Whether you call it a gentleman’s game or simply “hockey on horseback,” the traditional sport of polo has a long and illustrious history on the Central Coast.
In fact, this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club (SBPRC), considered by polo players around the world to be one of the premier clubs in the United States. Since its foundation in 1911, the SBPRC has played host to some of the sport’s elite players, and its centennial season looks to be no exception.
“This year’s our big year,” said Ariana Nobel, the club’s general manager. “We’re very excited.”
On a blustery May 8 afternoon, the club’s 100th season kicked off with the Lisle Nixon Memorial 12-goal tournament. In polo, each player is handicapped, similar to golf, and rated on a scale from -2 to 10, with a 10-goal rating being the best. In 12-goal competition, the four players on each polo team must add up to 12.
In the day’s first contest, an exhibition match, the St. Louis-based Grant’s Farm manor polo team played Antelope to a 10-10 tie. Andy Busch, son of former Anheuser-Busch CEO August Busch, Jr., scored four goals in the contest to lead Grant’s Farm.
“You can’t beat an opener here in Santa Barbara,” Busch said. “The fields are in incredible shape—they haven’t been played in five months—and we have great competition here. A beautiful day, good crowd, can’t beat it.”
Polo runs in the Busch family. Andy started riding horses at age 2 and began playing the sport at 16, rising quickly through the ranks to become one of the top amateur polo players in the nation.
“It’s a contact sport,” he said. “These horses are as fast as those in the Kentucky Derby. They have the quickness of cutting horses and the power of a thoroughbred jumper, so this combines all of the best attributes of an athletic horse.”
Playing opposite Busch on the Antelope team was Santiago Trotz from Argentina, who described the impact of polo on his life.
“I feel like I’m the happiest guy in the world because I love what I do, and I’m a professional,” Trotz said. ”This is the way I choose to live, and polo is always connected with horses and the beautiful places in the world.”
In the second contest of the afternoon, Long Beach/Palm Desert hung on to defeat Cotterel Farms 12-11 in a match that came down to the final seconds.
Palm Desert’s Matthew Walker, a 3-goaler professional, explained the sport’s draw.
“It’s a very physical game,” Walker said. “It’s technically the second-most dangerous sport next to auto racing, because of all the variables involved. You’re on a 1,500-pound animal, doing between 25 and 45 miles per hour with a helmet, and that’s it. Plus, you’ve got seven other guys out there you’re trying to avoid while doing all this.”
A fourth-generation polo player, Walker began riding at the age of 5 and took up the sport soon afterward.
“The worst part about starting when you’re young is that everybody looks like they’re going to hit you, so you’re intimidated with that aspect,” he said. “But much like anything, the more you do it, the sooner you get over it.”
And like other uncommon sports, there’s a lot for an uninitiated spectator to learn. Matches are divided into six “chukkers;” each is 7 1/2 minutes long. If the teams are tied after six minutes, they play sudden-death overtime. Between the third and fourth chukker is halftime, and the ceremonial “divot stomp,” where spectators are invited onto the field to stomp the grass dislodged by hooves back into place.
The polo field is massive—nine times the size of a football field. During play, each team carries four players, typically the team’s owner and three professionals. Players score goals by knocking a tiny plastic ball through the opponent’s goalposts using long-handled wooden mallets. Every time a player scores a goal, the teams have to switch sides.
Like hockey or soccer, game play is free flowing, with few starts and stops. Players have to move from offense to defense instantly, and play revolves around an imaginary line created by the ball’s travel.
Melanja Jones, the Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club’s polo manager, explained how the concept works.
“I always compare it to being on a freeway,” she said. “The line of the ball creates the lanes, and everybody needs to stay in their own lane. You can cut in front of people or come from the opposite direction—if you have enough time, speed and distance.”
Jones, who’s played polo herself since college, said the sport differs from most athletic competitions because of the unique interaction between man and beast.
“It’s so much fun,” Jones said. “You have this incredible relationship with the horse. When you’re playing and feeling like everything’s going good, it’s like they can read your mind.”
Though polo may be considered by some to be a jet-set indulgence, anyone can join the polo club and watch games. Social memberships provide access to all polo matches and events, and games are open to the public every Sunday for $10 a ticket.
According to Walker, in contrast to the polo’s highbrow association, families make up the biggest portion of the sport’s enthusiasts.
“Everybody always asks, ‘Is it like Pretty Woman?'” Walker said. “To a certain extent, it’s like that, but it’s not as high society as it appears. The sport is really for everyone; that’s what makes it so nice.
“It’s exciting for the parents, and the kids also love it because they can walk up and down the line and pet the horses,” he said. “It gives them an experience that they wouldn’t necessarily have.”
For those interested in taking up the sport, the club offers “club chukkers” and a coaching league to introduce players to polo’s intricacies. For pros, the 12-goal season runs until the end of June, followed by the three- and six-goal season, which begins June 23.
The Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club is also the only club on the West Coast to feature a 20-goal season in the summer, starting with the Robert Skene tournament on July 6. This year, the club will welcome three of the world’s top polo players (all 10-goalers), including Argentineans Adolfo Cambiaso (the No.1-ranked polo player in the world) and Gonzalito Pieres (the world’s second-ranked player).
The club’s Centennial Extravaganza will be held Aug. 12, and will be open to the public. The following weekend, the 20-goal league season culminates with the three-week USPA Bombardier Pacific Coast Open tournament, one of the most prestigious cups in the country, from Aug. 18 to Sept 4.
Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas was almost thrown out for shouting “Marco!” Contact him at jthomas@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 12-19, 2011.
