Girls Galore at Polo Park Zürich
Polo Park Zürich was topping itself this year and is fast becoming the hub for female polo in Europe.
33 female players arrived at the field in Seuzach for a 2-day tournament, with 7 teams: a Challenge League with some very young players direct from the Kids Polo in Polo Park Zürich, Leonie Escher and Anna Scherr, and a Medium League, giving the higher goal players a stiff competition and a chance to show off their skill and speed.
Saturday gave us two games for the Challenge League with teams jockeying for their position. In the Medium League it was a round robin with the results being carried over to the Sunday.
The heat is on.
The Sunday had Polo Park Zürich showing itself from its glamorous side – sponsors setting up their stands around a huge hospitality tent, with Fruitmix.ch providing a suitably Mediterranean lunch, fitting to the surroundings and the temperature which was creeping up above the 30° mark. Guests could stroll around the pop-up stands providing products as wide-ranging as Manuka honey from New Zealand Swissmanukaenthusiasts, to a touch of Argentina by Pampa Origine, cigars from ZigarrenKurier or Italian fashion by KA/NOA .The first two games were for the Challenge League Trophy and here Team Polo Park Zürich defeated Team Hato and took third place. The fight for first place between Team Jolies Filles and Team Black Hound was close, but the final minutes of the last chukker saw Black Hound slice in the deciding goal for a 4-3 win with their team of a strong Kira Wetzel, a hardworking Janique Spillmann, Antonia Sturzeis and Kathrin Gralla who shared with Katharina Donhauser.
And it gets hotter
This was proving to be the hottest day of the summer but, while the clinking of glasses was soothing, spectators were turning their attention back to the field as the Medium League was about to begin. Team Archies with Aline Haerry, Vivi Sauter, Uli Gabrin and Polina Nazarova, had shown attacking intent from the start, entering each game with the kind of focused ferocity associated with that determination to take home the trophy. The big question was, could they get the job done? Team Clinique La Prairie , Beata Dudler, Katja Grauwiler, Morgan Van Overbroek and Rosanna Turk, were ready to take on the challenge. It was a fast and physical game with some solid ride-offs and Rosanna Turk’s sprints to goal running smack into the defensive pairing of Polina Nazarova and Uli Gabrin. Aline Haerry was not just a link player but a finisher – the goal-getter for Team Archies. Vivi Sauter’s hammer shots down the sideline were real crowd pleasers. With the win against Clinique La Prairie, Team Archies were on their way to victory. But there were more games to come, with Team Clinique La Prairie up against Team Jouët, Sammy Joe Strub, Leah Kawamoto, Lorena Renggli and Anja Gutbrod. Despite the international group of lively supporters for Lorena Renggli firing her team on and a brave defence put up by Leah Kawamoto, Morgan Van Overbroek kept her composure and combined with Rosanna Turk to get the better of this game.
It was now up to Team Perrier-Jouët to put a spanner in the works as they took on the formidable Team Archies. They certainly pulled out all the stops and had a good go at it, but Team Archies’s game just seemed to get better and they could push Team Perrier-Jouët into third place.
And so we had a winner. Team Archies. Vivi Sauter’s pony, Cumbia, won BPP and for the Medium League Polina Nazarova was MVP. Lea Köchli won MVP for the Challenge League. But at Polo Park Zürich everyone get prizes. The players were weighed down with gifts from sponsors and vouchers for restaurants and hotels.
After-Polo
It was a splendid afternoon and the polo field was the perfect place to be. DJZoe was pumping out the music, the field-side bars were still open and umbrellas and sun-hats gave us the shade needed. The after-polo party was on!
Text by Jan Marie Kiesel
Images: © Guadalupe Aizaga from Click Polo and PPZ
Challenge League
JOLIES FILLES
Lea Köchli
Claudia de / Annette Fetscherin
Shiva-Cosma Strub
Belen Podesta / Ann Meier
POLO PARK ZÜRICH
Franziska Fuhrer
Marta Gabrin
Rafaela Semedo / Katalin Siklasi
Sue Ann Strub
BLACK HOUND SPORTS
Kathrin Gralla / Katharina Donhauser
Antonia Sturzeis
Janique Spillmann
Kira Wetzel
HATO
Leonie Oescher / Anna Scherr / Valeria Sprungli / Romina Quimey
Alexandra Roudneva
Sibylle Grass
Laure Morel
Medium League
CLINIQUE LA PRAIRIE (+11)
Beata Dudler, CH (+2)
Kata Grauwiler, CH (+2)
Morgan Van Overbroek, BE (+2)
Rosanna Turk, GB (+5)
ARCHIES (+8)
Aline Haerry CH, (+2)
Ulrike Gabrin DE, (+2)
Polina Nazarova PL, (+2)
Viviane Sauter CH, (+2)
PERRIER JOUËT (+8)
Sammy Joe Strub, CH (+2)
Leah Kawamoto, JP/DE (+2)
Lorena Renggli, CH/BR (+2)
Anja Gutbrod, CH (+2)
PROGRAM
Friday 1st July
19:00 hs Team presentation & Apero (players only event)
Saturday 2nd July
14.00 hs Challenge League: Black Hound Sports vs HATO
15.00 hs Challenge League : Jolies Filles vs Polo Park Zürich
16.00 hs Medium League : Clinique La Prairie vs Perrier-Jouët
Archies vs Perrier-Jouët
Archies vs Clinique La Prairie
Sunday 3rd July
11.00 hs Challenge League: 3rd and 4th Place
12.00 hs Final Challenge League
13.00 hs Final Medium League : Clinique La Prairie vs Archies
Clinique La Prairie vs Perrier-Jouët
Archies vs Perrier-Jouët
14.30 hs Prize Ceremony
Umpires: Manuel Carranza, Martin & Francisco Podesta
