Editor's Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the second annual Santa Barbara Polo & Wine Festival is cancelled. Find more information here .
Polo is thrilling to watch — horses and riders charging up and down the field, stopping and starting on a dime in pursuit of a small plastic ball.
Originated by nomads in Central Asia, the game of polo really took root between 600 BCE and 100 CE in Persia, where it became the national sport, played by royals and the military. Over the centuries, the rules of the game were formalized, and its popularity spread west to Constantinople and east to Tibet, Japan, and India. By the turn of the 20th century, it had become the de rigueur recreation of the upper crust on four continents, earning the moniker “the sport of kings.”