Two stories to catch up on this month: a new name on the Cartier Trophy in the Alps, and the start of the Florida 26-goal season.
St. Moritz: Maserati end Cartier’s run
On 31 January, on the frozen lake, Rommy Gianni’s Team Maserati beat the three-time champions Team Cartier 5-4 in the final of the 32nd Snow Polo World Cup. It was the first time Maserati had won the Cartier Trophy, and 13,000 spectators and more than 100 media were there to see it.
Cartier lined up with captain Spencer McCarthy, Charlie Wooldridge, Nacho González and Chris Hyde, widely regarded as the best snow polo player in the world. Maserati had Gianni, plus the Argentine professionals Dario Musso and Frankie Menendez. Hyde and Gonzalez scored the first two goals of the final, Musso answered with two, and the first chukka finished 2-2. Menendez put Maserati ahead in the second, and some errors on the bumpy snow from Cartier in the third took Maserati to 5-2 going into the last chukka.
Hyde converted two penalties to cut the gap to 5-4, and Cartier pressed for an equaliser until the final minute, but Maserati held on. Badrutt’s Palace, captained by the American Melissa Ganzi, won the third-place game.
Wellington: the Whitney Cup draw
On Friday 19 February, the seven teams in the C.V. Whitney Cup drew for bracket positions at the 7th Chukker at the International Polo Club Palm Beach. Nico Pieres drew number one for Lucchese, which earns a bye to the semi-finals.
- Lucchese will meet the winner of Orchard Hill v Valiente I.
- Valiente II play White Birch.
- Coca-Cola play Audi.
The semi-finals are due on 2 March. The tournament opens on 26 February and concludes with the final on 6 March, and the draw was streamed live on ChukkerTV. USPA chairman Joseph Meyer and executive director Bob Puetz spoke, with Meyer describing the Whitney Cup as the launch of the 26-goal season.
Orchard Hill arrive as defending champions after their record-scoring win last year, and with Valiente fielding two entries, there is plenty to look forward to.
Sources: GTspirit, POLO Magazine
