Pacific Coast Crown

“It was close! A big battle. It’s an amazing feeling to win,” said Most Valuable Player Nachi Viana after Klentner Ranch captured the Pacific Coast Open Sunday afternoon, defeating La Karina 16–9 at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club.

For Jake Klentner, the victory still felt unreal. “It’s just amazing. I still can’t believe it,” he said after the final chukker. 

And there were spills. Multiple players were dismounted, including Viana, while one horse-and-rider combination crashed into a goal post hard enough to knock it down and send the player out of the saddle. USPA Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel Bob McMurtry summed it up: “Very exciting! Just full of adrenaline.” McMurtry has served as Central Circuit Governor and Chairman of the PoloDevelopment Initiative, and led the Chicago Polo Association.

Klentner Ranch fielded Jake Klentner, Nachi Viana, Jesse Bray and Justin Klentner against La Karina’s Brian Boyd, Carlos Gracida Jr., Felipe Vercellino and Lucas Escobar. Viana repeatedly found the goal as Klentner Ranch pulled away in the later chukkas, with Bray helping drive the attack.

Watching from the sidelines, the fashionable social set rubbed elbows with equestrians Victoria and Wesley Ru, who saw something larger than the score. “It was fantastic! This is what makes polo such an exciting game. To see the families of incredible players here at this polo club is amazing. It’s generational.”

Among those taking in the afternoon were Ursula and Pat Nesbitt, Chuck and Margarita Lande, and Dr. Madison Richardson, who hosted a tent filled with family.

At the trophy presentation, Viana received MVP honors from SB Polo Club Board President Henry Walker and McMurtry. Best Playing Pony went to Cocina, played by Jake Klentner.

On a day of fast ponies, fallen goal posts and a hard-earned championship for the Klentner family team, the lasting impression was just what Victoria and Wesley Ru observed: polo here is not simply a sport. It truly is generational.