Thirteen years after winning the championship in 2005 in Amsterdam, Italy won back the title in the 12. FIP European Polo Championship – Quantocoin Cup at the Villa a Sesta Polo Club (Ripaltella – Bucine/Arezzo). In the final match for the gold medal, the Italian team with Gualtiero Giori, Nicolas Lopes Fuentes, the brothers Tomas and Martin Joaquin (MVP) and coach Eduardo Menendez, defeated Team Azerbaijan “Land of Fire” 8-4. For the Azeri Team around Coach Lala Laplacette it was the first time to participate in an European Championship.
Third became Ireland with Creighton Boyd, Michael Henderson as well as Stephen and Max Hutchinson. The title defender won against the young team from Germany (Niklas Steinle, Niclas Sandweg, Caesar and Caspar Crasemann) with a tight result of 5,5-5.
Great victory for the Ladies Team from Germany: Eva Brühl (MVP), Sabrina Bosch, Marie-Luise Haupt and Laura Gissler-Weber are the new European Polo Champions. They defeated title defender Italy, who had won the ever first Ladies European Championship in Chantilly 2017, with a convincing 9-4,5 score.
The 12. FIP European Polo Championship 2018 were held in the wonderful setting of the Villa a Sesta Polo Club, in the heart of Chianti Classico in Tuscany. For the first time two different tournaments were played under the single heading of the FIP European Polo Championships – Quantocoin Cup. The event with 14 teams from 10 nations was organised jointly by the International Polo Federation (FIP), the Italian Equestrian Sports Federation (FISE) and the Villa a Sesta Polo Club (VAS).
www.europeanpolochampionship.com
Photo: Cymon Skinner
