Chasing Silver

By Lisa Duncan

At the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club, next Sunday’s winners won’t simply take home a trophy.

Their names will be engraved in silver and entered into the Blue Book, joining a tradition that stretches back generations at one of America’s most storied polo clubs.

With the Pacific Coast Circuit Intra-Circuit Cup entering its final weekend, the race for a place in polo history continues.

Among the teams gaining momentum is Quite on Z, led by fiery Brazilian patrona Alecia Seidler, one of the few women competing at this level. Seidler has spent more than a decade devoted to the sport and arrived in Santa Barbara determined to contend.

Her team certainly made its intentions clear on Sunday.

Quite on Z delivered one of the tournament’s strongest performances, defeating Meadowbrook Farm 16-8 behind standout play from Hilario Figueras, Santino Magrini, and Marcos Alberdi. Their balanced attack and relentless pressure kept Meadowbrook Farm’s talented lineup – Carlos Gracida Jr., Lucas Criado, Vance Miller, and Taggart Mills – on the defensive throughout much of the afternoon.

Despite the result, Meadowbrook Farm remains one of the tournament’s most formidable contenders heading into championship Sunday.

The 12-goal season has long served as the prologue to Santa Barbara’s celebrated high-goal summer, where rising stars, seasoned professionals, and legendary polo families test their mettle beneath the Carpinteria foothills.

Now the focus turns to championship Sunday. By evening’s end, one team will have silver in hand, a place in the Blue Book, and a small piece of club history. Until then, the chase continues.

Sightings 

Oprah Winfrey in a Hawaiian “Blessing of the Hands” ceremony, for a state-of-the-art CT scanner she just donated to Maui Memorial Medical Center… Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones soaking up the glamour of the Monaco Grand Prix before returning to Rome to their brand new penthouse with a Basilica view… Katy Perry on a picnic blanket date with Justin Trudeau in a local park, unwinding after the SoFi Stadium’s World Cup opening festivities Friday night… Adam Levine lugging a 45-pound kettlebell up a hot L.A. hiking trail Saturday, with the Maroon 5 frontman looking positively pumped…

From Richard and Friends to all of you … Pip! Pip!