The “ROYAL PALM POLO SPORTS CLUB”, founded in 1931, is the third oldest United States Polo Association, (U.S.P.A.) Club still in existence in the United States.
An exhibition polo match was first played at the Santa Barbara Agricultural Park’s 1894 Flower Festival. This match encouraged sufficient local interest in the sport that by 1902, the fledgling Club boasted a 40-member roster. Polo flourished within the community as various fields “emerged”, thereby drawing players to the area. 

The late ‘40’s and the mid ‘50’s saw the “ROYAL PALM POLO SPORTS CLUB” into its golden era. Teams, horses, and players would arrive by train, unload from the stock cars, and walk through downtown Santa Barbara all the way to the Club. Sundays at the Club became a great social event in this era. Spectators gathered to view the sport dressed in the finest and latest of fashions and picnicked at the fields with large blankets and staff to serve the noon day meal. The games were riveting, fast and furious. Players graced the fields while guests enjoyed the players’ skills, basked in the mountain views, and were lulled by the sounds of the nearby ocean.