Christian Ahlmann Discovers Polo

During his stay for the Global Champions Tour in Chantilly, the current world #1 in show jumping, the German Christian Ahlmann, discovered polo in the Chantilly Polo Club.

His instructor was the best Argentinean player that France currently has to offer, the handicap 8 (former handicap 9) Pancho Bensadon, half-finalist of the last Argentinean Open.

Even though Ahlmann is left-handed, he quickly discovered the pleasure of playing polo. After this initial contact with the noble sport, the German rider played his first chukka with Pancho and other show jumping riders: the American Richard Spooner, winner of the Grand Prix Global Champions Tour de Monaco in June, the French riders Philippe Rozier (who had won the first class of the Jumping de Chantilly the day before) and Simon Delestre (part of the French Olympic team).

The jumping riders received help from two other professionals of polo: the Argentinean Tito Guinazu (h7) and the French nº1 Brieuc Rigaux (h5). A comment from the world nº1 in show jumping: “An amazing experience.” In the afternoon, he placed second in the Grand Prix Global Champions Tour with Codex One, a class with a total prize money of €295.000,of which the German thus won €57.000.