December 17, 2022

CARBONDALE, Colo., December 17, 2022 — One of the world‘s top snow polo tournaments and only snow polo event in North America, will feature six teams competing for the coveted winners‘ trophy.

The tournament teams and rosters are:

Blade & Bow (18): Grant Ganzi, 3, Hilario Figueras, 6, Tommy Biddle, 9.
Richard Mille (18): Sarah Siegel Magness, 1, Jesse Bray, 7, Pablo MacDonough, 10.
Edmiston (17): Cable Magness, 1, Jason Crowder, 7, Jeronimo Del Carril, 9.
NetJets (18): Scott Wood, 2, Juan Martin Zubia, 9, Sugar Erskine, 7.
St. Regis (14): Melissa Ganzi, 0, Nacho Figueras, 6, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 7.
CK Shack (14): Juancito Bollini, 4, Nito Uranga, 7, Santos Bollini, 3.

The celebrity team sponsors and lineups are:

Lugano Diamonds: Joyce Bonelli, Nito Uranga, Vinny Sangaline.
Aspen Valley Polo Club: Marc Ganzi, Sterling Jones, Nacho Figiueras.
Casablanca: Saul Sacca, Grant Ganzi, Juan Bollini.

In front of an expected sellout crowd and worldwide ChukkerTV audience, action begins Monday, Dec. 19, with qualifying games at Aspen Valley Polo Club and continues Tuesday and Wednesday at Rio Grande Park.

The festivities kick off Sunday at 6:30 p.m. with the draw and team introduction during a cocktail reception and traditional champagne sabering at St. Regis Aspen Resort where team pairings and sponsors will be announced.

On Monday, qualifying round robin matches will be held at the club‘s indoor arena in Carbondale at noon and 2 p.m.

On Tuesday and Wednesday from noon-4 p.m., action moves to Rio Grande Park in downtown Aspen where the semifinals and celebrity matches are Tuesday and final and Aspen Cup consolation game and trophy presentation are Wednesday.

On Tuesday at 1:15 p.m., the High Alpine Cup for fifth and sixth places will be held followed by the popular Celebrity Polo Round Robin Cup. On Wednesday, the championship final is 1 p.m. followed by the Aspen Cup at 3 p.m.

The event is a fundraiser for the Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation. In addition to the ticket proceeds, donations are welcomed.

For the tenth consecutive year, Aspen Valley Polo Club owners Melissa and Marc Ganzi, will host the world-class event along with polo ambassador and St. Regis Connoisseur Nacho Figueras and his wife Delfina.

The event has joined St. Moritz as one of the world‘s top snow polo tournaments and one of Aspen‘s major international sporting events. It is the final stop on the World Polo Tour and kickoff to the holiday social season in Aspen.

The snow polo tournament is a major attraction for the local community, attracts fans from all over the world, and is a major allure for the Aspen community and surrounding areas.

Last year Richard Mille made history at the St. Regis World Snow Polo Championship. In front of a soldout heated VIP tent, Richard Mille (Sarah Siegel Magness, 0, Jesse Bray, 7, Pablo MacDonough, 10) won its third title with an impressive 9-6 victory over St. Regis (Melissa Ganzi, 1, Nacho Figueras, 6, Nic Roldan, 9).

Richard Mille has won the tournament three of the last four years. MacDonough, the only player on all three winning teams, was named Most Valuable Player.

Bray earned the High Scorer Award after scoring 12 goals in the tournament. The  29-year-old scored a game-high five goals in the championship. He also scored four goals in his team‘s 10-7 opening tournament win over Aspen Valley Polo Club and three goals in a 3-2 win over defending champion World Polo League.

It was the most competitive final in the nine-year history of the prestigious tournament.

Past winners are: 2020, World Polo League (Riley Ganzi, Hilario Figueras, Alejandro Novillo Astrada); 2019, Richard Mille (Edouard Pan, Pablo MacDonough, Louis Jarrige); 2018, Richard Mille (Marc Ganzi, Martin Pepa, Pablo MacDonough); U.S. Polo Assn.; 2017, Grant Ganzi, Juancito Bollini, Nic Roldan); 2016, Flexjet (Melissa Ganzi, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Juan Bollini);  2015, U.S. Polo Assn. (Grant Ganzi, Nic Roldan, Juancito Bollini); 2014, Piaget (Marc Ganzi, Jeff Hall, Nic Roldan); and 2013, St. Regis (Nacho Figueras, Nic Roldan, Brandon Phillips).

The sport was first played on a frozen lake in St. Moritz, Switzerland, created by Swiss hotelier and polo visionary Reto Gaudenzi in 1985 and has been growing in popularity ever since, attracting thousands of spectators and top players from around the world.

With the majestic 12,965-foot summit of Mount Sopris as a backdrop, Aspen Valley Polo Club continues to be one of the busiest and fastest growing USPA-sanctioned clubs in the nation.

Aspen Valley Polo Club finished another successful and historic season in club and Rocky Mountain Circuit history this past summer. Aspen Valley Polo Club has become the world‘s destination spot for summer and snow polo.     

Since Marc and Melissa Ganzi resurrected the club and polo in 2014, polo has increased in popularity in Aspen and surrounding cities with the club‘s offerings of various weekly grass and arena tournaments, Arena & Asado Nights, Kidz Polo, Kids Wheely Polo, The Polo School headed by former 8-goaler Juan Bollini, and Polo On Demand. In addition, the club offers practice sessions for teams competing in the club tournaments.