The frozen surface of Lake St. Moritz produced one of the closest finals in years on Sunday, as Küsnacht Practice beat Azerbaijan Land of Fire 5-4.5 to lift the Snow Polo World Cup trophy. It was the 40th edition of the event, and the organisers reported a record 26,200 spectators over the weekend.
How the final unfolded
Azerbaijan Land of Fire went into the final as favourites and had already won this event twice. Küsnacht Practice, though, rallied in the second half. With two minutes left in the third chukka, Chris Mackenzie hit a lofted shot from a tight angle to put his side 4-3.5 in front. Isidro Strada then opened the final chukka with a 40-yard penalty conversion to make it 5-3.5, and Küsnacht held on despite a late push from the opposition.
The winning line-up was:
- Eduardo Greghi (0), the patron
- Francisco Belaustegui (3)
- Chris Mackenzie (6)
- Isidro Strada (7)
The awards
Strada was named Most Valuable Player and Greghi collected the Best Playing Patron award. The Best Playing Pony was Dolfina Aureliana, a mare owned by Adolfo Cambiaso and played by Mackenzie. Having a Cambiaso-bred pony pick up the top horse award in the final is a nice reminder of how far the La Dolfina breeding programme reaches, even on a frozen lake in the Swiss Alps.
Fine margins
The half-goal in the final score is a handicap adjustment, a reminder that in snow polo the smallest details can decide a match. This final was settled by a lofted shot, a penalty and a defence that held its nerve, which is exactly the sort of thing that makes a short, high-stakes game so compelling to watch.
The St. Moritz event is one of the best loved on the polo calendar, partly because of the setting and partly because the weather and the surface always add a bit of unpredictability. The snow polo season now moves on, while the Florida season gets going and Dubai builds towards its own Gold Cup in February. We will have more on both in the coming weeks.
Sources: GC Polo, St. Moritz final, Hola, Olympic.az
