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summer
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fal l
unlike every other team sport, in polo the owners play alongside the
professionals.
“When you compare the excitement and what you can accomplish
individually in polo, there’s really no comparison at all,” says Walker. “In all
team sports, everybody moves in a specific way when action happens. We do
the same on the polo fields. But the one ingredient that’s different is the horse.”
The polo ponies, as they’re so endearingly called even though they are
full-grown horses weighing approximately half a ton, are the true athletes
of the sport, any player will tell you. As much as 70 percent of a player’s
success depends on their “ponies,” and more than one champion player has
referred to his horses – which can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands
of dollars per animal – as his “legs.” And, while polo has been compared
to hockey without a goalie, or soccer with a mallet, in some ways it’s more
akin to horseracing, as it’s the ponies’ speed, grit and agility that largely
determines success.
“Lots of people come here because it’s so fun to watch the horses,”
Walker says. “They enjoy them more than the players, except for maybe the
wives and girlfriends. Everybody else cheers for the horses. They’re amazing
athletes who are prepared for the game at the highest level, and are cared for
completely like superstars after the match. That’s why they’re able to perform
so tremendously.”
Also from the upper crust are the patrons, who are all titans of industry
ranging from finance (Walker’s Farmers & Merchants Bank) to home décor
(Mansour), energy resources (ERG) and America’s oldest boot manufacturer
(Lucchese). The polo is highly competitive and hard-fought, but once the
final horn sounds signifying the end of the game, the SBP&RC turns into
something akin to a country club.
“Between Montecito, Carpinteria and Summerland, you run into players
and fans at breakfast, or at the coffee shop, or at dinner in the restaurants.
You can hardly go anywhere during the season without running into
fellow players and friends.”
Even though Prince William and his future bride Kate Middleton
made the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club one of their only
California stops during a summer visit to the U.S. two years ago, you
don’t have to have a royal’s bank account to
watch
the Sport of Kings.
You don’t need to be a member of the club to attend matches, there’s no
charge at all for weekday games, and general admission on the weekends
is only $10. You can’t get a bleacher seat to a Tuesday night baseball game
for that price, not even for the woeful Houston Astros.
CLOSE-KNIT & COMPETITIVE
“We strive to be friends off the field,” Walker explains. “You’re
competitors when you get on the horses, but it stops there. Unlike other
sports, after every game we shake hands; we say ‘Thanks for the good
match,’ and we go drink something in the bar together.”
Indeed, it’s also the social aspect of polo that attracts the players, their
families and even fans to SBP&RC each summer. A different winery is
featured every Sunday during high-goal season at the club, which is often
the
place to be in Santa Barbara on summer afternoons. New this year are special
Friday night events, including margaritas & tacos, scotch & sirloin, casino
night and cocktail parties. And the socializing continues away from the club.
“What’s unique about being here in the summertime is that it’s a
very close-knit community,” says Charles Ward, whose company has been
contracted for the last dozen years to arrange corporate sponsorships.
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