Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz

Chasing St. Moritz

Dreams

The most glamorous and spectacular snow polo event in the world

Fast-paced action from the Final between Clinique La Prairie and Azerbaijan Land of Fire

After a year of challenges globally, who could imagine a better way to start the year than with this superb tournament which is a high point of both the St. Moritz calendar, as well as an important marker in the global polo scene? And what a bounce back! This year saw a complete sell out with all tickets over-subscribed and the hotels of the über glamorous resort reporting record bookings.

Months of preparation go into the event, and this is apparent as everything runs with Swiss accuracy and efficiency: which sees 120 horses arriving from all over Europe, comfortably stabled in fully heated luxury; 2,600 tonnes of infrastructure installed on the frozen lake of St. Moritz with players, patrons and sponsors flying in from every corner of the globe.

Things may be very organised, but don’t let efficiency be mistaken for run of the mill – this event is incredibly exciting – echoing the flamboyant nature of the man that makes it all happen, ‘The Godfather of Snow Polo,’ Reto Gaudenzi, Vice President and CEO of the event.

Reto described to us the weekend’s polo as, “The delicious cocktail – a perfectly crafted blend of luxury, nature’s beauty, world-class polo, entertainment and friendship”. And how right he is. The excellent standard of polo displayed has the polo aficionados who have flown in from all over the globe, appreciating worldclass competition between the sport’s elite players. Be assured there is no exhibition polo here. Away from the high octane polo action, those interested in the social side of the event are not disappointed as there is so much to enjoy with seemingly neverending Perrier-Jouët Champagne, the most lavish hospitality areas by Badrutt’s Palace, Maseratis whisking guests to and from the luxury hotels above the frozen lake, and of course, meeting old friends and making new ones, in this truly remarkable venue.

After a one-year hiatus, as the first day of polo on Friday 28 January dawned, there

Tournament Action at a Glance

Friday 28 January Match 1

Azerbaijan Land of Fire defeated Perrier-Jouët, 7-2½

Match 2

Clinique La Prairie defeated World Polo League, 8½-3

Match 3

Badrutt’s Palace Hotel defeated Casablanca 4-1

Saturday 29 January The Lagalène Cup

World Polo League defeated Perrier-Jouët, 8-3½

The President’s Cup by Hatecke

Clinique La Prairie defeated Casablanca 4½-0

The St. Moritz Cup

Azerbaijan Land of Fire defeated Badrutt’s Palace Hotel, 4-2

Sunday 30 January The Villa Sandi Cup (for 4th & 5th place)

Perrier-Jouët defeated Casablanca, 4-3

The Casablanca Cup (Subsidiary Final)

Badrutt’s Palace Hotel defeated World Polo League, 5-2

The Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz

Azerbaijan Land of Fire defeated Clinique La Prairie, 6-2½,

Alejandro Novillo Astrada gets up close and personal with Raul Laplacette

was a palpable sense of excitement on the frozen lake of St. Moritz, the birthplace of snow polo as the sun rose over the Engadin Mountains of St. Moritz as the competition got underway. It is hard to convey the amazing combination of sporting prowess and stunning alpine luxury that the event combines, which truly does have ‘something for everybody’

This year, demand from teams was so high, that 2022 saw a change to the regular itinerary of polo on offer, with the usual four teams augmented to a record six teams entered and a busy three matches being played each day.

Team Casablanca came into the event bristling with an impressive armoury of players, including the only 10 goal player in the tournament, Sapo Caset, who was a first timer to St. Moritz. He was joined by young British player, Jimbo Fewster who, as we know, is no stranger to success, with some impressive titles already under his belt, including The Gold Cup. Jimbo did us Brits proud as he took to the snow polo game well, watching, questioning, learning and adapting his play which saw him rightly improve and impress over the three day tournament. Misha Rodzianko – Russia’s highest handicapped player is well acquainted with the discipline and demands of snow polo, having won the 2016 Moscow Snow Polo Championship, so on paper was one to watch. The final cog in the Casablanca machine was Captain Ivan Romanovsky. However, despite the pundit’s predictions their collective performance was found somewhat lacking, and after defeats on each day they ended up in sixth place, which sadly didn’t really represent the overall skill displayed.

