The polo year opened on ice. Rommy Gianni’s Team Cartier won the 2017 Snow Polo World Cup on Sunday 29 January, beating Melissa Ganzi’s Team Badrutt’s Palace Hotel 7-4 in the final on the frozen lake at St. Moritz. Around 15,000 people watched across the three days, with 7,000 packed in for finals day.
How the final unfolded
Cartier lined up with Gianni, Dario Musso, Charlie Wooldridge and Chris Hyde. The first chukka was all defence and ended goalless, but the second belonged to Cartier: Hyde and Musso scored three between them, with Alejandro Novillo Astrada answering once for Badrutt’s Palace. After the break the Palace side hit back with two quick goals to level at 3-3, only for Wooldridge to put Cartier ahead again before the end of the third chukka. In the last period Cartier struck three times in quick succession. Novillo Astrada pulled one back, but it was too little too late.
The final was also filmed by drone for the first time, with special permission from Engadin Airport, so the aerial footage of the match is well worth hunting down.
The weekend in results
- Friday: Cartier beat Perrier-Jouët 7-4 in the opening match, while Badrutt’s Palace, led by Novillo Astrada and Jesse Bray, beat the Maserati team of the Beh family 7-1.
- Saturday: Badrutt’s Palace beat Perrier-Jouët 6-2 to book a place in the final, and Cartier beat Maserati to win the Deutsche Bank Wealth Management Challenge and join them.
- Sunday: Perrier-Jouët took the consolation final against Maserati for the La Martina Cup, their first victory in the event.
Awards
Chris Hyde was named Most Valuable Player, celebrating his sixth win at St. Moritz, and his grey mare Promise collected the Polo Times Best Playing Pony award. Cartier had finished as runners-up in 2016, so this was a return to the top step. Maserati’s team was led by James Beh.
Organiser Reto Gaudenzi, known as the Godfather of Snow Polo, already has the 2018 dates set for 26 to 28 January. We will be watching to see whether Cartier can defend.
Sources: Ocean Blue World
