Aspen Valley, Casablanca Play Sunday For St. Regis World Snow Polo Title; Adolfo Cambiaso Shines In U.S. Snow Polo Tournament Debut

ASPEN, Colo., December 16, 2023---Aspen Valley and Casablanca will play Sunday in the 11th St. Regis World Snow Polo Championship in what's expected to be the the most competitive final in tournament history.

By Sharon Robb

In Friday's qualifying opener, Aspen Valley  (Jason Crowder, 6, Marc Ganzi, 1, Adolfo Cambiaso, 10) defeated Edmiston (Teo Calle, 1, Pancho Bensadon, 8, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 7), 11-4, and St. Regis (Santos Bollini, 2, Juan Bollini, 6, Nacho Figueras, 6), 12-7, to advance into the final.

Cambiaso, the sport's greatest player making his U.S. snow polo tournament debut, scored ten goals including three two-pointers, one on a difficult back shot, at Aspen Valley Polo Club's state-of-the-art indoor arena.

Aspen Valley got balanced scoring from its lineup. In addition to the legendary 10-goaler who needed only one chukker to adjust to playing indoors, Crowder (seven goals) and Ganzi (six goals) also had outstanding games.

In a true final, Aspen Valley led by as many as eight goals, 10-2, before St. Regis started clawing its way back. Against Edmiston, Cambiaso scored his first two-pointer with 10 seconds left in the opening chukker to give his team an 8-2 lead.

Casablanca (Grant Ganzi, 3, Hilario Figueras, 5, Nic Roldan, 9) was just as impressive as Aspen Valley defeating Blade & Bow (Scott Wood, 2, Juan Martin Nero, 10, Pablo Spinacci, 6), 9-6, and NetJets (Ricky Cooper, 3, Pete Webb, 6, Sugar Erskine, 7), 11-8. Casablanca's trio was impressive with Roldan scoring nine goals including a penalty-one, Figueras also with nine goals and Ganzi with two.

Against Blade & Bow, Casablanca jumped out to a 7-2 lead, including five goals by Roldan, early in the second chukker and held them off in the final minutes. Casablanca had another big lead, 11-2, in the second chukker against NetJets before Webb got hot late in the second chukker.

Aspen Valley and Casablanca combined for a record 43 goals with Aspen Valley the highest scoring team with 23. Both teams will be going after their first title.

In other round robin matches, NetJets and  Blade & Bow, tied, 5-5, and St. Regis defeated Edmiston, 10-6. Webb led NetJets with seven goals, including a penalty conversion. Argentine 10-goaler Juan Martin Nero led Blade & Bow with eight goals including a penalty conversion. For St. Regis, Nacho Figueras had six goals including two penalty conversions and Juan Bollini also had six goals including a two-pointer. Alejandro Novillo Astrada led Edmiston with eight goals including a penalty conversion.

Action now moves to Rio Grande Park's snow surface on Saturday and Sunday.

In Saturday action beginning at 1:15 p.m., Blade & Bow will play Edmiston in the High Alpine Cup for fifth and six place followed by the inaugural Potamkin Charity Cup at 2:30 p.m. and Celebrity Polo Match at 3:15 p.m.

The Potamkin Charity Chukker is in honor of beloved Aspen resident Robert Potamkin, the father of Melissa Ganzi, who passed away recently. Each goal scored in the Potamkin Charity Chukker will make a donation to charity. Potamkin Yellow (Teo or Michael Calle, Sugar Erskine, Pancho Bensadon) will earn money for the Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation and Potamkin Black (Grant Ganzi, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Juan Bollini) will earn money for the Calloway Young Cancer Center.

The Celebrity Polo Match will feature Lugano (Federico Farina, Sterling Jones, Michael Calle) against Sterling (Mike Sangaline, Vinny Sangaline, Aurora Figueras).
 
On Sunday after the championship final at 1 p.m. will be the Aspen Cup, featuring St. Regis and NetJets at 3 p.m. followed by the awards ceremony.

One of the world's top snow polo tournaments and only snow polo tournament held in North America, is the final stop of the World Polo Tour. It's also one of Aspen's major international sporting events, attracting fans from all over the world.

For the eleventh consecutive year, Aspen Valley Polo Club owners Melissa and Marc Ganzi are hosting the world-class event in a holiday setting against a backdrop of snow-covered mountains, kicking off the holiday social season in Aspen.

Ticket information can be found at aspenvalleypoloclub.com. Games are free for spectators standing around the arena fencing. The event is a fundraiser for the Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation and Calloway Young Cancer Center. Donations are welcome.

In last year's thrilling finish, Blade & Bow won its first St. Regis World Snow Polo Championship. Blade & Bow (Grant Ganzi, 3, Hilario Figueras, 6, Tommy Biddle, 9) rallied from a four-goal deficit to defeat St. Regis (Melissa Ganzi, 0, Nacho Figueras, 6, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 7), 9-8, in front of a soldout  VIP tent and worldwide CTV Sports audience.

Other past winners are: 2021, Richard Mille (Sarah Siegel Magness, Jesse Bray, Pablo MacDonough); 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).

With the majestic 12,965-foot summit of Mount Sopris as a backdrop, Aspen Valley Polo Club has become the world's destination spot for summer and snow polo.     

Since Marc and Melissa Ganzi resurrected the Carbondale-based 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.