By the time she was old enough to drive, Danielle Travis had already surfed, played tennis, jumped horses, and competed in gymnastics for a combined 30 years. And that was before the native Hawaiian and Santa Barbara City College grad found her sport. Which turned out to be the sport of kings – polo. As she said on a chilly fall day at Handlebar, “Being wide-eyed, wanting to go fast – that was how it started.”
How is it going? Nearly two decades later, the four-time intercollegiate all-star, 2008 U.S. Polo Association Intercollegiate Regional champ and former Team USPA member still plays professional polo from Carpinteria to Costa Careyes, Mexico. That’s on top of being a full-time realtor with Sotheby’s in Montecito. Given her active upbringing, though, the juggling — and hopping between continents — come naturally, and from Maui to Santa Barbara to Maui and back again, Travis is glad to be home.
That word — home — might seem strange for a place 2,400 miles from where she grew up. On a tip from her best friend, Travis checked out Santa Barbara and to nobody’s surprise, was easily sold. Despite an ocean between them, the American Riviera and its natural beauty wasn’t too far off from her island in the sun. For Travis, “Being right on the ocean, it always felt like home here. I just had the best time and quickly established roots.”
She jockeyed her way through the mainland just as quickly. Given that roster of youth sports, Travis was a polo wunderkind – with only one year of experience at 17 years old, she founded SBCC’s team and in just three seasons helped take it to the regional semifinals in Lexington, Kentucky in 2008. Under celebrated local coach John Wesley, who Travis said, “taught me everything I know,” she was a USPA intercollegiate all-star from 2006 through 2008, and again in 2009, upon graduating from SBCC and joining the team at Texas Christian University.
If it happened fast, Travis had put in the necessary 10,000 hours. Her first time on horseback came at 2 years old, and growing up, the family frequented dude ranches. As she remembers, “you’d have to be led by the slow horse. I kicked the horse to go faster, I was yearning for something more.” At 7, she began jumping, then came dressage — with prancing and dancing but also graceful maneuvers — which her mother practiced.
Still after a number of years solo, whether on horseback, a mat, a court or a wave, Travis itched for a team sport. She found it in polo. With all that time on horseback, she was confident, and rightfully so. But a slice of humble pie came when her horse Tai got spooked, bucked her, and spun off when the other horses, as they’re supposed to, gave chase.
Danielle Travis in action. | Credit: Courtesy
“You cannot play polo on any horse,” she laughed. Before long, though, Travis found the right one in Boomie, a polo-trained mare she nabbed on Craigslist. “She’s my ride-or-die – super fit, a great horse with a lot of heart. I would do anything for her, and she would do anything for me.” That’s no exaggeration – they’ve even traversed the Pacific together, no small task for a large and often sensitive animal. Still, Travis says, “she’s a machine.”
The first big trip came when Travis returned to Maui in 2013. Since then, she has racked up a slew of tournament wins, earned her real estate license, and even started a face mask business geared towards high-performance athletes in 2016. No, she isn’t part of some conspiracy, nor does she appear to have ESP. The idea came from the physical toll of constant travel and its interfering with her polo game. “I noticed I was getting sick every time I got off the plane. Planes are gross no matter what, but I needed to perform.” With antimicrobial, moisture-wicking material and an easygoing snap-on scarf and bandana look, naturally the business blew up in 2020. Travis built a little nest egg with the extra funds, and with Hawaii polo on hold, used the money to get back to California.
All of this prepared her for a career in real estate – a staggeringly competitive and toughindustry. Travis sees no coincidence between her passion and her job. “Being in a niche sport sets you apart, which you have to do in an oversaturated market. I know horses, I know the functions of a ranch, and that gives me an edge that maybe others without the experience don’t have. That’s what I’m doing here in the Valley.” She worked the island market for six years before returning to the Central Coast.
Which is where Travis is often found sharpening her game, either at Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club or La Herradura, a club in Santa Ynez managed by international polo star Memo Gracida. When not on four legs, she’s handling leasing and sales from Carpinteria to the Valley — and business has never been better. “It’s easy to be discouraged because you see these realtors being successful. But you keep going, you keep working as a team and pushing yourself. Eventually, you’re gonna win.” Considering she just took a local tournament on the sixth try, Travis is only speaking from experience.
