Richard Mille, the world-renowned luxury Swiss watchmaker, is delighted to extend its partnership with the renowned Polo Club de Chantilly for the next three seasons as the club’s official timekeeper. To celebrate their friendship Richard Mille and the Polo Club de Chantilly will organise Polo Clinics with 10-goaler Pablo Mac Donough, Richard Mille ambassador and one of the best polo players in the world.
During this Polo Clinics with Pablo Mac Donough, two groups of different polo playing levels will be organised. On 13 June 2016, a Polo Clinics for beginners will take place, on the following day, 14 June, advanced players will have the chance to improve their skills under the guidance of the famous 10-goaler. Furthermore, there will also be a dinner on 13 June with Pablo Mac Donough. The event is by invitation only and not open to the public.
Richard Mille and ‘the sport of kings’
Polo is not only ‘the sport of kings’ but the world’s oldest team sport. It demands physical performance, endurance and concentration. It is an intense and fast sport where the horses’ physical engagement and that of the riders play a key role. Given this intensity, Richard Mille needed little encouragement to step into this world in 2011 alongside the Argentinian Pablo Mac Donough, one of the most talented players of his generation. The RM 053 Tourbillon, created for and in collaboration with Pablo, features a highly skeletonised plate, meaning that the ultra-light movement is less exposed to the centrifugal and centripetal forces generated during matches. The watch was specially designed in order to protect the tourbillon movement from mallet blows. The ‘armour-plated’ case in titanium carbide is double-embossed, and the two windows at its base – angled at 30°- ensure maximum readability. “It’s rare to see a player wearing a watch on a polo field,” says Mac Donough. “It’s an extreme sport. I’m currently the only polo player to wear one during competitions and I particularly like its original, bold shape.”
While Richard Mille’s commitment to this royal sport dates back a long way – the brand even had a team in its colours once – it was only last year that the Chantilly Polo Club and the Swiss watchmaker joined forces. On the occasion of the second Chantilly Arts & Elégance Richard Mille in 2015, a spectacular demonstration match was organised, featuring some of the top international players, including Mac Donough.
This year, the partnership with the Club – established in 1996 by Patrick Guerrand-Hermès – looks set to deepen further still. The founder has realised his dream with the development of a centre of international stature around a 205-hectare site that is one of a kind with quality infrastructure: 30 paddocks, 9 polo fields, 200 boxes, 800 horses during the season, and over 250 riders. Another major achievement of the Chantilly Polo Club is to have boosted the growing popularity of women’s polo by organising the first ‘Ladies’ Open on the international circuit.
