“We are very proud of the development of ladies polo in France”

On Monday September 13, during the last week of competition of the Open de France, a new edition of the ladies competition is due to kick off, the Open de France Féminin, which will see six teams up to 16 goals (ladies handicao), in participation. Coliflow is among one of those six teams, and the captain, María Curtchis will be joined by the renowned Venot sisters – Pearl, Lucie and Elena. Moreover, the sisters are the current double title holders – they claimed the tournament in 2020 with Maison Décalé and with Polo Park Zurich, in 2021. Will there be a hat trick this time?

“There are a lot of competitive teams this year, so this is indeed such a big challenge”, Elena Venot told to PoloLine. Rated at 6-goals, Elena es one of the best representatives of ladies French polo, alongside Caroline Anier. “The most important thing for us is play under a good strategy and remain concentrated, because we have to face several experienced players. Also, this tournament is a great opportunity to get ready for the season in Argentina“, Elena adds and annouces: “Perhaps this could be the last time we play together, so there is some extra pressure!” (laughs)

The Venot sisters have been linked to polo since their childhood, and they made up their career together. As Elena points out: “We started to play since we were little girls, always together! And there was love at first sight with horses, a love that remains until this day. In addition to playing polo, we love horse breeding. Our dream is having our own breed, Polo Angels”. 

Which are your positions in the field? 

Well, I play as a back, while Lucie and Pearl are forwarders. We are very much alike, we are very competitive and enthusiastic, although each of us are better under certain circumstances as well as handle the pressure in a different way.

As we said before, the Venot sisters are the current double title holders. In 2021, they played for Polo Park Zurich with no less than Morgan Van Overbroek, the heart and soul of the Swiss club, but also the President of the Swiss Polo Association, the first woman ever to hold such position. With regards to the success of the 2021 team, Elena says: “It was a fantastic moment for the three of us, to win the tournament once more time together and with Morgan. We have a great relationship with her, she is a very nice person, so we are lucky and happy to know her and the whole Polo Park Zurich team. We continued playing in Argentina and we spent a great time”. 

But the present is Coliflow, their team for the upcoming Open de France Féminin. So, Elena told how the team came up: “We met Maria during a tournament last July, and we developed such a great relationship since the very first match. So, we spoke inmediatly about the possibility to play together in a team, so here we are”. 

How do you see ladies polo in France as well as around the world?

Ladies polo is having a constant and steady grow, and the remarkable development of ladies polo in France makes us very proud. Today, girls are able to play tournaments all over the world, and is remarkable to see more and more ladies coming to the sport. Ladies polo is much more competitive, quick with more and better horses on the field. Without doubts, ladies polo has a great future ahead and I am very happy to be a part of this evolution.

Although the Open de France Féminin is around the corner, the Venot sisters are already looking at the near future, no less than Argentina. “We will board the plane to Argentina on October 6, in order to achieve our dream: play the season the three of us togeher”, says an enthusiastic Elena, who adds that “we are due to play the Ladies Open, with Luisa del Carril”. And she concludes: “It will be indeed such an unforgettable experience, I am very much looking forward to it”. 

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