Mon 2nd Feb 2015Cartier dominate in the 2015 Final of the Snow Polo World Cup, St MoritzHistoric hat-trick of wins Final for Munro Ford's Cartier Team In front of packed grandstands and with the Swiss sun shining brightly, Jonathan Munro Ford's Cartier team of Max Charlton, Jamie Morrison and Chris Hyde, clinched victory by convincingly beating the BMW team, 10 goals to 2 ½. Unbeaten in the earlier qualifying matches, Munro Ford's team was unstoppable from the start of the Final with all four Cartier players demonstrating close team-work in both attack and defence. Pony power was also in Cartier's favour, as each valiant attack by BMW was quickly shut down. Team Cartier had all brought their own ponies over from the UK, whereas some of the other teams had hired, and the consensus was that this had contributed heavily to Cartier's dominance. Jonathan Munro Ford spoke to Polo Times about the Final: “We knew BMW were very good; we’d seen them play in the game the day before where they’d beaten one of the favourites of the tournament, Badrutt’s Palace. So we were quite geared up for the match. “We were inspired to really get out there and perform as strongly as possible. So we were lucky in the sense that we managed to get the team chemistry fairly early on and we kept the momentum going trying to avoid that typical lull that you get when you score a couple of goals ahead. Luckily thanks to the boys, we managed to keep that momentum going. High point for the week is today – just the build up for the Final, because it is very tough having all the social activities going on and not being able to drink and enjoy as you normally would and just focusing on doing well in the games if you can. Sometimes it means you have to keep at an arms length to a certain extent, but when it pays off, like today, then it’s worthwhile. “ For Morrison, who was the only new player for Cartier in 2015, the win was particularly poignant, as his father, the late Bryan Morrison, had also won in St. Moritz playing for Cartier in 1998. For the 2015 Final, Jamie's mother Greta was wearing the Cartier watch that Bryan had won in that '98 Final as a lucky talisman for Jamie – and it clearly paid off. At the presentation, Hyde was deservedly awarded Most Valuable Player, although that is not to underestimate the collective Cartier Team effort. Celebrations continued at the Kings Club at Badrutt’s Palace for all the Cartier Team with Crystal champagne flowing well into the early hours. For a full report, please see the March issue of Polo Times. Photograph: Team Cartier win the 2015 Snow Polo World Cup in St. Moritz. By Richenda Hine. |