Horses, history and high stakes at Chantilly Polo Club

Welcome to Chantilly Polo Club, the 220-hectare beast of an estate that somehow manages to be both a French rural idyll and an international polo HQ. Nine grass fields, hundreds of stables, a polo school, and the French Polo Federation headquarters: the estate feels like a self-contained world, where polo isn’t just a sport—it’s the ecosystem.

Founded in 1995 by Patrick Guerrand-Hermès, with Philippe Perrier steering the show ever since, the club has grown from a dream into one of Europe’s premier polo destinations. It hosts the Open de France, the Women’s Open, and since 2023, the Polo Nations Cup—a springtime showcase of national pride on horseback. In 2024, the estate added the Paris Games Polo Challenge, a centenary tribute to France’s 1924 Olympic match against the United States, reimagining history with speed, strategy, and extravagance.

At ground level, it’s the horses that command attention. Mostly Argentine, mares, -lightning-fast and obedient to a whisper, these athletes are the backbone of every game. Grooms, or petiseros, move with choreography that rivals any backstage crew at a music festival, maintaining hundreds of horses with precision and care. Players, meanwhile, balance skill, speed, and sheer adrenaline as chukkers fly by, switching mounts seamlessly in a game where every second counts.

The Polo School and Academy cultivate the next generation of riders. Beginners discover balance and confidence before attempting their first swing; teenagers in the Academy train with professionals, entering low-goal tournaments and refining strategies. Here, polo is lived, taught with precision, while maintaining the sport’s intergenerational ethos.

Tournament days are a sensory overload: the thunder of hooves, multilingual commentary, and the mingling scents of fresh grass, tack oil, and tension. The Open de France, the club’s marquee event, draws top international players, with the likes of the Castagnola brothers and Nicolas Pieres taking center stage. The Women’s Open celebrates the sport’s rising female stars, including Nina Clarkin and Lia Salvo, ensuring the game is as competitive as it is historic.

Chantilly is an ecosystem of polo culture. Horses, humans, and history collide in a space where tradition meets high-level athleticism, and where every chukker is a fleeting, -adrenaline-fueled ballet. It’s not just a club; it’s a working, breathing tribute to polo as a living, evolving art.

CAPTIONS

01  The Club is housing events of all levels, including international events

02  So close to the liveliness of Paris yet

surrounded by hectares of forest