Griffin Ranch Is Polo Country, but Fall Weekends Belong to the Horse Shows Down the Road

East La Quinta is known as polo country, but there won't be a public polo match near Griffin Ranch this fall. Desert International Horse Park in Thermal has the autumn calendar. Its two biggest show-jumping nights fall on consecutive Saturdays, October 31 and November 7, and both are listed as free. A free dressage final follows the next weekend. By the time Eldorado Polo Club opens its Sunday season on January 3, 2027, the jumping season's opening run will be over.

The two sports run on different clocks. Fall jumping peaks on Saturday evenings at 5:30 p.m., and winter polo plays Sundays at noon and 2 p.m. Anyone who knows that can plan around both.

Two Months, Laid Out in Order

The horse park sits at 85555 Airport Blvd. in Thermal. Its 2026 to 2027 season opens with two weeks of the National Sunshine Series and then moves to dressage. The polo clubs on Madison Street and Calhoun Street don't open their public seasons until winter.

Empire Polo Club hasn't posted exact operating dates for Magic of Lights. Its public-events page lists the drive-through only as a November to December 2026 event.

Saturday Night Is the Main Event

The National Sunshine Series is a working horse show. Competition runs across each week, and the headline classes come at the end. In Series I, that class is the $100,000 Kubota National Grand Prix, with a $5,000 overlay for riders under 25. The horse park has it scheduled for Saturday, October 31, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and lists it as free.

Halloween weekend has more going on around the arena:

• Friday, Oct. 30: Pours in the Plaza runs at Roadrunners Plaza from noon to 8 p.m., with complimentary Temecula wine tastings.
• Saturday, Oct. 31, 3 to 5 p.m.: Trick-or-treating along Vendor Row, listed as free.
• Saturday, Oct. 31, 5:30 p.m.: The Kubota National Grand Prix.

Series II, a week later, is where this year's schedule changes. The horse park added a CSI3* level, an international tier of show jumping, and the featured class rises to the $117,000 CSI3* 1.50m Grand Prix. That's $17,000 more than the previous Saturday's purse, with fences set at 1.50 meters. Frank & Eileen presents the class. The same week includes a $75,000 International Hunter Derby regional championship on the grass field.

Saturday, November 7, is the fullest free evening on the fall calendar. In order:

1. Line dancing at Roadrunners Plaza, 5 to 5:30 p.m., free.
2. The $117,000 CSI3* Grand Prix, 5:30 to 8 p.m., listed as free.
3. Live country music at the Roadrunners Tiki Bar, 8 to 9 p.m., free.

Clocks fall back on the Sunday between the two Grand Prix nights. The horse park's own records list the October 31 class in Pacific Daylight Time and the November 7 class in Pacific Standard Time. Both still start at 5:30 p.m. on the clock, but the second one will be darker at the start.

One class moved off this fall's schedule. The Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Final, West, used to be held during Series II and is now held during Desert Holiday.

Mid-November Slows to Dressage

The week after the jumpers leave, the horse park hosts a very different sport. Desert Dressage 1, November 12 to 15, is the US Equestrian Open Dressage Final, with $200,000 in prize money on the line. General admission is free for the whole show.

Competition runs all day Friday through Sunday, and spectators can come at any time. The page lists three highlights:

• Friday, Nov. 13, 4:45 p.m.: CDI5* Grand Prix
• Saturday, Nov. 14, 2 p.m.: A free masterclass with Becky Moody, the FEI Dressage World Cup Champion and British Olympian, followed by a free meet-and-greet and autograph signing sponsored by JAAW Equine
• Saturday, Nov. 14, 4:45 p.m.: CDI5* Grand Prix Freestyle, the final of the 2026 US Equestrian Open of Dressage

The horse park updated that spectator page on October 1, so the Moody schedule is current. Saturday the 14th puts a clinic and a five-star freestyle into one afternoon at no charge, two weekends in a row after the November 7 Grand Prix.

What "Free" Covers, and What Costs Extra

Every headline evening above is listed at no cost. One logistical detail is less settled. For the 2025 National Sunshine Series, the horse park required everyone entering to register for an access pass, which was delivered to Apple or Google Wallet. The horse park hasn't posted current instructions for the 2026 to 2027 season, and its general visitor page still refers to the 2025 season. Check deserthorsepark.com for registration or parking updates the week you plan to go. That visitor page lists walk-up food vendors, seasonal food trucks, a coffee shop, and a full-service bar near the Grand Prix arena. It also notes that daily class times can change, with the next day's schedule posted around 7 p.m. the night before.

The Palm Club is the paid option. The horse park describes it as a VIP area with chef-driven meals overlooking the arena. Posted pricing for the two seasons:

At the Sunshine Series, Wednesday and Thursday day passes are also $150.

When the Polo Fields Take Over

Polo arrives once the horse park's opening run is over. Empire Polo Club, at 52995 Calhoun St. in Coachella, starts with pre-season weekend tournaments in December. Its main season runs from January through the first weekend in April, with Sunday matches at noon and 2 p.m. According to the club's US Polo Association listing, general admission and tailgating are free and parking is $20.

Eldorado Polo Club, at 50950 Madison St. in Indio, enters on Avenue 51 from Madison between Avenues 50 and 52. Its public Sunday Polo runs January 3 through March 21, 2027, with matches at noon and 2 p.m. Every viewing option requires a reservation. The ticket page currently lists 2027 tickets as coming soon, so prices haven't been posted. Eldorado gives an earlier option. Its Cantina is open to the public from November through March, so the club's doors open about two months before the first public match.

That order connects the whole season. Free Saturday-evening jumping fills late October and early November, dressage takes mid-November, Empire's polo pre-season fills December, and reserved Sunday polo begins at Eldorado on the first Sunday of 2027.

The Horse Park's Next Chapter Is Still Pending

The fall calendar may not stay at Airport Boulevard forever. In August 2025, Desert International Horse Park co-owners Steve and Lisa Hankin left, and the remaining partners bought out their share. The Chronicle of the Horse reported that the remaining partners planned to move to a purpose-built site at Thermal Ranch, about two miles away. Riverside County supervisors approved the Thermal Ranch project 4 to 0 on December 17, 2025. KESQ reported in January 2026 that the project covers 619 acres around a 231-acre equestrian center, and that a group of residents had filed a lawsuit against the county citing concerns about air pollution and manure removal. No construction timeline has been announced. Every fall 2026 date above is at the current horse park in Thermal.

For Griffin Ranch residents, the show jumping, the dressage, and the January polo opener are all part of living in this end of La Quinta. If you'd like to talk about east La Quinta's equestrian side, or how that horse-country setting shapes daily life in Griffin Ranch, Donna Ambrose would be glad to talk it through with you over coffee before the Kubota Grand Prix on October 31. Let's Connect.