News from the 7th Berenberg Snow-Polo
January 20 – 23, 2011, Davos Klosters
Text & Photos by Tony Ramirez – Images of Polo
www.imagesofpolo.com
Aston Martin, lead by captain and tournament director Daniel Waechter alongside Marcel Geser and Argentinean Oscar Mancini beat team Berenberg 12-10.
The Swiss Alpine resort of Klosters was once again the focus of the polo-playing world this weekend whilst hosting the Berenberg Snow Polo Klosters international tournament. The five teams, consisting of Aston Martin, Berenberg Bank, Financial Times How To Spend It, Parmigiani/Maissen and Hackett, featured a number of key international players who competed in this spectacular setting.
Some 7,000 spectators watched over the weekend, enjoying the festival type atmosphere surrounding the event which featured stylish boutiques, cafes and bars as well as live music and a lazer show each evening. The return of the annual pig Grand National was a popular highlight too.
The international media are buzzing with the glamorous appearance of British model, celebrity and businesswoman Katie Price who joined the tournament this year as a sponsor, with her brand KP Equestrian supporting the junior snow polo tournament alongside the sponsorship support of Barbados. She personally gave the winners prizes from her KP Equestrian range.
In ideal conditions team Aston Martin, lead by captain and tournament director Daniel Waechter alongside Marcel Geser and Argentinean Oscar Mancini beat team Berenberg 12-10. The Berenberg team comprised of the high class trio of Fred Hervey, Simon Arber and Jamie LeHardy, could not make up for the 3 goal difference in handicap, despite the beautifully prepared snow pitch.
Already in the qualifying games Aston Martin, led by Captain Daniel Waechter, beat team Financial Times How To Spend It 12-9 and Hackett 11-8. They qualified directly to the finals on the Sunday. Title Sponsor team Berenberg Bank won over team Parmigiani/Maissen 11-9, with an incredible 10 goals scored by LeHardy himself. A tie of 7-7 against Financial Times How To Spend It was enough to get them qualified for the finals. The three remaining teams fought for 3rd place in Round Robin format on Sunday morning.
With a hcp advantage of 3 goals team Aston Martin pushed hard for victory from the very start of the final game and scored after just one minute of play. A few seconds later team Berenberg struck back and celebrated their first goal. After the first chukka the score was 4-8 and in the second chukka team Aston Martin only scored once. However following an exchange of horses the goals then came rapidly on both sides and team Berenberg closed to 8-10. But in the crucial last chukka team Berenberg could not close the gap any further and finally lost 10-12 to the triumphant Aston Martin players.