On a historical day in snow polo, Intocast won an unprecedented third consecutive title Sunday at the 22nd Bendura Bank Snow Polo World Cup.
By Sharon Robb
In front of a soldout crowd, the threesome of team captain Matthias Normann of Austria, 1, and Argentina duo Micky Duggan, 5, and Martin Donovan, 6, defeated World Polo League (Daren Tamplin, 0, Grant Ganzi, 3, Nic Roldan, 9), 11-7, in the eight-team international tournament. Intocast also won in 2024 and 2023.
For the second year in a row, Donovan swept Most Valuable Player and Best Playing Pony honors. Copado, a 16-year-old gelding played by Donovan and owned by Normann, was Best Playing Pony.
In the Casablanca Cup final, Bentley (Melissa Ganzi, 0, Martin Jauregui, 5, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 7) emerged victorious with an impressive 10-7.5 win over Tiger Frontier Scaleluna (Peter Cromm/Leopold Cromm, 0, Agustin Wagner, 4, Richard Blake Thomas, 6). Ganzi scored five goals.
In other Sunday games on the newly-prepared polo field in Reith with the snow-covered Wilder Kaiser Mountain Range as a backdrop:
Bendura Bank (Jonathan Tidswell-Pretorius, 1, Pelayo Berazadi, 6, Tito Gaudenzi, 3)defeated Casablanca (Glenn Lostritto, 0, Juan Redlich, 4, Naco Taverna, 6), 10-8, for the AIX Cup for seventh and eighth places.
Engel & Volkers (Jan-Hendrik Tobbe, 0, Agustin Kronhaus, 5, Adrian Laplacette, 6) defeated Veuve Clicquot (Christian Grimme, 1, Lukas Sdrenka, 3, Gaston Maria Begueri, 6), 7-5.5 for third and fourth place in the Kitzbuhel Country Club Cup.
On Saturday, World Polo League advanced to the final with a come-from-behind 7-6 victory over Engel & Volkers. Bentley beat Bendura Bank, 8-3.5 to advance to the Casablanca Cup final. In other games, Intocast returned to the final with a 8-5.5 win over Veuve Clivquot and Tiger Frontier/Scaleluna defeated Casablanca, 5-3.
In opening day action on Friday, World Polo League, World Polo League edged Bentley, 8-7 in a wild finish with Grant Ganzi scoring the winning goal in the final seconds. In other games, Engel & Volkers defeated Casablanca, 9-6.5; Veuve Clicquot downed Tiger Frontier/Scaleluna, 5-4; and Intocast topped Bendura Bank, 11-6.5.
Melissa Ganzi was the first woman to win the Bendura Bank Snow Polo World Cup Kitzbuhel in 2018 with teammates Alejandro Novillo Astrada and Tito Gaudenzi.
Action now moves to this week’s 40th edition of the St. Moritz Snow Polo Tournament (Jan. 24-26) where Wellington, Fla.-based Grand Champions Polo Club is again well-represented for the second tournament in a row.
Grant Ganzi, 26, will captain Team Mackage with teammates Benji Daniels, 1, Fred Mannix, 7, Nic Roldan, 7, and Tommy Collingwood, 5. In December, Grant Ganzi won the St. Regis World Snow Polo Tournament in Aspen as a member of first-year team The Agency with teammates Pierre Henri Ngoumou and Jason Crowder.
Melissa Ganzi will captain Team World Polo League with teammates Jason Crowder, 5, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 7, and Mariano Gracida, 4.
During the winter polo season, Grand Champions Polo Club, the nation’s largest and most innovative USPA-sanctioned polo club nestled in the heart of the world’s winter equestrian capital, hosts a wide range of tournaments: 6, 8, 12, 20, and 26-goal leagues, Polo School Women’s Weekly Polo League, WCT Finals, several Polo Training Foundation junior tournaments, World Polo League Pride and Sunset Chukkers & Cocktails at both Grand Champions and Santa Rita Polo Farm.
The 26-goal World Polo League that begins in February is the highlight of the season for the club. The WPL, the only 26-goal polo played outside of Argentina, is now entering its seventh season with some of the world’s top players including 10-goalers Pablo MacDonough and Tommy Panelo.
Other high goal season highlights are the Jan. 30-Feb 9 Sterling Cup (18-22 goals), Feb. 5-22 $100,000 World Cup (0-40 goals) and Feb. 24-March 8 Santa Rita Abierto (18-22 goals).
Other January tournaments are the Metropolitan 6 Goal Cup, Aspen Valley 8-Goal and Limited Edition 12-Goal Series. The GCPC Women’s Weekly Women’s Polo League also gets under way Jan. 22 and runs through April 9. It is the longest running women’s league in the world.
Grand Champions and Santa Rita Polo Farm is the largest and most unique private 102-acre polo facility in Wellington with 212 stalls in nine self-contained barns, two tracks, five climate-controlled tack rooms, vet room, staff quarters, guest house and four polo fields with state-of-the-art underground irrigation and short work arena. The club has 10 well-manicured world-class fields at GCPC and Santa Rita.
Grand Champions Polo Club caters to men, women and youth polo players at all levels. Its’ expert staff can customize a complete playing experience including horses, pros and certified umpires in addition to lessons and practice sessions as part of its’ Polo On Demand program.
The Polo School, now located at the former Pony Express facility, operates in Wellington January through May and September through November. The stand-alone USPA-sanctioned polo club is dedicated to teaching polo to all ages, particularly grass roots youth. Its mission is to provide individuals opportunities in polo at every economic and ability level. The Polo School has nurtured several junior, men and women polo players now playing in the pro and amateur ranks since its inception.
For more information on leagues or Polo School contact Juan Bollini at 561-346-1099 or Cale Newman at 561-876-2930.