The Spanish summer went ahead, and it ended in style. At the Santa María Polo Club in Sotogrande, Sainte Mesme of France beat BN Polo Team of Pakistan 11-10 after extra time to win the Playtech Gold Cup, the 14-goal feature of the 49th MANSION International Polo Tournament.
The final
The two teams were level at 10-10 at the end of the sixth chukka. In extra time Robert Strom scored the golden goal. Sainte Mesme’s team was skippered by Birger Strom and also included Clemente Zavaleta and Salvador Jauretche, who was named player of the final. BN Polo Team lined up with Babar Nassem, Second F. Llorente, Pelayo Berazadi and Ezequiel Zubiaurre.
- Final score: Sainte Mesme 11, BN Polo Team 10, after extra time.
- Player of the final: Salvador Jauretche.
- Best horse: Guerrera, ridden by Robert Strom.
In the subsidiary tournament, Kazak won a triangular round-robin against Mansion-LaLigaSports and Los Schatzies, with a team of Sebastian Aguettant, Patrick Paillol and the brothers Matthieu and Clement Delfosse.
A summer with new rules
The 49th edition ran for more than 30 days, with ten teams at the highest level and players from the United States, Argentina, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Sweden, Ireland and Pakistan. That so many nationalities were able to take part in a year like this is a tribute to the club’s organisers.
Because of the pandemic, the club ran the event with regulated distances and seating, limited capacity on terraces and in bars, hand gel dispensers, and reminders to wear masks. It is an outdoor sport, which helps, but the care taken was evident. The trophy was presented by Georgina Morello of Playtech, together with Andalusian vice-president Juan Marín and the mayor of San Roque, Juan Carlos Ruiz Boix.
Looking ahead
The organisers have said that the tournament will celebrate its 50th anniversary next summer, again sponsored by MANSION. We are already looking forward to it. Sotogrande has long been the place where polo’s summer comes to its peak, and the club has done well to keep the tradition going in a difficult year.
For Sainte Mesme, the French team, it is a big win, and a good one on which to end the Sotogrande summer.
Sources: POLO+10
