Polo

“Polo, the only reasons to stop are financial ruin or death.”

Saturday was the Jacques Macaire polo trophy at Bagatelle polo club. Julia and I went to give the trophy. Jacques was my father-in-law. He was a charming, talented polo player, a superb technician and much-loved teacher. I hadn’t been to the club in a while. I used to hang out there when I wasn’t working with my friend, Andie MacDowell. It was at the club that I met my future husband, Stephane.

 

He was playing the first day I went, and on the sidelines with a broken elbow on the second day! Andie and I both adored horses and riding. Polo ponies were a discovery for us – they were so agile, so reactive, so much fun to ride! We bought polo boots and begged for rides – we went to Deauville to see the Gold Cup, and we had a wonderful time. It was cold that year – I don’t think we shed our jackets and sweaters once. Stephane was playing with Claude Mercier’s team Berengeville, with his brother, Lionel, and an Argentine player Juan Martine Zavaleta. They didn’t do very well that year, but the next year they won the Gold Cup with Gonzalo Pieres playing in Juan Martine’s place. Jacques, Stephane’s father, was thrilled. His two sons had won the Deauville Gold Cup, France’s most prestigious trophy!

Here are Andie, Stephane and I at the games in Deauville. Yes, it’s August, and yes, it’s freezing cold – it’s Deauville!

And here I am yesterday with my sister-in-law, Catherine, at the polo club in Paris, and here is a photo of the field during the match.