Great players and fast horses: Team Gstaad wins for the second time in a row

In almost tropic conditions, Team Gstaad, led by captain Sébastien Le Page, claimed its second victory at the Hublot Polo Gold Cup Gstaad. To protect the horses, the chukkers were shortened by 30 seconds each due to the high temperatures.

The fact that Team Gstaad won again is firstly highly deserved and secondly not a big surprise," said Pierre E. Genecand, President of the Hublot Polo Gold Cup Gstaad, at the end of the event. For him, it was clear: the difference on the polo field was made by Argentinian Raul Laplacette, the most valuable player of the final and,with 17 goals, also the best scorer of the tournament. "He played incredibly well. Actually, he played for three," enthused Genecand. And French team captain Sébastien Le Page doubled down in the media release: "Raul is unbelievable; he controls the game so much that it seems he does nothing, when in fact he is everywhere and scores an incredible number of goals. I think he is one of the best players in the world!" Team Gstaad very clearly defeated Team Hublot 11-5 in Sunday's final. Le Page added: "Good players and fast horses. Those are the prerequisites to play good polo. We had both."

An event with worldwide media coverage

The organisers summed up the entire polo weekend very positively: beautiful weather, "even if it was a bit hot", as Genecand admitted, and a large audience. "We had a total of about 5000 to 6000 spectators, which is more than in previous years," said the tournament director happily. And for the first time, an Argentinean television team was there to broadcast the games live to Argentina. "Friends from Argentina called me and said they thought the tournament in Gstaad was fantastic," Genecand said, adding that more than 60 journalists from all over the world were there. The worldwide echo was not only very pleasing for the tournament but also a good advertisement for the Saanenland.

When the horses are good - everything is good

But what pleases Pierre E. Genecand most is the fact that there were neither accidents nor injuries. "I spoke to the vets after the Games: All the horses are well and enjoying good health!" he said. Was it too hot for the polo ponies then? "No, the temperatures in Argentina are much higher. The ponies are more used to such temperatures than we are." Nevertheless, to protect the animals, the individual chukkers were shortened by 30 seconds each.

Based on AvS | KEREM S. MAURER

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