For the sixth year in a row, many of the best polo players on the planet will converge in Aspen this week for the St. Regis Snow Polo World Championships. It is the final stop on the 2018 World Polo Tour and is the only snow polo tournament of its kind in North America.
The festivities started Monday with the annual seeding event at the St. Regis Aspen Resort, with qualifying games having been played Tuesday at the Aspen Valley Polo Club’s indoor arena in Carbondale.
The fifth-place match will take place at 1:15 p.m. today on the main tournament field at Rio Grande Park in Aspen. That contest will be followed by a Celebrity Polo Chukker featuring St. Regis and Richard Mille at 2:30 p.m.
Action will conclude Thursday with the championship game at 1 p.m. and subsidiary games at 3 p.m., followed by the well-known VIP tent party. For the first time, a “Snow Ball” will be held Saturday as a benefit for the Aspen Valley Hospital Foundation.
While tickets are required for admittance into the tented area, general viewing of the tournament at Rio Grande Park is free. Well-known polo announcer Jan-Erik Franck will call the action from the field.
U.S. Polo Assn. won the 2017 snow polo title, led by Most Valuable Player Nic Roldan. He played alongside teammates Juancito Bollini and Grant Ganzi. Long considered one of the best players in the United States, Roldan has been named tournament MVP four times in the five-year history of the event.