The Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz (formerly Polo World Cup on Snow, or Cartier Polo World Cup on Snow Sankt Moritz) is a polo tournament that has been held annually since 1985 (the world premiere of polo on snow) on the frozen Lake St. Moritz in the Switzerland will be held.
The first polo field in St. Moritz was built in 1899, one of the first in continental Europe. It served as a pastime for the English soldiers stationed here. After the stationed English cavalry was withdrawn, polo was no longer played in St. Moritz for a long time. The St. Moritz Polo Club was founded in 1959. P. R. Berry became the first president. Summer tournaments were held between 1960 and 1964. To mark the preparations for the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, the polo field was converted into a high-altitude training center for athletes. In 1978, Reto G. Gaudenzi founded a St. Moritz polo team that played worldwide.
In 1983 Berry died and Christian Mathis took over as president. Reto G. Gaudenzi founded the Swiss Polo Association (SPA) Swiss Polo Association and the Swiss National Polo Team. This year the first international match by an all-Swiss team took place in Barcelona. Switzerland won against Spain 7:6, a sensation in polo.
On the initiative of Reto G. Gaudenzi, the first polo tournament was played on the frozen Lake St. Moritz in 1985. In 1991, the newly designed polo field was opened, which also made international summer games possible. In 1993 the FIP European Polo Championship took place. Switzerland with Captain Reto G. Gaudenzi, Francisco Schlachti, Piero Dillier and Mario Zindel came sensationally third and won the bronze medal. In 1994, a polo horse pool was founded in order to always have enough training horses on site. Two years later, in 1995, the FIP Polo World Championship took place. The winner was Brazil, second was Argentina and third was England. Switzerland reached sixth place. The games were broadcast live worldwide by Swiss television SRF. To mark the 20th anniversary of the Polo World Cup on Snow, the anniversary book entitled “20 Years Cartier Polo World Cup on Snow St. Moritz” was published. Since 2015, the tournament has been called the “Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz”. It is played under a new sponsorship, Evviva Polo St. Moritz AG, which is again grouped around the former initiator Reto G. Gaudenzi.
The Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz is held as a polo tournament in the top division (high goal) and is considered the world’s most prestigious and highest endowed tournament on snow. Four high goal teams with handicaps between 15 and 22 goals compete every year for the coveted “Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz Trophy”.
