Perhaps you’ve heard of polo, one of the most dangerous, expensive, and beautiful sports in the world, sometimes referred to as “the sport of Kings”—but have you heard of Snow Polo? It’s exactly what it sounds like—cold-weather polo played on a groomed field of snow—but also far more glamorous than you imagine. Maybe that’s partly due to location: its alternately found in St. Moritz or the star-studded ski enclave of Aspen, Colorado, where the St. Regis hosts the only Snow Polo event in North America in a nod to their founding family, the Astors, who were a prominent fixture at polo matches on Manhattan’s Governors Island. This week the St. Regis kicked off the festive and social season with the 10th annual World Snow Polo Championships led by their brand ambassador, and the world’s most famous polo player regardless of climate, Nacho Figueras.
“It keeps getting better,” said Figueras of the event. (He was on something of a high after his native Argentina’s win in the World Cup earlier in the week.) Figueras is a frequent visitor to Aspen and has participated in the event every year since its inception, and did the rounds before the games began, high-fiving younger fans from the field with his mallet. The championships have become an increasingly family affair, with Figueras playing for the St. Regis team alongside Melissa Ganzi, whose family is behind the Aspen Valley Polo Club, and whose son, Grant, played with Figueras’ son, Hilario, on the Blade and Bow team opposite their parents. In an exciting turn of events tough on proud but experienced competitors, the younger generation ultimately took home the gold.
