Champagne on ice at ‘Wimbledon of snow polo’

Below the pistes, it’s time for snow polo.

Winter in the Swiss resort sees a group of dedicated players transform a frozen lake into a battlefield of hooves and mallets.

“We couldn’t wait until summer came again, so we had to be creative,” explains Reto Gaudenzi, who organizes the tournament.

And if sending a bunch of horses onto a frozen lake sounds like a recipe for disaster, Gaundezi points out: “Horses on snow are not new.”

St Moritz has been doing this for a while. Its annual snow polo event began in 1985 and, since 1907, a series of horse races dubbed the “White Turf” have been staged each February, involving not just hockeys but “skijorers” who ride behind their horse, on skis.

“The question is how to play sport on the lake, with the abrupt motion that polo has,” continues Gaudenzi.

“If you bring caviar, you’ll make some friends.”

You’ll be paying upwards of $500 to get at the chefs and champagne, who are there to serve the many VIPs who descend on St Moritz each year.

But, as Gaudenzi points out, admission to the lakeside grandstand is free.

“You go there, you buy your sausage, you drink your beer, you watch snow polo,” he instructs.

“You have the snow, the cold, the blue sky, the mountains — the horses, you see the steam — it’s high-class polo. It’s the best tournament in the world.”

CNN