The Agency Plays St. Regis In St. Regis World Snow Polo Championship Final Thursday At Rio Grande Park

ASPEN, Colo., December 19, 2024---The stage is set for one of the most competitive finals in the history of the St. Regis World Snow Polo Championship Thursday at Rio Grande Park.

By Sharon Robb

At 12:30 p.m., The Agency will play hometown favorite St. Regis for the coveted trophy.

In Wednesday's qualifying action, The Agency, making its debut, (Grant Ganzi, Jason Crowder, Pierre Henri Ngoumou) held off Aspen Valley Polo Club (Sarah Siegel-Magness, Jesse Bray, Geronimo Obregon), 9-8, to advance to the final.

"Smiles all around," Crowder said after the game.

In the other semifinal, St. Regis (Tony Calle, Nacho Figueras, Alejandro Novillo Astrada) looked impressive with a 13-7 victory over Edmiston (Teo Calle, Nic Roldan, Sugar Erskine).

In other Thursday championship games, Aspen Valley Polo Club will play Edmiston for the High Alpine Cup at 1:30 p.m.; Casablanca plays Petrossian for the Maroon Bells Cup at 2:20 p.m. and Hennessy Paradis meets Arhaus for the Aspen Cup at 3 p.m.

At 2:15 p.m., the second annual Potamkin Charity Chukker, benefitting Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation and Calaway-Young Cancer Center and featuring Grant Ganzi playing in honor of his grandfather, will be held.

The Potamkin Charity Chukker honors well-respected and beloved Aspen resident Robert Potamkin, the father of Melissa Ganzi, who passed away in November, 2023. The philanthropist and automotive magnate had an indomitable spirit and passion for community. His legacy goes beyond his business achievements. Each goal scored by either Potamkin Black or Potamkin Yellow in the chukker earns a donation to the hospitals.

In front of a packed house including actresses Rebel Wilson and Anna Kendrick, the competition was fierce in the semifinals on the hard-packed, fast surface.

The Agency, leading 8-5 in the fourth chukker, held off a late rally spearheaded by Bray with three goals. Ganzi ended up scoring what turned out to be the winning goal after winning the throw-in.

The Agency got balanced scoring from its lineup. Ganzi and Ngoumou each had three goals. Crowder added two and had three steals. Bray had four goals and Obregon, making his snow polo debut, added three for Aspen Valley Polo Club which was also awarded a penalty one.

St. Regis dominated Edmiston in the second half to clinch the win. After a 5-5 first half, St. Regis took control behind Calle, the catalyst of the team. St. Regis scored six goals in the third chukker to pull away.

Figueras and Astrada shared scoring honors for St. Regis, each with five goals. Calle added one. Roldan led Edmiston with five goals.

In the opening game of the Maroon Bells Cup, Petrossian (Kevin Schmeits, Becky Schmeits, Sugar Erskine) defeated Hennessy Paradis (Taggart Mills, Jason Crowder, James Byrd), 2-1, behind Becky Schmeits two goals including the game-winner with 1:45 left in the second chukker.

In the second qualifier, Casablanca (Miles Rich, Pierre Henri Ngoumou, Grant Ganzi) downed Arhaus (Britt Burtz, Vinny Sangaline, Nacho Figueras), 4-3, behind Rich's game-high four goals.

In the Celebrity Chukker, Lugano (Michael Calle, Nacho Figueras, Grant Ganzi) defeated Sterling Club (Jason Crowder, Mike Sang, Sterling Jones), 3-1, behind Calle's three goals.

For the 12th consecutive year, Aspen Valley Polo Club owners Melissa and Marc Ganzi are hosting the world-class event which has joined St. Moritz as one of the world's top snow polo tournaments and one of Aspen's major international sporting events. The event is one of the world's top snow polo tournaments, only snow polo tournament in North America and final stop on the 2024 World Polo Tour.

Last year Casablanca won its first World Snow Polo Championship. In front of a soldout crowd, Casablanca (Grant Ganzi, 3, Hilario Figueras, 5, Nic Roldan, 9) held off Aspen Valley (Jason Crowder, 6, Marc Ganzi, 1, Adolfo Cambiaso, 10) in a hardfought 8-6 victory.

Go Rentals, the sole preferred rental car provider for the World Polo League, is also a major sponsor for the St. Regis World Polo Snow Polo Championship. The premier provider of elite vehicle rentals tailored for private aviation and luxury travel, was recently nominated for the 2024 Los Angeles Business Journal Disruptors Award signifying its approach to enhancing the travel experience and reshaping personalized service.

With a vision for the community and surrounding areas, philanthropists Marc and Melissa Ganzi resurrected the club and polo in 2014. Since then polo has increased in popularity in Aspen and surrounding cities during the summer.

The club's offerings are various weekly grass and arena tournaments, Arena & Asado Nights, Kidz Polo, Kids Wheelie Polo, Gymkhana, Christmas In July, The Polo School at AVPC and Polo On Demand. In addition, the club offers practice sessions for teams competing in the club tournaments on more than six world-class fields. There are also indoor and outdoor polo arenas. There is the Polo School for all ages and ability levels and operates in Carbondale.