five different nationalities; 40 ponies were provided by the Guerrand-Hermès breed. The players lived in tents and were served lunch every day on the uninhabited beach and dinners in other stunning locations.
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