After a year’s delay, the frozen lake at St. Moritz had polo on it again this weekend. The Snow Polo World Cup, postponed from January 2021, ran from 28 to 30 January, and the trophy went to Azerbaijan Land of Fire, who beat Clinique La Prairie in the final to claim their first title in the event.
The final day
The organisers describe finals day as sunny, with record crowds of more than 12,000 watching the final. Azerbaijan Land of Fire played tight, four-man polo and made the most of their penalty chances, while Clinique La Prairie struggled to get possession and to find the scoreboard. Raul Laplacette was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament, receiving a Pasha de Cartier watch. Swiss player Tito Gaudenzi, whose father started the tournament in 1985, played at number four for the winners, so the home town had its own reason to celebrate.
The Polo Times Best Playing Pony award went to Max Charlton’s 12-year-old mare Pixie, who played in the second chukka. Charlton, a British arena player rated at 10 goals, had led Clinique La Prairie to the final with a win over Casablanca the day before.
The other matches
Two other matches were played on finals day. In the Villa Sandi Cup, Perrier-Jouët beat Casablanca 4-3 for fifth place. In the Casablanca Trophy, Badrutt’s Palace beat Marc Ganzi’s World Polo League 5-2, a match that had three Ganzis on the ice, with Grant and Melissa Ganzi in the Badrutt’s Palace colours. Melissa, the only woman in the tournament, scored three goals. Across the three days, nine matches were played in front of more than 22,000 people.
Looking ahead
This was the 37th edition of the world’s oldest snow polo event, and the organisers have already set the dates for the 38th edition: 27, 28 and 29 January 2023. For a tournament that had to be put off for twelve months, it was a very full return, with a fresh name on the trophy and the grandstands busy again.
We always enjoy St. Moritz because it shows how adaptable polo is. After the year we have all had, seeing it back on the lake was a pleasure.
Sources: Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz (day three press release)
