Chantilly Chic

28 countries had battled to reach the fi nal stage, during zone playoff s in Warwickshire, England; Lahore, Pakistan; Santiago, Chile; and Juarez, Mexico. England, Pakistan, Chile, Australia and the USA made it through to join reigning champions Brazil and the hosts, France.

At the end of 10 days and 16 hard-fought matches, it was the Brazil team that again mounted the podium to kiss the World Cup and receive FIP’s gold medals. England took silver and Chile bronze. e only medal missing was a platinum one that should have been cast for the man behind it all, the Chantilly club’s owner and World Cup organiser, Patrick Guerrand-Hermès. e ever-elegant Patrick, a grand chevalier of the old school, staged the event with all the French style and panache that has made his family’s fi rm, Hermès, one of the world’s leading luxury brands. is World Cup was unlike any that had preceded it, at Melbourne, Santa Barbara, Berlin and Buenos Aires.

The organisation by Patrick and his team was magnifi cent and the sportsmanship of players was outstanding

Above: Chantilly’s great stables are even bigger than the chateau. Left: exhibition in World Cup village. Below: FIP President Glen Holden, Patrick Guerand Hermès, The Rajmata of Jaipur

Take for example the ‘village’, the temporary collection of shops and hospitality facilities traditional at big polo events everywhere. Not content with just the rows of tents, Patrick created a vast quadrangle each side of which had a two-story wooden gatehouse in Picardy style through which visitors passed. e fl agship shop inside the village was, of course, Hermès, housed in a wooden structure echoing the gatehouses. e marquees forming the quadrangle included two restaurants serving fi ne French food and booths off ering Picardy delicacies; hospitality centres of event title sponsor Maybach and those of other sponsors such

as Emaar Properties of Dubai, decorated in desert Bedouin fashion; marquees selling polo gear and others promoting polo clubs f rom Pakistan to Mexico. At one corner was a yurt f rom Mongolia, a FIP member nation. ere was a large sand arena in the middle of the village where visitors watched displays of falconry and horsemanship by riders in Moorish dress.

Host and organiser Patrick, in dashing white Panama and navy blazer emblazoned with the FIP crest, seemed to be everywhere: welcoming French VIPs, foreign ambassadors and a United Nations of polo people; congratulating or commiserating with players on their victories or defeats, and, as midafternoon approached, hurrying all out of the village and onto the adjacent polo grounds.

Patrick had cleverly erected a giant, twosided and roofed grandstand between the club’s two main grounds: watch one match and then just walk across the aisle to view the other on the second ground. For the big World Cup opening parade, he brought on not just the mounted band of the French Presidential Guard and the eight competing teams and their ponies, but also riders representing Chantilly’s other horse sports: jockeys on thoroughbreds, show jumpers and dressage competitors, and huntsmen. e six of Domaine de Chantilly’s grounds in use played superbly. One, only a year old, cut up hardly at all despite some heavy rain, thanks to the use of a new wonder, fi bersoil. ere were few complaints about the pool of more than 250 ponies, loaned by Patrick and other French and overseas players, f rom which teams drew their mounts. FIP’s Tournament Director, Farouk Younes of Egypt, ran the competition with an iron hand and FIP’s president, Ambassador Glen Holden, was lavish in his praise. “ e organisation by Patrick and his team was magnifi cent,” Holden said, “and the sportsmanship of the

HERBERT SPENCER Top: England (in white) play Brazil in the fi nal. Centre, the victorious Brazil team and World Cup organiser Patrick Guerand Hermès. Below, dancers at the Brazil team party

players was outstanding” .

England appeared the most disciplined team throughout the competition but in the fi nal lost in extra time to the faster-breaking Brazil squad. e USA team, expected to be a strong contender, never gelled. Australia failed to win a single match. Pakistan, the only team fi nanced by its government, played valiantly but lost in its league. A fi red-up Chile took bronze by defeating France, which played with great talent and determination throughout the competition to the delight of the home crowd.

France will be a team to watch in future internationals. Patrick’s contribution to his country’s standing in world polo didn’t end after everyone went home. e new organisation he established to stage the World Cup, the Association Sportive France Polo, will continue to work to develop the country’s participation in the sport, at home and abroad. ■