FIP European 8 Goal Championships, Chantilly, 2014
By Victoria Elsbury-Legg
France continues to be the centre of all things equestrian as the Fédération Internationale de Polo (FIP) European 8 Goal Championships are played in Chantilly. Following the World Equestrian Games which have been taking place in Normandy, the month of all things equine continues at The Polo Club du Domaine de Chantilly (home to nine polo pitches and an eighteenth century farmhouse set in 220 acres) which is the venue hosting the polo.
Currently England (Max Dear 0, Olly Tuthill 4, Jack Mesquita 1 and Freddy Dear 3) haven’t lost a game, having beaten Austria (Walter Scherb 1, Martin Bleier 2, Diego Braun 4 and Robert Kofler 1) 5-8 and Spain (Mario Gomez Duran 4, Nicolas Alvarez Cervera 2, Yago E. De los Monteros 2 and Luis Aznar Oriol 0) 5-7. On Wednesday 10th September at 2pm they face Ireland (Richard Fagan 1, Sebastian Dawnay 4, Max Hutchinson 2 and Stephen Hutchinson 1) who have also won their two games to date, 4-6 over Spain and 7-4 against Austria.
Both England and Ireland are already through to Friday’s semi-finals having won two straight games, so it remains to be seen which teams will qualify for Saturday’s Polo de Paris Subsidiary Cup and which for Sunday 14th’s Final.
Good Luck all