Tag archives: Santa Barbara Polo Club

Horsepower of a very different kind took over the Santa Barbara Polo Club when the 9th annual Montecito Motor Classic, with more than 200 exotic and luxury cars on display, was staged on the expansive fields. “We could have had a great many more but had to cut off the applications given fire regulations,” says […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

For the 15th year my millinery skills, garnered from attending the Royal Enclosure at Ascot, England, where outrageous hats are de rigueur for ladies attending the centuries’ old races attended by Queen Elizabeth, for more than four decades, were called on by the Santa Barbara Polo Club to judge the annual hat contest during the […]

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 […]

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 […]

It was the perfect pairing when Folded Hills winemaker Andy Busch, a former patron at the Santa Barbara Polo Club, debuted his 2018 Polo Syrah at his rustic Gaviota locale, which produces 3,200 cases of wine annually. The new vintage was made by winemaker Angela Osborne, who has now moved on to devote her time […]

Carpinteria artist Robyn Geddes is not only putting paint to canvas, but pen to paper, launching a new monthly newsletter at the Santa Barbara Polo Club condos. Robyn, who I have known for more than four decades since he worked with Andy Warhol at The Factory in New York, is a board member at the […]

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 […]

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 […]

In reference to the recent Montecito Association meeting held on April 13, I was deeply disappointed to see that our esteemed, highly respected former senator, Hannah-Beth Jackson, has agreed to represent the anti-growth side of the discussion regarding California State Bills 9 and 10, or SB-9 and SB-10. The legislation proffered by Governor Newsom will […]

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 […]

The recent interesting “Seen Around Town” article (volume 27, issue 10) reviewed Santa Barbara Polo Club and requires a few comments and corrections. It mentioned that polo player Elmer Boeseke Jr. was able to gain admittance for the local club into the U.S.P.A. However, it was his father, Dr. Elmer J. Boeseke, who served two […]

One of the things that fascinated me when we first moved to Santa Barbara in the mid-‘70s was the polo field just south of town. We soon became social members even though we lived in town and spent many a Sunday watching and learning about polo and its ponies. Yes, they are called ponies. We […]

Santa Barbara Polo Club, which was re-scheduled to kick off its 109th season on May 15, now plans to launch in July, according to manager David Sigman. “The health and safety of our membership, staff, and the community are of the utmost importance to us,” says David. “As we look ahead toward the possible reopening […]

Santa Barbara classical guitarist Chris Fossek is looking to the Middle Ages, when balladeers roamed the land, to soothe our furrowed brows during these most trying of times. Chris, who has performed at the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and Rome’s Olympic Stadium, has launched a charming new project, Open Window Serenades. “As long […]

The Santa Barbara Polo Club is delaying the start of its 109th season, which was scheduled to kick off on May 1, because of the coronavirus. Instead, the hotly anticipated initial equestrian event, the Folded Hills Pope Challenge, has been rescheduled for May 15, with the 12-goal schedule continuing through July 5. “The club is […]

It was horsepower of a very different kind on display at the Santa Barbara Polo Club when the 8th annual Montecito Motor Classic, which used to display its pricey wares on Coast Village Road, pitched up at the Carpinteria equestrian facility. With the theme Supercar Designs & Legacy Milestones, featuring one-of-a-kind cars made by Lamborghini, […]

It was the battle of the bridled behemoths at the Santa Barbara Polo Club when former president Dan Walker‘s Farmers & Merchants Bank team took on current president Texan tycoon John Muse‘s Lucchese team for the 110-year-old Silver Air Pacific Coast Open trophy, the most prestigious tournament on the Left Coast. With a record 4,000 […]