Edmiston Captures High Alpine Cup At St. Regis World Snow Polo; Aspen Valley, Casablanca Play For Title On Sunday

ASPEN, Colo., December 17, 2023---In opening day action on hard-packed snow at Rio Grande Park, Edmiston rallied to win the High Alpine Cup, the first of three finals in the St. Regis World Snow Polo Championship.

By Sharon Robb

Edmiston (Teo Calle, 1, Pancho Bensadon, 8, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, 7), trailing after the opening chukker, rallied for a thrilling 5-4 victory over Blade & Bow (Scott Wood, 2, Juan Martin Nero, 10, Pablo Spinacci, 6) to finish fifth Saturday in front of a packed VIP tent.

Argentine Alejandro Novillo Astrada, playing zone back and field general, was named Most Valuable Player. He scored the only two-pointer of the game from the field's halfway mark.

Edmiston jumped out quickly with back-to-back goals from Calle for a 2-0 lead. Blade & Bow roared back with two goals from Spinacci and one from Nero for a 3-2 advantage after the first chukker. Edmiston regained the lead on Astrada's two-pointer while shutting them out for a 4-3 advantage. Edmiston never trailed after that. After a scoreless third chukker, Calle and Nero each scored goals for their teams. Calle, playing on snow for the first time, scored a game-high three goals to add to Astrada's two-pointer. Nero and Spinacci each had two goals.

On Sunday at 1 p.m. MST, Aspen Valley (Jason Crowder, 6, Marc Ganzi, 1, Adolfo Cambiaso, 10) and Casablanca (Grant Ganzi, 3, Hilario Figueras, 5, Nic Roldan, 9) will play for the coveted title in a highly-anticipated final.

Cambiaso, the sport's greatest all-time player, after making his tournament debut in the arena in Friday's qualifying games, will make his U.S. snow polo debut. Cambiaso has never competed on snow in the U.S. He has played in Argentina. On Friday he gave a sneak preview of what to expect after scoring ten goals including three two-pointers.

After the final, St. Regis (Santos Bollini, 2, Juan Bollini, 6, Nacho Figueras, 6) and NetJets (Ricky Cooper, 3, Pete Webb, 6, Sugar Erskine, 7) will play for third place in the Aspen Cup at 3 p.m. followed by the awards ceremony and trophy presentation.

In other Saturday action, the inaugural Potamkin Charity Cup and Celebrity Polo Match were spirited, crowd-entertaining matchups.

The Potamkin Charity Chukker was held 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 made a donation to charity.

The one chukker matchup was fast and furious with continuous play between Potamkin Yellow (Michael Calle, Sugar Erskine, Pancho Bensadon), earning money for the Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation and Potamkin Black (Grant Ganzi, Alejandro Novillo Astrada, Juan Bollini) earning money for the Calloway Young Cancer Center.

Potamkin Black, jumped out to 6-1, 7-2 and 9-4 leads, before Potamkin Yellow tried to rally in the closing minutes. For Potamkin Black, Astrada led with a game-high five goals, Ganzi had three goals and Bollini added one. Erskine led Potamkin Yellow with four, Calle had two and Bensadon had one.

In the most competitive Celebrity Polo Match in tournament history, Sterling (Vinny Sangaline, Michael Sangaline, Aurora Figueras) defeated Lugano (Federico Farina, Sterling Jones, Michael Calle), 5-2. Vinny Sangaline and Figueras each had two goals for Sterling. Calle had both goals for Lugano.

Before the game, American actress and singer-songwriter Kelley Jakle gave a stirring rendition of the National Anthem and before the Potamkin Charity Chukker had the crowd mesmerized with the song Hallelujah. A moment of silence was held for Potamkin.

Tournament sponsor Edmiston is a global leader in superyachts. Its' expertise in the sale, charter, management of the world's largest and most luxurious yachts is unmatched.

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.

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.

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.