The Polo Years

The Polo Years

George Gordon Moore transformed these lands from a cattle operation into an equestrian estate whose buildings form today's core of The Ranch Club and continue to support the lifestyle he introduced here. A lawyer and international entrepreneur - his calling card read "Capitalist" - Moore's ventures ranged from railroads to mining. His French munitions works prevented a British defeat on the Western Front. President Wilson followed his advice on when and how to take the U.S. into the Great War. Moore purchased Rancho San Carlos in 1923, building the Hacienda and hosting dinner parties, dances, barbecues, chorus lines and boxing matches. His Ranch polo team included the penultimate American star, Tommy Hitchcock, who led other Rancho San Carlos players to international victories that set the high-water mark of U.S. polo.