The Geneva Polo Club- a story of weaving dreams, passion, craziness, lifestyle and friendship through horses and polo

Impulse and visions:

The story began in 2008 with the acquisition of a 30 ha “long-leasehold” farm just 12km from the center of Geneva on the French side of the border.  I discovered polo shortly after arriving in Geneva in 1999 from Moscow where I had spent several years in the then nascent financial markets.  Bill Browder’s book Red Notice does a pretty good job depicting life in Russia at that time and I suppose I must have still carried some of that frontier spirit into the endeavor I’m describing now.

The impulse was very clear - this beautiful land full of fields and trees around a small village next to the Hermance river would become a fully functioning horse farm and  polo club  They vision on exactly how that would look or how to achieve it was much more patchy – it was like “shoot first and ask questions later”...  I was still very engaged professionally in the investment space but the polo challenge became a real passion, even an obsession.  It’s said that one catches “the polo bug”, its that addiction to the game and all it represents; the speed, contact, adrenaline, the connection with the horse… The going to “battle” - how this crazy sport often described… This passion for the game is still very alive today, after over 20 years of play. It’s also driven by the joy of playing alongside my three sons Julien (26), Oliver (23), and William (19). This is a “dream come true” to play competitions as a family!

Having spent my childhood working outdoors with “Shovel in hand”, pulling weeds in the garden, clearing brush… it felt rather natural to run a farm.  My ego also misled me to assume that since I was a founding partner in one of Russia’s largest industrial farming companies (controlling over 300, 000 hectares of prime agricultural land), running 30 hectares would be a “cake walk”.  How wrong I was and how humbling this experience has been…. French villagers turned out to be tougher then the Russian mob!

I’ll save this part of the story with all of the trials, errors and toil, for another time.  Despite the challenges, the dream and creative spirit somehow kept rising up- and this colorful “Suzanni” would be woven in such unexpected ways.  On a weaning budget we made lots of building and renovations (buildings, hangars, stables, polo fields, gallop tracks, sand arenas…), and bought lots of equipment (tractors, mowers, greens keeping, horse trucks….).  The farm was totally run down at the start.  

Regenerative polo and horse farming:

Crop fields, completely void of soil life following years of intensive farming, were planted with grass varieties and managed with regenerative practices for pastures and polo fields alike.  Yes, we spread compost and silica sand.  During the spring months the polo field is full of horses- over 50 earlier this year!  This approach is completely unheard of in our sport and the classic reaction would write it off as ridiculous.  Historically no one really cared about microbiome no less understood it- and those red flies buzzing around on top of the horse manure are annoying!  But the wisdom of this approach and the positive results are there to be seen.  The grass is robust, resistant with deep rooting, and has an elegant allure.

Community with warm vibes:

The club from the very onset felt like community and a big family- the vibe was relaxed, light, free, and it still is today.  This is so refreshing for people living the City of Calvin that still carries heavy protocol and austere energy.  The club naturally became a gathering place, of course the Argentine asados after the matches that are known throughout the polo world, but also exclusive and prestigious garden parties, field side dinners, fund raisers and the like, often complemented by some royalty or well known personality.   But the down-to-earth style and open, positive vibes that allows everyone to just be themselves lives on!  The club has its own protocol, its elegant, but free- on one occasion I recall rather well, The Maharaja of Jodhpur, after being completely showered with fine champagne said, in his regal yet charming Indian accent, and I quote “ I must tell you, this is the craziest polo club I have ever visited”!

Insert:  An esoteric twist for the revival of wisdom!

My son Oliver and I learned about the prophecy of the Eagle and Condor on a trip to Dharamshala, India in 2023 where we accompanied a group of indigenous leaders to meet the lamas.  This prophecy predicts the reunification of north and south and more importantly ancient and modern societies, and represents the revival of ancestral wisdom.   Oliver’s award winning documentary film, “A Condor over Shambhala” just released on veemo, see trailer: (A Condor over Shambhala - TRAILER),  delves into this theme in insightful and inspiring ways.    And so Indigenous elders started visiting our space bringing with them their perspectives and simple but important wisdom, making us also understand that, for all the incredible innovations, modern society has somehow lost it’s way, and we need to get back on the right track.  I felt that our club could play an important role in reviving ancestral wisdom.  What could be a better place to facilitate remembrance and transmit that which has been forgotten.  Our farm also happens to sit on the very site where our Jewish brothers and sisters fled Nazi tyranny during the 2nd world war- right across the river into Switzerland.  It is a place that witnessed great suffering but also the quest for freedom and liberation.  The land and spirts are there to teach us, the horses are there to give us power, freedom, grace and resonance…  and so our holistic space was born and a thriving program of empowerment and team building programs targeting business leaders and decision makers.  In this way we seek to create a bridge between the ancient and modern ways, and to make the space for wisdom and new rooting.

Resonance is everything and it has led us to start co-creating workshops and events with groups such as Geneva’s foundation Barbier Muller who is a major reference in anthropology and unwritten history.

Inquiries to Holistic@Genevapolo.com

All of these seemingly diverse elements coexist in and around The Geneva Polo Club.  It’s a place where Polo is played intensively from April to end-September with daily training and frequent competitions.  This is the home to over 120 horses in the warm months including our own breed that now counts nearly 20 young horses in various stages of training.  It’s also a place where friendships are made and deep bonds are formed.  There is no substitute for the power of horses, majestic oak trees and the open fire, it brings us back to our roots and sets the tone for meaningful connections.