Behind the Hedges
At home when the dust settles on the Klentner Ranch.
At home when the dust settles on the Klentner Ranch
Polo is all in the family with Amanda, Luke, Jake, Valentina, and Justin.
Written by Jennifer Blaise Kramer
Photographs by Michael Haber, Kate Ayrton, Paige Keyser
Make-Up by Tomiko Taft
Three years ago, Amanda Masters and Justin Klentner were living in Los Angeles above the Chateau Marmont and realized their kids would grow up playing on Sunset Boulevard. They decided to make a change and found a 40-acre spot just above the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club in Carpinteria. It offered sweeping views of the polo fields, ocean, and 20 acres of avocado orchards, but the ability to see the scoreboard from the backyard was what ultimately made Klentner say, “I’ll take it!”
The Masters-Klentners used local Santa Barbara stone stairways to connect the barns to the main house.
For Klentner, polo is more than a hobby. It’s a passion that Masters teasingly calls an obsession. He grew up on a horse farm in Michigan with a polo-playing father. After moving his city kids to what is now their own full-scale polo operation, he was eager to teach them responsibility. Jake, 16, Luke, 14, and Valentina, 8, all care for a number of horses, and last summer, the boys were up before 7 am every day tending to the horses. “It’s not all glamour,” Masters says, with her quick British wit. “There’s a lot of poop.” And dust, which kicks up twice a day when the horses go out for a jaunt.
“Polo is a lot of hard work and commitment whether you’re an amateur or a pro,” Klentner says. “The dream is to play with your family.” Now, this crew competes in leagues together while caring for their 30 horses. A true polo family, they practice at home and host parties and fund-raisers—recently they held a cowboy barbecue with an acoustic performance by Candlebox to raise money for the Santa Barbara Youth Polo Association, helping more kids get a chance to be on the field.
“By day, Klentner is a builder and Masters an interior designer, so unlike many traveling polo players, this family stays put, minding their careers and school-age children. So it was even more important to make Klentner Ranch a forever home, built for entertaining and family dinner every night.”
By day, Klentner is a builder and Masters an interior designer, so unlike many traveling polo players, this family stays put, minding their careers and school-age children. So it was even more important to make Klentner Ranch a forever home, built for entertaining and family dinner every night. The home sports French limestone floors and tall, wide hallways that you could almost imagine a horse walking through (they don’t, however once or twice a deviant horse has wandered into the avocado orchards). Polo nods abound, from brass horses to a boot room to the clubby stag bar downstairs. Artisan details are throughout, but especially on the ceilings in the brick herringbone barreled wine cellar and intricate woodwork with inlaid design in the living areas, enhanced by one-of-a-kind doors from Bali.
“There were sweeping views of the polo fields, ocean, and 20 acres of avocado orchards, but being able to see the scoreboard from the backyard was what ultimately made Klentner say, “I’ll take it!””
Luke and Jake hit the practice field in the backyard with Justin looking on.
For the two barns, they sourced local Santa Barbara stone, making them as gorgeous as possible since the home, guesthouse, and pool area all overlook them. The couple keeps horses there March through December when the animals take a break to go rest at pasture in the desert. “The game is so physical, with contact with one another—they need decompression,” Klentner says. “And I do too,” Masters winks. And what a perfect place to take a breath from it all.
Game On
Summer blacks + whites score high on goal
Summer blacks + whites score high on goal
Photographs by Michael Haber
Produced and styled by Gina Tolleson
Models: Natalia Bonifacci/Ford L.A. and Sebastian Tkacik. Hair by Paul DesMarre/Opus Beauty using Pacifica products. Make-up by Debbie Gallagher/Opus Beauty using Pacifica beauty products. Assisting stylist: Jennie Stierwalt/Your Best Self Stylist. Production assistant: Charlotte Bryant. Interns: Taylor Johnson, Laura Lewis, and Kara Pearson.Polo players : Michael Esparza and Tony Uretz.