Another Season in Polo Paradise

Polo has long been known as the “Sport of Kings,” and while it’s true that Prince William played at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club (SBPRC) in 2011 to celebrate the 100th anniversary, and then new-Montecito resident Prince Harry played real matches at the club, you don’t have to be royalty, a mover and shaker, or anybody special at all to enjoy the season at the Carpinteria club. 

Many locals may not be aware of this “open arms” polo policy, and for good reason.  SBPRC’s new posture is a relatively recently development, the club now making a genuine effort to welcome all and trumpeting the fact that the weekend matches at the club are open to the general public. Opening day of the club’s 2026 Polo Season is on Sunday, May 3, kicking off another summer of “Polo in Paradise,” where visitors can enjoy the truly world-class athleticism of an international polo player elite at their collective peak. For the uninitiated we’ll just mention here that this thrilling largesse transpires at a seaside location offering chatty elegance and/or a casual atmosphere touched by ocean breezes – depending on your preference. 

It’s no exaggeration to say that the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club is the spot for polo in the summertime. Meaning, our sun-soaked back yard is where most of the world’s best players congregate to play. It’s the same phenomenon that draws artists and entertainers here in numbers that belie our demure terrestrial footprint. The crème des amoureux du soleil are naturally drawn to our spectacular venues and adoring audiences. 

There’s a logical reason for that, said Henry Walker, president of the board of directors. 

“Santa Barbara attracts the world of polo because it’s Santa Barbara. The American Riviera is a rare place you can go in May-August and not have really hot temperatures and terrible humidity. It’s a great place to finish out the year of polo in a place they like to be, that their wives and families like to be, because… it’s Santa Barbara.” 

Walker should know. His family started playing polo in Santa Barbara in 1953. Henry began competing back in 1978 with the team sponsored by his family’s business, Farmers & Merchants Bank. 

Say what, now? The team owner plays alongside professionals? 

Yes, indeed. Which is another thing that makes polo unique. Unlike, say, baseball (for instance), where the Dodgers can win two world series in a row by wildly outspending the competition, each polo team of four players is assembled with the requirement of a total team rating (like a gold handicap) that doesn’t exceed the skill level of the tournament. This ensures that teams of similar overall ability compete against each other, yielding more balanced, competitive matches.

That’s unusual enough to dissuade some people from checking it out, on top of not understanding the sport and why it’s worth watching. 

So here are some facts about polo, none of which you need to know to enjoy the game, but still… 

There are four players on each team, each competing atop a horse. The object of the game is to move the polo ball down the field, hitting the ball through the goal posts to score. The field is 300 yards long and 160 yards wide, which is roughly 10 football fields. The match lasts about 1 ½ to 2 hours and is divided into periods of 7 ½ minutes called chukkers (don’t ask). Most of the rules are for the safety of the polo players and their ponies with the basic concept that the line of the ball after it’s struck establishes a right-of-way. Crossing it unsafely draws a foul. 

They say that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports, but that’s nonsense compared to accurately striking a polo ball, which is made of hard plastic and, unlike a baseball, isn’t tossed out as soon as it gets dirty, but remains in play despite multiple deformations. All you have is a mallet with a wispy rod – with which you must exactingly strike the ball while on top of a horse barreling along at speeds that might get you a ticket on a highway. 

“The horse is as much an athlete as the player,” Walker said, pointing out that the sport is so taxing for the animals that they are subbed out every chukker, sometimes even more frequently. “Each polo player oversees their own professional sports team. They just happen to be made up of horses.”

Polo in Paradise’s schedule features tournament play that progresses from a 12 Goal Series in May and June (team total rating [see above] can’t exceed 12), to the 16-Goal Series in July and August – featuring the most highly-rated professionals and the prestigious Pacific Coast Open – before concluding with the 8 Goal Series in September and October. Every week, spectators can enjoy the Friday Happy Hour match at 4 pm with free admission, or attend the Sunday Polo afternoon affairs that are as much about the social scene as they are the sport itself, where you can channel your inner Julia Roberts–Richard Gere in Pretty Woman for the Pony Parade, team introductions, and more festivities preceding the 3:30 pm game. 

Guests can sit in the grandstand, spring for a box or cabana, orenjoy the matches from the Polo Grill outside the clubhouse with a midfield view of the action. 

Visit https://sbpolo.com for details, club history, team rosters, schedules and tickets