76
T
hehillsarealivewiththesoundofprivatejets.The
aircraftglisteninthesunastheythreadtheirflight
pathintotheEngadinvalleytowardSt.Moritz,
flankedbysnow-coatedslopes.Photographershop-
ingtoscorea celebrityshotmillaroundontheedge
oftherunway,wherea vintageRolls-Royceanda
racing-greenPorscheMacanawaittheirmasters.
Passengersincashmereshawlsandcascadingfursareswiftly
reunitedwiththeirGucciweekendbags,thenwhiskeddown
thehillforoneoftheglitziestgatheringsonSwitzerland’ssocial
calendar:theSnowPoloWorldCupSt.Moritz.
OnthelastweekendinJanuary,theskiresortbecomesthe
icydiademoftheelitepolocircuit.Thethree-daytournament
featuresfourteamsofglobe-trottingplayersinwhitejeansand
knee-highleatherbootsatopartfullygroomedhorses,chas-
inga cantaloupe-sizeredplasticballacrossa frozen,snow-
coveredlakeastheyswingwillowymallets.Equallyimpressive
is thedisplayontheVIPgrandstand:Spectators,who’vepaid
680 Swissfrancs($684)eachfora daypass,arestackedeight
rowsdeep,holdingglassesofChampagneandpuffingon
cigars.Nottobeoutdone,theircaninecompanionsalsoarrive
instyle:Pugsarepimpedoutinlacquer-shinyMonclerpuff-
ers,papillonspeepfromHermèshandbags,anddachshunds
doncashmerecozies.
Thetournamentis thebrainchildofRetoGaudenzi,who
hatchedtheoutlandishideain 1983 andhaswatchedthe
eventbecomesobigthatit requiresmilitary-styleplanning
coupled with renowned Swiss
technicalknow-how.Anarmyof
workersspendsthreeweeksset-
tinguptheinfrastructureonthe
lake.Thehorseswearprotective
bracesandspecialhoofstudsfor
extragrip.Theoutlaytopulloff
theextravaganzais about2.5mil-
lionfrancsfortheorganizers,and
the tournamentrakesin more
than 12 millionfrancsinadditional
revenuefortheEngadin.“It’sa
uniqueblendofnature,sport,the
mountains,parties—youjustcan’t
findthiscocktailanywhereelse,”
Gaudenzisays.“Andthemoment
thebelltollsforthelastmatch,we
startworkingonnextyear’sevent.
It’sa hugeundertaking.”
This is the only polo com-
petitionanywhereintheworld
playedonice,whichinJanuaryis
about 60 centimeters(24inches)
thick.That’sstrong enoughto
carryalmost3,000tons of tents,
stands, and fences, plus thou-
sands of spectators, who follow
the four teams and their bursts of7½-minute matches, called chukkas. The 100 horses involved
are brought in from Spain, France, and the U.K. several days
before the matches; they’re cared for in state-of-the-art sta-
bles on the banks of the lake.
The field for the tournament is smaller than the grass equiv-
alent, giving spectators more immediate access to the action.
Each player has four horses to substitute between chuk-
kas, and the play is fast and furious: The red ball flies, sticks
whir, and riders shout. The occasional player dismounts or
is forcedoutofthegameonlybecauseofaninjury,almost
alwaysminor.(Majorones,likea hitfroma mallet,are
uncommon—and the horses rarely slip.) After each goal, The
Final Countdown blares from the speakers. The crowd roars,
the commentator unloads a verbal salvo, and the teams realign
their steaming horses for the next attack.
Gaudenzi is quick to point out that the matches don’t cater
only to the well-heeled. Rather, everyone’s welcome, and like
the denizens of first, business, and economy class on a plane,
they all mingle on the ice in between the chukkas. Access to
the lake and a big section of the grandstands is free of charge,
and whether you wait in line for bratwurst or a blob of caviar
spooned directly onto your clenched fist is a matter of personal
preference. “We want to bring the game into a much wider
audience,” says Malcolm Borwick, a professional polo player
from England whose grandmother was on the first U.K. wom-
en’s polo team in the 1920s. “We’re trying to get to the beer
and Coca-Cola audience, to show them that it’s the sum of all
sports: It’s adrenaline, teammates,
horses, physicality—the most tech-
nical sport you’ll ever play.”
For the weekend, a glass of
Perrier-Jouët served in a lime-
green flute (the color is more
Instagrammable,ownerPernod
RicardSAsays)costs 18 francs; a
bottle of its Belle Epoque 2011 vin-
tage runs a cool 360 francs. Soda
and water are a manageable fiver.
Bratwursts notwithstanding,
polo has always attracted a crowd
with more financial firepower than,
say, soccer or baseball. Britain’s
Prince Charles and his offspring
are keen patrons. Brands from La
Martina to Hackett to Polo Ralph
Lauren have built their pedigree
on it; and major sponsors such as
Deutsche Bank, Cartier, Maserati,
and NetJets eagerly line up each
year to host lavish dinners for
loyal or prospective customers in
St.Moritz.
Maserati, which organizes
driving-skill experiences and test
runs on the snow, closes about aSNOW SPECIAL Bloomberg Pursuits October 14, 2019One of many fur-draped spectators