San Diego Polo Club

Attended these fields for my son’s soccer tournament. Tucked away in a gorgeous area with beautiful fields. We would love to return some day to watch them play polo. Sounds wonderful!

What a great way to spend an afternoon. The VIP tent is the way to go, you’re sure to be in the shade, have a table and they have food and drink service.

We had so much fun here for my dad’s birthday! 5 stars just for the people watching; some of the outfits are ridiculous, even for Del Mar. I can’t wait to return with some friends. We sat in general admission and had a great view of the field with access to all of the vendors and a clean restroom. I think next time I will definitely look into the tailgating pass, that looks like where the fun and value is to be had.

Love Lindsey! Stacy! Ashton! Michael! Awesome team!

A great way to spend a Sunday watching a game of polo, and all the beautiful horses! I would highly recommend it to anyone In the area

This organization has the worst management, coordination, or planning. On top of those problems their website is devoid of useful information such as restrictions on attendance or limitations for non-​members to attend. We flew 500 miles in our plane specifically to have a nice Fathers Day to sit and enjoy some polo. We understood that the special brunch tickets were sold out, no problem. What was unfortunate to learn was that no one outside the club members would be allowed to see any games. This important information was not available on the website, and so with great excitement, anticipation and expectations we were turned away at the gate. Shabby and a shame on the San Diego Polo Club. Very disappointing!

Highly recommended for a fun day of fashionable socializing during a unique sporting event. We went on the last day of the season, which was the Spreckels Cup Finals. The parking was easy — two options… 1) a tailgate lot where lots of people had brought supplies: popup tents, cooler and tubs full of champagne, wine, and beer, and tables loaded with snacks, or 2) the general admission. The tailgate lot is the length of one side of the field whereas the grandstand and general admission is on the other. Food and drink were delicious, and can be had at a reasonable price, considering where you’re at ($ 20 bottle of champagne, $ 9 chips & guac, $ 15 tapas plate). The champagne comes w/​an ice bucket which was key, and served as a great spot to keep our waters ice cold too! The match itself was awesome — exciting, albeit a bit confusing to start — and the announcer was fun. The bathrooms were clean — a porta-​potty option or a trailer with several stalls and urinals. The after party included a DJ and lots of fun dancing from people of all ages — quite the site! Have you ever seen a gold chain used as a bra? I have. WOW. If you’re looking to get dressed up, have a few drinks in style, and enjoy both a sporting event and some quality people watching, you should totally check this place out.

What a lovely and unexpected day! My family had never thought about attending a polo event but read something about it and figured we would try it out. We decided to tailgating and thoroughly enjoyed it. IT was all grass so it was nice for my little one to crawl around. We brought our own food and alcohol which made it a relatively inexpensive day. The game is up close ad personal as well. It was a great way to spend a Sunday.

A trip to the polo club is seriously a quintessentially AMAZING, no brainer way to spend a Sunday. I mean, what better day could you have, that consists of BYOB, hanging in the sun with horses, picnic-​ing, and relaxing with friends/​family? (You can also bring your dogs if you tailgate!)
I highly recommend experiencing the San Diego Polo Club at least once! It is such a blast. I went with a group of friends (we are all in our late 20’s) that had never been to a polo match before (myself included), and all of us had a great time! The people watching was also unbelievable — nearly everyone there got into the «theme» and was either in a cute dress, or classy outfit — think polo shirts, suits, light colors, plaid, etc.
Tailgating tickets are cheap (just $ 10 per person and $ 10 per car). It’s easy to fill a carload, park (the spaces are clearly divided), and set up your beach chairs, umbrella, pop-​up tents, and coolers, and have a social and fun outing!
We walked over to the opposite side of the field to check it out, and they have a few bars, food vendors, and several shaded tables. It was equally hopping on that side, but I felt the tailgating was a good value for the money.
The match itself was enjoyable and entertaining to watch. The crowd was also really friendly and laid-​back and a melting pot of ages — kids, families, couples, groups of friends in all age groups. I didn’t get a snooty vibe at all despite polo having that cliché pretentious/​yuppie vibe.
I will definitely be buying tickets for a match again later in the summer, and hopefully I can convince more of my friends to come!
I also agree with several of the other reviews that mentioned this is a SOCIAL event. Definitely true. Come to socialize, drink, dress pretty, and have fun in the sun!