Team Perrier-Jouët also struggled to find form, notching up losses in the first two days’ competition and therefore ruling themselves out of Final or Subsidiary Final contention. This was despite having 8 goal Isidro Strada and 7 goal Valentin Novillo Astrada in their ranks, alongside the very able Swiss player Luca Meier and secondtimer to St. Moritz Team Captain, Kutlay Yaprak. A somewhat disappointing fifth place was the only reward for their efforts.

After two days of hotly contested competition the tournament culminated on the Sunday as over 12,000 spectators crowded onto the frozen lake to watch the action.

The Casablanca Trophy for the Subsidiary Final saw history being made as not one, not two but three Ganzis were on the frozen lake, as mother and son duo of Melissa and Grant Ganzi donned the dark shirts of Badrutt’s Palace against Marc Ganzi’s all American World Polo League. Marc’s team bristled with an impressive arsenal of firepower with St. Moritz first timer Benji Daniels teaming up with 8 goal Nic Roldan alongside Tommy Biddle, who is one of only four USA players to have held a 10 goal arena handicap in the USA. Mr Ganzi himself has notched up many victories, including the US Open, so should never be underestimated. The team had blazed a trail into the Sub Final, having truly found their St. Moritz form the day before, sweeping the opposition aside with a performance totally transformed from the somewhat lacklustre outing on the first day of competition.

Ganzi regular player Nic Roldan is always exciting to watch, quicksilver fast, flamboyant but hard to predict – the question was – could he bring the form needed again for the Sub Final?

Sadly for Marc Ganzi, it was not all plain sailing, as the opposition featured his nearest and dearest in the form of mother and son duo Melissa (Marc’s wife and former winner of the tournament), and Grant Ganzi. Alongside 8 goal powerhouse and snow polo expert Alejandro Novillo Astrada and newcomer to St. Moritz, Jason Crowder, the

28 JAN 30 JAN FINAL

Where: St. Moritz, Switzerland

1ST PLACE AZERBAIJAN LAND OF FIRE 16

Elchin Jamalli (Team Captain) (2) Adrian Laplacette Jr. (6) Raul Laplacette (6) Tito Gaudenzi (2)

2ND PLACE CLINIQUE LA PRAIRIE 15

Dillon Bacon (Team Captain) (2) Aristide Faggionato (2) Max Charlton (6) Robert Strom (5)

3RD PLACE BADRUTT’S PALACE HOTEL 16

Melissa Ganzi (Team Captain) (0) Alejandro ‘Negro’ Novillo Astrada (8) Jason Crowder (5) Grant Ganzi (3)

4TH PLACE WORLD POLO LEAGUE 16

Marc Ganzi (Team Captain) (2) Nic Roldan (8) Tommy Biddle (5) Benji Daniels (1)

5TH PLACE PERRIER-JOUËT 15

Kutlay Yaprak (Team Captain) (0) Luca Meier (0) Valentín Novillo Astrada (7) Isidro Strada (8)

6TH PLACE CASABLANCA 16

Ivan Romanovsky (Team Captain) (0) Jimbo Fewster (4) Misha Rodzianko (2) Sapo Caset (10)

black-shirted Badrutt’s Palace Hotel team proved to be stiff opposition.

Quick out of the traps there were a flurry of goals, resulting in a high octane first chukka, but as the teams got the measure of each other, the second chukka was goalless with both teams effectively shutting down the opposition. Melissa Ganzi, the only woman taking part in the tournament, hit her goal scoring seam of luck with the help of her team in the second half, notching up three goals, despite having taken a knock to her stick hand. Having led throughout, Badrutt’s Palace sealed the deal with a convincing 5-2 win with.

So, it was time for the third match of the day for the hotly anticipated Final between Clinique La Prairie and Azerbaijan Land of Fire, to decide the team to raise the tournament trophy and claim the coveted Snow Polo World Cup Trophy 2022.

