The polo year always begins somewhere unusual, and for 2019 it began on a frozen lake in the Swiss Alps. The 35th Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz wrapped up at the end of January, and the result gave the sport a proper talking point: Badrutt’s Palace beat Maserati in the final, taking the top podium place for the first time in the tournament’s 35 years.
A first for Melissa Ganzi
The Badrutt’s Palace side was captained by Melissa Ganzi, who became the first woman to win the Snow Polo World Cup in St. Moritz. She was also named Best Playing Patron. It is a significant moment for a tournament that has long been built around patrons playing alongside the professionals, and it fits a wider story of women taking a bigger place in the game.
Maserati kept pushing right up to the last seconds, but could not close the gap. For the winners it capped a week that had drawn a record crowd, estimated at around 18,000 spectators across the three days.
The individual awards
- Most Valuable Player: Alejandro Novillo Astrada.
- Polo Times Best Playing Pony: Pantera, ridden by Novillo Astrada in the fourth chukka.
- Best Playing Patron: Melissa Ganzi.
In the subsidiary final for the La Martina Cup, Azerbaijan Land of Fire beat Cartier 5-0, so the day was not short of goals even in conditions where scoring is never easy.
Why we love snow polo
Snow polo is the sport stripped down to its essentials: a short, fast game, a brightly coloured ball, ponies fitted with special shoes for grip, and a crowd wrapped in furs and sunglasses beside the ice. It is more spectacle than the grass season, yet the quality of the horsemanship on show is still superb.
Much of the event’s reputation rests on its organiser, Reto Gaudenzi, a five-time winner of the tournament who is known in the sport as the Godfather of Snow Polo. Under his guidance St. Moritz has become the first major date of the international calendar, a place where players from Argentina, England and beyond start the year before heading to Florida or Dubai.
For us, a good result in January is a reminder that polo does not stop for winter. Now attention turns to Wellington, where the American high-goal season is about to get under way.
Sources: 2Luxury2