Attended my 2^nd opening day polo party yesterday and we had a blast. Overall I think it’s a great place to come with friends and family. They have a place for everyone. Private parties, upscale dining and tailgating. Tailgating looked fun. People even had their dogs there playing frisbee on the field during half time. The parade of range rovers and fashion shows are pretty strange.

OK, This was REALLY fun! I gotta be honest. I totally wasn’t thinking I would love it so much, but I did!!!
Our group took the introductory lesson here. There was a total of 6 people of us and we have only done super slow trail tours on horses before this. This was so much more fun.
You start with a basic lesson on the ground. The rules of the game are explained to the group followed by a short Q&A session. At this point you get a horse! They were all super well trained and I felt pretty comfortable on them. Then you go into the polo arena with your instructor and start a game. The pace was pretty slow since we were all total beginners, but we did gallop quite a few times. It was awesome!!! The instructor was always telling each one of us where to be and how to play properly. They actually want you to learn the game and not just go nutz.
We had 10 minutes of ground instruction and an hour on the field for 50 bucks.
Bottom line: This is a really fun thing to do that is totally out of the ordinary. You gotta try it!

Polo is too cool! Here are a bunch of photos from Opening Day. Like Lani Ki Photography on Facebook, and you’ll see all the photos from the season. See you at the club!

TAILGATING WAS SO MUCH FUN! What a great time! My husband along with several friends came here and did the parking/​tailgating option. It was $ 25 per car so pack in the peeps! We bought our own goodies like champagne, beers, sandwiches and chips. Also brought blankets and chairs to sit on. The sun was beaming on us, we all got perdy toasted in more ways than just one. So bring your sunblock, shades and fun «Pretty Woman» sun hats. Afterwards, the rich older men flew their classic old lil planes around over here. Pretty swanky event. Can’t wait to come back =)

More of a social event than anything, I find POLO to be a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon catching up with my friends while sipping on some champagne.
The San Diego Polo Club is situated on 60 acres of land in Rancho Santa Fe, offering five world-​class class polo fields, including an exercise track, riding trails, a clubhouse and bar, a polo training school, and an outdoor lighted arena. The San Diego Club has one of the longest playing seasons in the country running from May through October. Polo matches are presented to the public every Sunday, beginning at 1:30 pm.
with that said… Wear your big hat, stomp your divots and enjoy wine with friends. Cheers :-)

The complimentary champagne for the divot walk was a nice touch.

Talk about a classy place. This is a great place for a social Sunday afternoon, a few cocktails, and some great Polo matches.
Definitely would try to reserve a VIP table if you are not keen on the idea of standing in the heat/​sun all afternoon. Food can be a little pricey, and I believe cash only, BUT it’s pretty fancy and delicious. Unilocal check-in’s give you discount admission too!
They definitely have a hip vibe for the Polo Club, we will be back for many Sundays.

My husband and I went for Opening Day on June 10^th and we had a great time. We decided to go to the Player’s Club instead of doing the tailgate cuz we wanted to people watch and mingle.
Everything is really nicely arranged except for the drink sales. I think it’s baloney that one has to get into a line to buy «Polo bucks» and then get into another line to buy drinks with the polo bucks. It wastes so much time and there’s a lot of cutting by the lushes. However, once you have your drink in hand, you’re able to move around in style. Then, when you get hungry, they have this catering company that offers fabulous food. I believe the catering company is called Thyme and their offerings are fresh and first class. I was drinking the specialty Derby drink all day, while my husband was having something lame and when we got hungry I got us the cheese board for 2 or more and it had several varieties of yummy cheese: Brie, Gruyère, Gorgonzola (with drizzled honey,) Sharp Cheddar amongst the selection, water crackers and an assortment of nuts and dried fruit. It was amazing! I also ordered the guacamole with shrimp and chips that I ended up inhaling it was so good.
Overall, I think we had more fun eating, drinking, people watching and enjoying the dance beats by the resident deejay, than watching the polo match.

