On weekend afternoons during the spring and summer seasons, one of the oldest and most prestigious sports in the world is still going strong out on the edge of Carpinteria at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club. For nearly a century, polo players have participated in “the sport of kings” on Fleischmann Field at 3300 Via Real, drawing everyone from weekend tourists to royalty to watch the high-flying horseback matches.
The first organized polo match on the South Coast was played at Santa Barbara Agricultural Park’s Flower Festival in 1894, in what was just a temporary field at a racetrack on Garden Street. By the turn of the century, the new Santa Barbara Polo Club had built a 40-member roster, though matches were still held at various locations while the club looked for a more permanent home. In 1911, the club was officially recognized by the U.S. Polo Association.
Carpinteria would become the new home for polo in the region almost by mistake, after a fire wiped out a eucalyptus grove that was originally at the Via Real property in 1916.
A few years later, an avid polo player and heir to an Ohio-based yeast company fortune, Max Fleischmann, moved to town and purchased the burnt-out field. By February of 1926, the field was ready for polo, and the first match was played at what would be soon known as Fleischmann Field. By 1928, Fleischmann added 40 more acres with two more fields adjacent to the property.
The new location – right at the foot of the mountains and just a short trip from the beach – attracted high-class visitors, movie stars and debutantes for the matches, and the club soon became the height of social scenes on Sundays, with hundreds of spectators dressed in their finest picnicking at the edge of the field. The popularity of the sport boomed throughout the 1930s.
During World War II, the sport of polo was suddenly suspended, and the Carpinteria field was used as a training ground for U.S. soldiers from 1942 to 1946. The heavy use destroyed the fields, which were restored after the war in preparation for the return of polo.
The next 20 years saw the resurgence of the sport, and the dawn of a new era with major tournaments and teams coming to Santa Barbara Polo Club. In 1960, legendary player Robert Skene took over as club manager, bringing with him a renewed sense of credibility to the club, and attracting a whole new generation of movie-star visitors like Jayne Mansfield and Zsa Zsa Gabor.
Since then, the club has continued to grow, expanding in the mid-1970s with 141 luxury condos along with two swimming pools, a batch of tennis courts and a new tennis clubhouse. As new polo families came into the community, the club also built extra training space and stabling to allow for up to 350 horses.
Nowadays, the polo matches feature professional and collegiate teams competing at several different levels. Spectators at weekly matches range from rich and famous VIPs in the private cabana’s to weekend visitors in the open grandstands, and the club is home to private parties and fundraising events all throughout the year.
In 2011, the club celebrated its centennial with a series of events, highlighted by a visit from Prince William and Kate, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
The 2024 season began in May, and will continue with matches and tournaments – including the Robert Skenes Trophy, Silver Cup and America Cup – every weekend through mid-October. Friday “Happy Hour” matches are open to the public free of charge, and tickets to watch Sunday matches from the grandstands are available starting at $35.
*By Ryan P. Cruz | Photos Courtesy Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club