Tag archives: Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club

Success at the Polo Club
By Richard Mineards   |   May 10, 2022

Santa Barbara Polo Club is now by royal appointment! Prince Harry is going to be playing regularly on the Los Padres team with his good friend, Argentinian Ralph Lauren Polo model Nacho Figueras, in the 12-goal tournament at the lush Carpinteria equestrian facility.  “Prince Harry is an avid polo enthusiast and player, and has played […]

Polo Gallops Back
By Richard Mineards   |   April 19, 2022

After nearly two years of limited access to the public, the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club is back at the gallop! Opening day is May 1 for a riveting season of action-packed games and exhilarating tournaments. “We have a record number of teams participating at every level, with many of the world’s most talented […]

In the Kitchen with Fieldside Grill’s Philip Stein
By Claudia Schou   |   March 22, 2022

Philip Stein doesn’t fit the standard mold of a polo club chef. For starters, his warm and friendly personality is devoid of the stuffy airs that one might assume is mandatory among those in close orbit to the regal sport. Now the Fieldside Grill’s executive chef, he was completely unfamiliar with the game – and […]

What a Concept
By Richard Mineards   |   October 12, 2021

More than 200 exotic and historic automobiles will be participating in the ninth annual Montecito Motor Classic at the Santa Barbara Polo Club on Sunday, which founder Dolores Johnson tells me is a record. This year’s theme for the free-admission event, presented by the Armand Hammer Foundation, is “The Concept Car,” which will focus on […]

Prince Perfecting Polo Prowess
By Richard Mineards   |   September 21, 2021

An accomplished polo player, Prince Harry has been honing his mallet skills “stick and balling” at the Santa Barbara Polo Club, I can exclusively reveal. The Duke of Sussex, 37, who lives with his wife, Meghan Markle, at Riven Rock, just a short gallop from the Carpinteria equestrian facility, is following in the stirrup-steps of […]

Dinner with a Side of Polo: New Fieldside Grill Offers Distinctive Culinary Experience
By Gabe Saglie   |   September 9, 2021

One of the newest spots to eat in town is a longstanding destination all its own. The Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club is one of the oldest of its kind in the U.S., and its polo season, which runs May through October and lures a sophisticated crowd to both play and watch from all […]

A Sense of Belonging: Private Clubs Add to Santa Barbara’s Residential Appeal
By Gabe Saglie   |   August 12, 2021

Among the unexpected silver linings of the pandemic? The fact that the appeal of living in Santa Barbara’s South Coast has surged, and surged in a big way. An enclave like Montecito is not all that far from the urban sprawl of Los Angeles, where a pandemic-inspired exodus continues. But, as so many residents and […]

With Charles in Charge, Polo Community Soared into New Territory
By Richard Mineards   |   July 1, 2021

On a deeply personal note, I remember Charles Ward, the longtime Texan publicist and promoter for the Santa Barbara Polo Club, who left us for more heavenly pastures at the age of 80 in his hometown of Dallas. We first met in 2007 when I moved to our rarefied enclave from Hancock Park in Los […]

A Birthday Bonanza
By Richard Mineards   |   July 1, 2021

Teresa Kuskey Nowak’s deliciously decadent La Boheme Dance Company, who were attired in Versailles 18th century Marie Antoinette costumes at the Santa Barbara Polo Club earlier this month, were back at the picturesque locale for the birthdays of ubiquitous KEYT-TV reporter John Palminteri and former Cottage Hospital orthopedic nurse Rochelle Mirabello. As guests feasted on […]

Polo in Paradise: Kentucky Derby Brings Out Familiar Faces
By Lynda Millner   |   June 3, 2021

The Santa Barbara Polo Club is celebrating 110 years, one of the oldest clubs in the United States. It was the location for a Kentucky Derby party hosted by Deb Richards, John Hillis, and Juli Kordic. Energy abounded (and so did mint juleps and big hats) since it was the first time for many to […]

Extraordinary Moment: SB Polo & Racquet Club Makes Welcomed Return
By Richard Mineards   |   May 13, 2021

Crowds of members packed the clubhouse and tiered seating at the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club when the Carpinteria equestrian facility opened its doors for the first time in more than a year after the pandemic restrictions were eased. “This really is an extraordinary moment,” said club manager David Sigman. “It couldn’t have been […]

Keep Up That Racquet, Please!
By Richard Mineards   |   April 29, 2021

It’s all systems go at the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club! As the Carpinteria equestrian facility marks its 110th season with its official opening on May 2, the club will be open to spectators as pandemic lockdown rules are eased. “It will be nice to have people back in the stands,” said club manager […]

Promotion, Partnerships, and Polo
By Richard Mineards   |   December 10, 2020

Dallas dynamo and former TV anchor Charles Ward, who has been promoting the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club for nearly two decades, is expanding his empire. Charles, who plays President George Washington with my King George III in the village parade each year, has forged a strategic alliance with the international luxury glossy Polo […]

Polo’s PCO, pandemic-style
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 27, 2020

As with just about everything else that might involve an audience, polo tournaments have also been barred from permitting spectators at their matches. But rather than canceling the season, the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club has carried on sans the crowds, as only polo players, team associates and club staff are allowed to attend […]

Santa Barbara Country Music Festival
By Joanne A Calitri   |   September 26, 2019

The first annual Santa Barbara Country Music Festival was held on Sunday September 8, from 1 to 7 pm at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racket Club (SBPRC). The event featured music headliner Hunter Easton Hayes, and musicians Devin Dawson, Honey Country, and Savannah Burrows. I interviewed the festival co-founders, OakHeart Country Music Festival co-founder […]

SB Gains an Ace
By Richard Mineards   |   February 14, 2019

Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club has added a new tennis pro to its talented staff. Born and raised in Scotland, Nikki Slater grew up playing with Wimbledon champ Andy Murray and his brother, Jamie, as her coach was the ace racketeers’ mother, Judy. She graduated from Florida State University where she was number one […]

Justin Time: Klentner Ranch Wins
By Richard Mineards   |   September 6, 2018

High-goal season at the Santa Barbara Polo Club ended on a soaringly high note when longtime patron Justin Klentner‘s Klentner Ranch team hoisted the 109-year-old Silver Air Pacific Coast Open trophy, the most prestigious tournament on the Left Coast, for the first time. Although Justin, who has had his team for six years, was unable […]

Fluidity, Frolicking, and Flow
By Steven Libowitz   |   September 6, 2018

“There is a thin semantic line separating weird and beautiful. And that line is covered in jellyfish.” So said choreographer Doug Elkins at the Lobero Theater a couple of weeks ago, perhaps answering a question posed by one of the members of the Friday Club. Or more than likely not. Elkins is the high-energy, self-described […]

Golden Holden
By Richard Mineards   |   August 30, 2018

Santa Barbara Polo Club’s hallowed Holden Field was turned into an outdoor planetarium when it threw an Under the Stars bash for 200 guests with organizers from the local 63-year-old astronomical unit, part of the Natural History Museum, which does 200 events annually showing off the stars above, just two days before a full moon. […]

Labor of Love: Studios Open for Tour
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 30, 2018

Montecito has always been an integral part of the Santa Barbara Studio Artists (SBSA) Open Studios tour. But not so much this year. The annual Labor Day weekend event when local artists who are members of the organization welcome guests into their working home studios or off-site locations has just one site for visitors to […]