It was a fine weekend on the frozen lake. Standing Rock beat Flexjet 6-4.5 on Sunday 25 January to win the 41st Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz, adding the Swiss title to the Kitzbühel win we reported last week.
The St. Moritz story
The lake was in excellent condition, with a 55cm ice base for the opening day. Flexjet, St. Moritz Top of the World and Standing Rock won their opening matches on Friday, and in the semi-finals Flexjet needed extra time to beat St. Moritz Top of the World 5-4 while Standing Rock edged Azerbaijan Land of Fire 5-4.5.
The final was close throughout. Raul Laplacette was named MVP, and Philipp Müller picked up his first Snow Polo World Cup title. Standing Rock’s team also included Max Charlton and Nacho González. About 26,000 spectators watched over the three days.
The other placings were tidy too. Azerbaijan Land of Fire beat Mackage 5-4 for fifth place, and Investec beat St. Moritz Top of the World 5-4.5 in the subsidiary final.
Florida: two finals
At Port Mayaca Polo Club, Victory/Eastern Hay won the second Women’s Gold Cup by beating Aurora Polo 12-4. The champions were Aspen Tinto, Lilli Hagemeier, Hazel Jackson and Milly Hine, with Tinto named MVP and Jackson’s Copita voted best playing pony.
At the National Polo Center, Las Brisas won the Joe Barry Memorial 10-9 over ConcordEquityGroup.com on Sunday. Juan Martin Obregon was MVP. This was the first of four qualifying events for the NPC 16-Goal Championship, alongside the Ylvisaker Cup, the Iglehart Cup and the Outback Cup, with the championship final set for 12 April.
Why it matters
For fans of the lower-handicap game, the 16-goal qualifiers are some of the best polo of the winter. The players are a mix of rising professionals and committed amateurs, and the matches are often decided in the last chukka.
- St. Moritz: Standing Rock 6-4.5 Flexjet
- Women’s Gold Cup: Victory/Eastern Hay 12-4 Aurora Polo
- Joe Barry Memorial: Las Brisas 10-9 ConcordEquityGroup.com
Next week the US Open Women’s Championship will be under way, and then the big Gauntlet begins in mid-February.
Sources: Polo Times (St. Moritz), Polo Press (Women’s Gold Cup), Polo Press (Joe Barry Memorial)
