Barnes Polo Nations Cup: After the Heatwave Interruption, the Tournament Enters Its Final Chapter
After the exceptional heatwave that swept across France and forced authorities to suspend all outdoor sporting events under the highest weather alert, both the Barnes Polo Nations Cup and the OniriQ Ladies Polo Nations Cup have resumed at the Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly and are now heading into their decisive stages.
During the most critical days, the club had already taken precautionary measures by reorganising the schedule, moving matches to the early morning and late evening hours in order to safeguard both horse welfare and player safety.
Île-de-France Claims the OniriQ Ladies Polo Nations Cup Title
The women’s tournament resumed on Sunday morning with a series of shortened matches designed to recover lost time before returning to its traditional format for the final.
In the title decider, Île-de-France defeated defending champions Hauts-de-France Yves Delorme by a narrow 3-2 margin to lift the trophy.
“Despite the low score and a very competitive opponent, we managed to stay focused until the very end,” said Pearl Venot. “Above all, this was a team victory. Playing alongside my sister is always special, but I knew Esther would find the opening goal and that Megan would always be there whenever I moved the ball forward.”
Earlier in the day, Bretagne secured third place by defeating Normandie and claiming the Yves Delorme Cup.
Among the individual awards, Lucie Venot was named Professional MVP by Softshield, while Megan Kawohl received the Amateur MVP by Drimmer award for the final. The Best Playing Pony title went to Malakita, played by Luisa Del Carril and owned by Arnaud Maquinghen.
Barnes Polo Nations Cup: Italy Advances to the Semi-Finals
The mixed tournament is also ready to enter its most exciting phase. Before the interruption, only defending champions France-Occitanie, captained by Isabelle Larenaudie, the only woman still competing for the overall title, had already secured a semi-final berth after recording four consecutive victories.
In Zone A, a penalty shoot-out was needed to separate France-PACA, Belgium and Switzerland. It was France-PACA that kept its composure under pressure and booked its place in the last four.
In Zone B, Normandy comfortably defeated Champagne by 10-4, while Italy overcame Bourgogne 11-6 to secure a place in the semi-finals.
Semi-Final Schedule
Wednesday, July 1 will feature two highly anticipated encounters:
- 11:00 a.m. – France-Occitanie vs France-Normandy
- 1:00 p.m. – Italy vs France-PACA
The winners will advance to Friday’s final on Chantilly’s prestigious Terrain d’Honneur, bringing to a close an edition that has already proved memorable, both for the action on the field and for the extraordinary weather conditions that shaped its course.
Source: Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly press release
Photo credits: © Justine Jacquemot
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