Absolutely loved the tailgating section. Nothing like a little Jack Daniels while you watch a polo match. Perfect place for a Stay Classy San Diego Sunday.

I’ll start off by saying the polo and polo players deserve 5 stars. It was my first Polo match and it was very exciting to watch.
To make a long story short we were in the VIP tent and had servers coming around taking orders. We ordered some champagne which arrived promptly. When it came to food we ordered a couple of hamburgers. We were amongst the first people in the tent. 3 hours later and many (about 6 requests) later we still didn’t have food. I’m low on agression so I asked nicely several times. Servers kept saying they were slammed but 3 hours for a burger? No joke: I could have run to the local grocery, walked a grill back and cooked the burgers in less than 3 hours. We spoke to the person in charge of the catering company working the VIP tent and she comped us our food but not without attitude. They didn’t even bring us our food. We went outside the tent and waited in line to get food. I fairly certain the Polo match and the caterers they chose for the event are separate but that spoiled the experience for us. This was a couple of weeks ago but I googled it and it was run by a club in the Hillcrest. I think the Polo was excellent. They may want to reconsider who caters their events.
Video of polo:

Oh. My. Gosh. Too. Much. Fun. Okay, enough with the one-​word, quasi-​sentences. You get my point.
I started attending Sunday polo matches last year after my first lesson got me hooked. (By the way — the first lesson is FREE and open to ANYONE, except kids under some age and possible geographical restrictions. This is a smart business maneuver by the club since the game is addictive to play. The next four lessons were $ 400, if i remember correctly. And they start you in an arena, so there is much less potential for horse crashes (jk) or other trouble. My friend Debbie started without ever learning to ride, and she is better than I am now.)
The thing that I love so much about playing polo is that it requires you to be in the present moment, with no room for mind-​banter to divert my attention. Controlling the horse with one hand, playing my position, and connecting with the ball when it’s my right — these demand my full attention. I remember thinking when I first started last year that I was alot better than I thought I’d be, since my hand-​eye coordination was never the best. And it just gets better.
Okay, besides learning to play the game, attendance at the Sunday matches makes for a wonderful, leisurely afternoon. There is a bar where you can purchase anything from cold water to cold champagne, and whichever vendor has the food contract has always been good.
Besides the bar for adults, there are recreational activities for the children. I don’t think I’ve been there one Sunday that they did not have the inflatable jumping tent, plus there are opportunities to make hats and masks and sit on a polo pony.
I have to admit that watching the game is sometimes secondary to socializing with friends and family for me, but attention to the action on the grass rewards with fast-​paced action by excellent players and nary a moment to grow bored. The announcer, Steve, is amazing, and he brings the game alive as he calls the plays and explains the game and its rules along the ride. He should get alot of credit for making Sunday chukkers a fête to schedule on your calendar.
Between the two matches, and also midway through the second match, there is «divot stomp» which is not to be missed by anyone who wants the full polo experience.
Divots are the lumps in the grass raised by horses hooves when they make flight to beat others to the ball. Since the field should stay smooth for the ball to roll on, spectators venture out to stomp them down, flush with the ground for the next chukker. A chukker is a seven minute period of play that stops only for isolated causes, such as a foul.
During the divot stomp, you can see whole families on the field where the action took place just moments before, (and will resume come the next game or next half.) You can also see parties of people, champagne glasses in hand, stomping the ground to ready the field. It’s Gatsby-​esque but wonderful, egalitarian fun for all.
Also of note are the various shows the Club puts on during the intermission between games. I have seen everything from alluring hula dancers to meticulously-​handled drassage exhibitions.
If this sounds like a public relations piece or advertisement, take note that, although I am enthusiastic about the San Diego Polo Club, I am not a member and I have no other affiliation there other than to go to the matches as much as possible during the season and to enjoy the good people over at the polo school. I write about the things I have strong opinions about.
Poway Riders Polo Club is my home, and I love, love, LOVE it, there, but it’s a bit hot for me to ride there in the summertime, and we don’t have the grass polo field for the Sunday games I have grown to love.
I definitely recommend this as a fund activity for San Diegans and visitors alike.