The Polo Rider Cup

Polo Park Zürich

Prevail 12 teams from eight countries compete in inaugural Polo Rider Cup

The inaugural Polo Rider Cup was a success on so many levels, from the teams and players entered, to the wordwide coverage and viewer access, there were no holds barred for this tournament at Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly. 12 teams competed over the course of 10 days, with the Final between Polo Park Zürich and Deauville International Polo Club. Polo Park Zürich dominated their first two qualifying matches with an impressive 11-6 win against Moscow Polo Club kicking off their tournament journey; their goal scoring spree lessened over the days and their last two matches before the Final saw them secure wins by just one goal. Deauville International Polo Club enjoyed some similarly stonking wins, with a 10-3 victory over Las Brisas Polo Club in the early rounds and were no doubt feeling confident going into the Final.

Finals day dawned with a 6-5 win for Hong Kong Association against Empire Polo Club of Coachella Valley in the Subsidiary Final, with the winning goal scored by Thierry Vetois.

The main event of the day, the Final between Polo Park Zürich and Deauville International Polo Club began with evenly matched play between the two teams in the first two chukkas, with Polo Park Zürich only managing to gain a one goal lead. However, the third chukka saw Polo Park Zürich begin to dominate the match, extending their lead to 7-3, while the fourth chukka resulted in zero goals for Deauville International Polo Club, while their opponents continued to streak ahead with a further three goals, taking their lead to a seemingly indomitable 10-3. The fifth and final chukka saw Polo Park Zürich ease off the gas and Deauville International Polo Club’s 15-year-old Ulysse Eisenchteter scored his second goal of the match, but it wasn’t enough and Polo Park Zürich ran out the winners with a score of 10-4.

10 JUN FINAL 20 JUN

Where: Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly, France

The inaugural tournament was a resounding success

Photography by GAME Polo

Olivier Godallier, President & CoFounder of GAME Polo, commented, “This first edition of the POLO RIDER CUP was amazing and GAME Polo would like to thank the Federation of International Polo (FIP), the French Polo Federation, the Polo Club de Chantilly, all the teams and players, authorities, partners, suppliers, media and spectators for all their support to make this happen. Without each and every one of you, it would not have been possible to reach the goals that we set out to achieve. This is just the beginning of a long journey and we are very proud and grateful you were part of it.” Following on from the successes of their inaugural event, the dates for 2022 have already been set for 8 – 18 June at Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly.

MVP

Elena Venot

BPP

Irenita Pirómana, played by Mín Podestá

Polo Rider Cup Final Teams:

Polo Park Zürich (12)

Richard Harris (0) Elena Venot (1) Min Podestá (7) Carlos Solari (4)

Deauville International Polo Club

Ulysse Eisenchteter (0) Patrick Eisenchteter (1) Pierre-Henri N’Goumou (6) Juan José Storni (5) Chukka Scores: 2-1, 3-2, 7-3, 10-3, 10-4 to Polo Park Zürich

Rafael Silva, Juan José Araya, Alejandro Pascual & Juan José Díaz Alberdi