The short answer: California has polo from the Coachella Valley to the Santa Ynez Valley to Los Angeles and San Diego. The desert clubs around Indio play in winter, roughly January through March. Northern California's clubs play in summer. Los Angeles has Thursday night arena polo in Burbank and weekend polo at Will Rogers. And La Herradura, the Gracida family's club in the Santa Ynez Valley, is where a polo legend told me I was an athlete, on my tour of every polo club in America.
These notes come from my 2021 and 2022 tour, when I tried to visit every polo club in America as a playing USPA member. Seasons, contacts, and prices change, so check each club's Instagram or the U.S. Polo Association before you go.
Santa Ynez Valley: La Herradura Polo Club
La Herradura belongs to Memo Gracida, who has won more U.S. Open titles than any player in history, and his wife, Meghan. When I visited, it had two fields, calm and safe horses, and about 15 members, and the club was choosy about who it accepted. They'll get you a groom and take care of your horses for you.
In 2021, a chukker cost $500, a lesson with Memo cost $500, and a lesson with another instructor cost $350. Memo took me to lunch with Julio, told stories the whole time, and said a few things about me that I'll never forget. I wrote about one of them in You Can't Be Athletic Too. He also warned me to be careful of places that don't have safe horses. Good advice anywhere.
Santa Barbara Polo and Racquet Club
I watched a lesson in the arena and was driven around the club for a tour. The club is focused on long-term members and clients more than on drop-in visitors.
San Luis Obispo: Central Coast Polo
The manager had been running the club for 20 years and playing polo for 30, and still plays as a pro. The club runs high school, college, and club programs. It's an arena club, so for grass you travel.
Los Angeles
HYT Polo, Burbank
Arena chukkers at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. I visited the same weekend I played at Poway and watched at Will Rogers. HYT's Thursday night arena games have been listed as free to watch.
Will Rogers Polo Club, Pacific Palisades
I watched a game here on my birthday. Very low-goal practice, and some of the warmest people of the trip. Afterward we had a little French apéro and ran around the field with floor mallets and my mini goals. The field survived the January 2025 Palisades fire, and the state park reopened with limited access in November 2025, so check current access before you go.
Orange County Polo Club
In 2021, membership was quoted to me at $6,000 a year, plus $2,500 a month to board a horse. That buys a concierge-style experience with a standardized level of care for the horses.
San Diego: Poway Polo Club
$30 a chukker, and incredibly welcoming. The facility is a little rustic, but the arena footing was good. We played in the rain, it was fun, and they matched me with a really great horse. Then the club wrote about my visit in its newsletter: "We also had Amanda visiting from Sarasota Polo Club. She is on a mission to visit all USPA Polo Clubs in the United States."
The Coachella Valley (Indio)
El Dorado Polo Club: I rode here with friends. One lap around the track and a tour cost $100 each. An arena lesson usually runs $150.
Deer Creek Polo Club: A member gave us a tour of the club and his horses. The community now welcomes hunter-jumper riders too, so it's no longer polo only.
The season: Desert polo runs roughly January through March, and at least one Houston-area club brings its horses here for the winter.
Northern California
The Horse Park at Woodside: A summer season, with a winter season starting at the end of November. It shares its facility with the Stanford polo team.
Menlo Polo Club: Plays May through July.
Wine Country Polo, Santa Rosa: Closed in the off season, reopening in May.
Sutter Buttes, near Sacramento: An outdoor arena that plays year-round. The UC Davis team practices here.
Tips for polo in California
Winter in the desert, summer up north. See the season calendar.
Prices range widely. From $30 a chukker to $500. More in how much polo costs.
Start in the arena. In Los Angeles, arena polo is the easiest way in.
More regions: what I learned trying to visit every polo club in America.
Polo, wherever you are. That's PoloFlow, the app I'm building to make finding a game and a horse easy. Join the waitlist.