Clinique La Prairie secured their road to the Final with resounding victories over World Polo League and Casablanca. Their team was strong on paper led by Max Charlton, who has notched up wins in St. Moritz in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2020 and this year, Max set up his stall once again with 2020 winning teammate Robert Strom, whose trophy cabinet is full of European silverware. For 2022, the team Captain Dillon Bacon joined their ranks to make his St. Moritz debut – with top titles such as The Queen’s Cup and French Open under his belt, the American was certainly one to watch. Last but not least, Clinique La Prairie’s fourth player came in the form of another St. Moritz first-timer – Aristide Faggionato, winner of the 2020 French Open alongside teammate Dillon Bacon. Despite this form, which had the polo pundits getting hot under the collar in anticipation, disappointingly in the Final, Max and his crew struggled to gain possession, finding themselves repeatedly and effectively blocked out of play, they collectively failed to get goals on the scoreboard.

It was a totally different story for Azerbaijan Land of Fire, who demonstrated strong, passionate four-man polo resulting in an effectively shut down of Clinique La Prairie just as they had done with Melissa Ganzi’s Badrutt’s Palace the day before. With General Elcin Guliyev, President of the ARAF flying in direct from Baku for the Final, the pressure was on for Azerbaijan Land of Fire to deliver a win, and they clearly thrived on the pressure, showcasing a display of strong, four-man polo, with chess like combinations efficiently out-foxing Clinique La Prairie from the outset; whilst simultaneously making the most of the penalty opportunities that came their way. Raul Laplacette put on an impressive display of skill, applying pressure on Clinique La Prairie and locking them down; blunting the attacks of the opposition with fast, accurate and athletic polo and for his performance, Raul was later, rightly awarded the Most Valuable Player of the tournament for his outstanding team play. All in all, it was a productive day for the boys in green and the scores reflected this, with Azerbaijan – not just the Land of Fire – but truly on fire, with a conclusive 6 goals to a rather lukewarm 2½ in reply from Clinique La Prairie as they celebrated their first Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz in front of record-breaking crowds of over 12,000 spectators for the Finals’ day alone.

After the victory, Swiss player Tito Gaudenzi, who had been impressive at the number 4 position in the Final commented, “To win this tournament in my home town is just amazing. Not only did my father have the crazy idea of starting this tournament back in 1985, but he also won the tournament five times himself, three times alongside Adriancito’s [Adrian Laplacette’s] father. So now I have to win another four more times to match his total!”

After three truly spectacular days of polo which saw nine matches played in front of over 22,000 people, the 37th edition of this iconic event drew to a close and teammates, friends, both new and old and the St. Moritz ‘polo family’, said a fond farewell until next year. Be sure to make a note for your diary of next year’s event – 27, 28 and 29 January 2023. As the event’s Official Media Partner, Polo Times looks forward to seeing you there!

Victory at last after four years of trying for Azerbaijan Land of Fire

BPP

Pixie For more information on Pixie turn to our

Pony Power pages Nick Hine, Publisher of Polo Times presents Max Charlton with the Polo Times Best Playing Rug for Pixie and 200 Swiss Francs for the grooms

Commentator: ‘The Voice of Polo’ Jan-Erik Franck

Chasing the St. Moritz dream! All-American action between Badrutt’s Palace Hotel and World Polo League in the magnificent setting of St. Moritz

MVP

Raul Laplacette

10

The highest handicapped player on the ice: Sapo Caset off a 10 goal handicap

22,000

The event was a complete sell out with over 22,000 converging on the frozen lake to watch the polo online

Handicaps: Outdoor handicaps are used rather than arena handicaps. For example, Max Charlton plays of 6 goals on snow, but has a handicap of 10 goals in the arena Official Timekeeper: Christian Dunkelberg

Umpires: (Three on the ice in rotation and one third man) Mark Holmes, Charles Seavill, Oli Ellis & Marcelo Garrahan

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