For being one of the wealthiest sports — in which every player requires about eight specially bred and expertly trained horses — polo proves quite accessible to most everyone else. At least that’s true down at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club, where there’s never been a fee to watch the Friday afternoon matches during the May to October season and seats for the Sunday finals start at just $20.
Now the club, which is the third oldest in the country and considered the global hotspot for top-tier polo during the summer months, is opening its doors even wider through the Fieldside Grill. The restaurant, which opened in May, is now serving lunch and dinner from Wednesday to Saturday amid constant equestrian activity, decades of memorabilia, and an al fresco atmosphere that’s so coveted right now.
“You can come into a historic polo club, see the trophies, see the photos on the wall, and have a beautiful lunch or dinner sitting on a polo field — it’s just a very unique setting,” explains David Sigman, a hospitality veteran who took over as general manager of the club in 2016. “There’s always something to see, and it’s great for people watching.”