Travel

Photographer Aline Coquelle fell in love with polo during a trip to Argentina. Since then she has followed the ‘nomadic polo tribe’ to the furthest corners of the Earth…

Make or break Polito Ulloa, one of the most respected polo horsebreakers in Argentina

Travel is a way of life for me, and it is fuelled by my addiction to photography. I have travelled from Zanzibar to Ethiopia, Guatemala to India, Peru to Fiji and New York to Kinshasa. Then one day I landed in Argentina and discovered a new ‘tribe’: the polo nomads – international players travelling the world, following the sun and the challenges, and flying home once a year like migratory birds.

I land on a field, the number one field at Palermo during the Open. A patchwork of green, thousands of horses, hundreds of horse trucks, groups of barns… it’s polo’s Mecca. As an anthropologist and photographer, I am about to discover a new world with its own codes, rituals and laws, far removed from the cliché of champagne parties…

Through the French champion Lionel Macaire I was introduced to the Braun and Zavaleta families, and through them to others, from horse vets to horse-breakers, from trainers to players. I met the Heguy brothers, Adolfo Cambiaso, Gonzalo Pieres, Gonzalo Tanoira and Mariano Aguerre, with Juan Sauro helping me, as ever, with my accreditations for Palermo. I didn’t realise at the time, but I was in the heart of the best polo in the world.

I recall the stunning sound of the horses galloping, the constant change of horses like Ferraris, and the players’ concentration and tension. And the tribe all around: mothers, fathers, wives, children, trainers, friends… a world within a world. An incredible show. An incredible scene for photography.

Back home in Paris in 2003, I published my first report on polo for Le Figaro Magazine, and the Macaire organised an exhibition of my Argentina photos at the Royal Hotel during the Deauville Polo Cup. Later, I flew to Palm Springs and the Eldorado Polo Club. Then I discovered two great books: Polo by Susan Barrantes and Chakkar: Polo Around the World by Herbert Spencer & Fred Meyer. I decided to create a book continuing their adventures, and published articles in Vogue, AD, Paris Match, L’Optimum and La Tribune.

Thanks to Cartier, I flew to the fairytale snow polo in Saint Moritz, to the royal polo in Windsor, to Jaipur for elephant polo and to Dubai’s amazing Palm Desert designed by Ali Albwardy, with his luxury hotel and villas and his treasured private polo museum. With the virtuoso aficionada Celine Charloux and her charity Les P’tits Cracks, and Alfio Marchini, I shared the experience of the Sotogrande Gold Cup, the English palenques, and a great nomadic friendship from Paris to Argentina.

With Christopher Giercke’s family, I flew to remote Mongolia to experience wild polo with teams from the Gobi desert, Karakorum, Oulan Bator and China. In

1 Bautista Heguy in the pampas with his horses 2 The young Dubai team at the Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge 2008 at Albwardy’s Desert Palm Hotel (from left) Mohammed Bin Drai, Rashid Bin Drai, Halid Bin Drai and Rashid Albwardy 3 Mongolia Polo Tournament in Orkhon Valley at Christopher and Enkhe Giercke’s Genghis Khan Polo Club 4 Players’ boots at Eldorado Polo Club, Palm Springs 5 Cartier International Dubai Polo Challenge 2008: Emirates NBD team meets Qatar Airways 6 Eduardo Novillo Astrada cools off 7 Aiken Cura, one the most famous stallions of Adolfo Cambiaso’s, at the Palermo Palenque in 2006

marvellous landscapes there were surreal games and adventures around the Orkhon Valley. Thanks to Patrick Guerrand Hermès I flew to the Royal Guards in Morocco and, of course, photographed the great atmosphere of his Apremont farm in Chantilly – a polo paradise one hour from Paris. Then there was the chic Bagatelle, the glamourous Saint Tropez, and the intimate Club of La Moinerie. This summer, I shall discover the Brittany Polo Club of La Baule, based in picturesque ‘marais salants’.

From the islands of Brioni in Croatia, I flew to the Hamptons in New York to photograph Adolfo Cambiaso with JaegerLeCoultre (with whom we also do photo sessions in Palm Beach and Argentina). I photographed amazing polo ranches such as Crab Orchard, Isla Caroll and La Lechuza. Then photo-shoots and adventures in Argentina with Polito Ulloa, one of the most respected polo horse-breakers, the 1,500 horses of the Heguy brothers Chapeleufú I, Raul Gandara’s stud farm south of Cordoba, the legendary polo horses auctions at La Rurale, the famous boot-makers Fagliano, and amazing polo estancias, such as the estancia el Churqui, Colibri, Areleuquen, La Conception, La Ellerstina, La Martina and La Dolfina.

To conclude, I plan to travel to Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, England and Argentina again (in between trips to India, where for years I shared life with a leper community, and Gandhi ashrams, and photo sessions in East Africa). Tomorrow, I fly to Mexico to experience Costa Careyes with the Brignone family.

For me, polo conjures images of fearlessness, unity and bravery. It evokes fantasy, prestige, courage and passion. Its identity is one of modern gentlemanly values that evolve with travel and friendship. Life is getting more and more professional, especially in high-level sport, and I hope the gentlemanly values and friendship will survive, and that polo remains a fundamental experience in developing self-mastery and team spirit, competition and decisionmaking. And, of course, the magical feelings, the parties and companionship.

Farouk Younes told me that ‘polo transcends all ethnic, cultural, political and religious differences’. I hope this will be reflected in pictures I have taken for my book, to be published at Christmas 2009. I’m also researching vintage photos of old polo tournaments, portraits, and places to include in the book. Any help, testimony or ideas will be very welcome. Together we can create a scrapbook for the polo tribe to share. To contact Aline, email her at ac@alinecoquelle.com