The Polo Blog made the journey to one of the most popular tourist destinations in Germany last month to witness the finals of the 16th edition of the Sal. Oppenheim Gold Cup. The windswept island of Sylt – or the Queen of the North Sea as she is also known – provided a great setting for the annual tournament.

Around 4,000 spectators showed up despite of some heavy rain showers the night before. And because of those same showers, leaving the polo field slightly moist, chukkas were shortened to 5.5 minutes and the first game a little delayed; a little surprising for visitors from England where polo in the pouring rain is a very common scenario.

Sal. Oppenheim – with Jo Schneider (0) Valentines Novillo Astrada (+5), Tatu Gomez Romero (+4) and Sven Schneider (+3) – took home the Oppenheim Gold Cup.  Team Lanson with Thomas Winter (5) in the line-up, the highest handicapped German player, had to be content with the second place.

See below for a few snaps of the action on the field.