Swiss Medium Goal.... New Vibes

kieseljanmarie
Jun 24
3 min read

There was a new vibe at the Swiss Medium Goal Tournament this year. Club President, Morgan Van Overbroek, told me she had stressed on social media that the tournament was open to everyone; that everyone was welcome. And everyone came! Lots of new faces, a chance to make new friends, swap phone numbers and take selfies together. Groups of spectators came to me to tell me that this was their first polo experience and it certainly would prove to be a good one. A fabulous sunny day, electric polo right up close to the spectator side of the field for once. It seemed almost as if the players wanted to make sure the crowd became part of the action. Players amazed spectators with excellent examples of what polo coaches call "controlled aggression" as they jumped the boards, riding off and hooking sticks, while trying to get the ball away from the boards. Yes, it looked determined, fierce, focused but controlled.

Teams had been jockeying for position over three days with games starting on the Thursday. By Sunday it was clear which teams would be in the final, but position 5,4,and 3 were to be decided with games on the Sunday starting at 10:30. Team Hausammann won the third place slot with a team displaying both confidence and good game management. But in this Round Robin tournament a big shout out should go to the 3 young players Thommy Gräff, Janik Oertli and Nicolas Rogerson, all of them playing off +3

handicap and all locally based players.

Their energy was magnificent. Thommy combined well with Andres Llorente for team Gräff and Friends, while Janik and Nicolas for

team Polo Park Zürich gave skilled displays of teamwork, obviously having played together a lot.

Before the lunch was served in the hospitality tent, our spectators were keen to "stomp the divots", something they'd heard was tradition in polo and, again, another chance for some photos. They helped prepare the field for the perfect final.

The Swiss Medium Goal final pitted team

JBC Software against team Equilibrium. Last year Equilibrium had just missed out on claiming this trophy and came onto the field exuding determination to rewrite the script. JBC were a new team to the Swiss Medium Goal and we were keen to see how they would play under intense pressure from Equilibrium. Did they have a chance? The crowd cheered as players and their ponies were introduced and umpires Nico Scortichini and Tata Jauregi started the game.

The action was immediate with Adrian Fuchs, playing at 2 for Equilibrium in his first medium goal tournment, digging the ball out of the melee. Adi, on his agile pony Pepa, then zipped through a gap to score the first goal for his team. What a start to his medium goal career! Equilibrium were looking confident and calmly felt they had this. At position 4 for Equilibrium Francisco Fucci, always focused, always vibrant, is a great reader of the game, ready to pick up a wild pass and turn this into attack. His Nr.3, the young Manuel Gonzalez, is a tenacious fighter with a lot of pace. Up front and keeping the line to goal open with his strong ride-offs was Daniel Aegerter.

The first half seemed to be going Equilibrium's way. But after the half time break JBC came back onto the field looking fresh and energized. Alarm bells should've been ringing for Equilibrium. The tide began to turn and JBC started to pull ahead. Manuel Carranza, their Nr4, brings a huge amount to experience to the field along with powerful, precise passes. Combine that with the adventurous style of Nr3, Manuel Bereterbide's quick-fire bursts of speed and you have a formidable twosome.

Up front, JBC had Ann-Kathrin Braendle and Sophia Schick providing focus and showing speed with concentration and the determination to go all the way to glory. And they did! By the middle of the 4th chukker the momentum had swung definitely JBC's way and they were a few minutes away from winning this major trophy. Carranza dug deep to maintain the lead and bring his team to victory.

Jubilant JBC gave the crowd a gallop past. Estatic cheers. I had certainly enjoyed my day and spectators obviously had too. Polo Park Zürich now has a whole new group of polo fanatics.