Jaeger-LeCoultre Open de France Polo Cup Chantilly

We're already at the end of october and I still have to share with you some time I spent with my fellow moderator Amanico at the end of the month of September.

 

Again this year we were pleased to be invited for lunch at the Jaeger-LeCoultreOpen de France Polo Cup finals. And of course also invited to attend the finals!  Like it was last year, attending such game was  a great pleasure again this year.

 

An original lunch place

 

So as you can see we begun with a cocktail and a lunch seated under the barn of the Polo Club house.

 

An original moderator attending

 

We were all eager to see the game after lunch and Nicolas was even more hurried!

 

But what is he doing

 

You may have seen the excellent movie "The Horse Whisperer"!   I was seriously wondering if Nicolas was training for the afternoon game?

 

Is he talking in his hand

 

No that was just a problem with his entry bracelet!   Mrs Amanico finally cleared the situation!

 

Mrs Amanico saved him

 

The only regret of the day was the absence of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polo partner Adolfo Cambiaso! The barn ambiance was perfect and some players were around!

 

Adolfo Cambiaso is with us if not among us

 

It was soon time to leave and walk to the polo field. There was a nice crowd on the field when we arrived.

 

Polo without horses

 

In fact it was surprising to see so many people on the ground. Were they spying out the land before the game?

 

So many people around

 

No of course they were just restoring the grass. You certainly know this old polo tradition. The spectators go and restore the grass between some chukkas (the period taken to stop the game and change the horses).

 

Restoring the land of grass

 

The day was sunny and the landscape of the Chantilly Polo field was really superb under that sun!

 

Chantilly's polo club house

 

Jaeger-LeCoultre was seemingly even more implied in the Open de France this year! They are apparently planning to keep this partnership for the years to come.

 

And the winner is

 

The attendance was quiet before the game, everybody was happy to enjoy the nice weather (much better than last year) and I took the time to visit the borders of the field

 

Attending polo

 

The vision of the first horse was the sign that it was time to leave it to the players and join a place to rest and enjoy the game. The tension was slowly going up!

 

A first horse at play

 

I was still around though, looking at some other horses, a few of them reserved for players, others came with spectators.

 

The spare horses

 

Here is my selection of the mechanical horses seen around the field.

 

Red speed and the real sports car

 

The Morgan is an old British classic that was perfectly at its place around.

 

More horsepower under the bonnet than on the ground

 

The V8 Vantage was even more at its place at a Jaeger-LeCoultre sponsored event. This car really passes the test of time perfectly.

 

Carrera 3.2 for ever

 

This superb Porsche Carrera 3.2 was even more appealing to my eyes. This other car perfectly stands the time passing by!

 

The italian touch

 

On the contrary the dolce vita spirit of this day was perhaps better represented by this Alfa Romeo Spider.

 

The best looking four door car ever

 

The Daimler Double Six could have been in the past the car of a polo team owner, who knows? I find this car still very beautiful, even if the line just extincted!

 

Modern times

 

The current polo team owners may well choose such modern bullets. There was some serious stuff around.

 

Future times

 

The white Gallardo had a very special presence on the car park, for sure. The bull was a bit out of place, but I didn't find any prancing horse either!

 

My past time

 

I ended with a second Morgan, still red and still so simply beautiful.

 

Time to begin

 

So it was time to be back for the beginning of the game. The polo game plays fast and you would not want to miss some of it.

 

Nicolas is getting ready with Mrs Elisabeth Ville from the Paris JLC boutique

 

Nicolas was very busy discussing with the Jaeger-LeCoultre team attending. Nearly all the French team was there.

 

Polo on air

 

The teams were playing. The sun was still bright. Champagne was everywhere around. Polo was as magnificent as ever.

 

Playing so close

 

The polo field is obviously huge, so these short times when the game is played so close are a real pleasure. You can see the crowd stop and hold its breath. At this time the horses are at no more than 5 meters from the closest spectators.

 

Mr Didier Najbor from JLC France

 

Polo is definitely an impressive game, for the presence of horses that add a speed and power to the play, and for the play in itself!

 

Many people attending

 

To some extent these gentlemen are not just playing polo, they are even somewhat fighting polo! The game is strong and fair!

 

Are they fighting

 

Once they leave your side and let you shortsighted, you can finally take some rest as if you were less concerned by the game.

 

Already gone

 

People have left the chairs and are stuck to the fences.

 

I've always loved this DS 420

 

The game is still going on and you're soon taken back as soon as they come closer.

 

The beautiful landscape of Chantilly

 

Again they are so close that you hold your breath.

 

Starting again

 

The game is stuck this time and you wonder how they will get out of this.

 

Looking for the ball

 

And then they are starting again.

 

Strike

 

The game finally ended with a victory of the Sainte Mesme team who won over the team Jaeger-LeCoultre In the Wings by six over five. Jaeger-LeCoultre didn't win on the field but definitely won the day seeing at all the happy faces of the numerous guests.

 

People around

 

This year's Open de France was ending but we were all pleased and passioned!

 

But you may want to see a watch? I took a wristshot for you, borrowing a nice baby!

 

The watch

 

I hope you enjoyed the reading of the day as much as I enjoyed being there.

 

Cheers

 

Dje