The Deauville Coupe d’Argent

The Final was closely fought Maison Décalé Strikes Silver

Deauville Coupe d’Argent

On Sunday 16 August, the Coupe d’Argent (Silver Cup) came to an end at Deauville Polo Club. This year saw four teams compete in the 16 goal tournament, with Maison Décalé vs Marqués de Riscal in the Final. Going into the Final, Maison Décalé were the underdogs, with Marqués de Riscal appearing to be a strong line-up with two top Argentine players, Alejandro Muzzio and Santiago Cernadas, playing alongside the father-son duo of Luis and Alejandro Aznar. However, Maison Décalé were undeterred and they came out fighting, and with the scores tied at 9-9 in the last chukka the match was pushed into overtime. In the end, Maison Décalé secured the winning goal to take the title with a score of 10-9, a great achievement for the local team which comprised of three Frenchmen. The Best Playing Pony was British, an 11-year-old mare bred, played by Alejandro Muzzio. Maison Décalé’s Pierre-Henri Ngoumou commented, “Basically, we are four friends which makes it easier to get along on the field. I played with Édouard (Pan) at the beginning of the season, I had already won the Gold Cup with Ramiro (Zavaleta) here a few years ago. This team got organized very quickly, we were still in La Baule last week. After losing the first game against Barrière, we got back on track after a comeback against Talandracas, who had dominated us for a good half of the match. It was a structuring

victory for the team. We then started to believe in it and we’re winning today and it’s always a joy to win here in Deauville.”

The Coupe d’Or and Coupe d’Argent form part of the French Grand Slam, which culminates with the Chantilly French Open – so far, just one team has achieved wins in all three in one season, Cibao La Pampa in 2017. This year, The Coupe d’Or celebrates its 70th anniversary at Deauville Polo Club, with four teams competing in the 16 goal and eight teams in the 8 goal Coupe de Bronze. The Coupe d’Or began on Tuesday 18 August and the Final was scheduled Sunday 30 August – a full report will be included in the next issue of Polo Times.

9AUG

16 AUG FINAL

Maison Décalé (16)

Thomas Rolland (2) Pierre-Henri Ngoumou (6) Edouard Pan (4) Ramiro Zavaleta (4)

Marqués de Riscal (16)

Alejandro Aznar (0) Luis Aznar (1) Santiago Cernadas (7) Alejandro Muzzio (8)

Chukka Scores: 1-3, 4-4, 5-6, 7-7, 9-9, 10-9 to Maison Décalé MVP

The MVP

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BPP

British, played by Alejandro Muzzio Thomas Rolland

Where: Deauville Polo Club, France

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