FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
SIDELINES NOVEMBER 2012 57
to request autographs and ask him to pose for photos – oh,
it’s amazing how men and women; but especially women, love
having their picture taken with Nacho. When professional polo
player Juan Salinas-Bentley asked us to snap photos of the
Outback staff with Tim, who donates the food and catering staff
for the Van Metre Cup’s hospitality tent, Nacho, Salvatore and
John were right there in the middle of the friendly crowd.
After the exuberant, but relatively orderly photo was a
done deal, we suggested a group hug. That’s when the young
women in Outback shirts sweetly mobbed the celebrities, but
especially Nacho. Who could blame them? He hugged each of
them and, grinning ear to ear, they went back to work. Nacho
had made their day. Then he and his fellow celebs made their
way through the tent, slowed down by more hand-shakes and
kisses, several people trying to steer their course back across
the feld so they could get on their horses for the frst chukker.
“I want very much for polo to be more recognized as a great
spectator sport,” said Nacho. “It isn’t just for the rich. It’s for
everybody. It’s a great way to spend a day with family and
friends. It’s exciting. It’s fun. I love playing polo. I am all about
the game. I may not be the best player out there, but I never
give up.”
Nacho is, frst and foremost, a polo player. He is rated with
a handicap of six goals, which he admits might be more if all
he did was play polo. He serves as captain of Ralph Lauren’s
Black Watch team and plays on a number of other teams.
Modeling has allowed him to play polo around the world and
to fulfll his personal mission: encouraging people to enjoy the
game that he started playing as a child.
Born in 1977 in Argentina, Nacho grew up on a small farm.
His earliest memories include riding alongside his father. He
has always loved horses and got totally hooked on polo when
he was eight. His parents insisted that he get a good education
by attending school in Buenos Aires, but even then Nacho’s
passion for polo wasn’t to be denied. His parents agreed that
he could live at a polo farm outside the capital city as long as
he kept up with his studies.
At 17, he jumped at the chance to play as a professional in
Paris. In that early stage of his career, he doubled as his own
groom. In 1997, he hit the USA for about a year, getting a real
view of the country by playing polo in Georgia and Tennessee
with developer and polo patron John Flournoy. He went back to
the European polo scene for a couple of years. In 1999, Nacho
returned to the United States and made some outstanding
contacts in New York and the Hamptons that helped to launch
his modeling career in 2000, thanks to two legends, Ralph
Lauren and photographer Bruce Weber.
Nacho’s public persona has empowered him to serve as a
self-proclaimed ambassador of polo. He came up with the idea
for the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic tournament, attended by
thousands of New Yorkers, which began on Governor’s Island
and moved for its ffth renewal to Liberty State Park last June.
Will Rogers Park in Los Angeles hosted the third annual Veuve
Clicquot Classic in October. Polo played on opposite ends of
the country, attracting all kinds of people on both sides of the
feld who meet in the middle at half time for the divot-stomping
ritual. Nacho’s success and his fame are vehicles for bringing
more enthusiasts to the sidelines of the game that he loves.
“Modeling gave me a great opportunity – more than being
Continued on page 58
Macho Nacho
By Abby Westmark
If there was a checklist of requirements for sexiest man alive, Nacho Figueras
would have every box flled in, highlighted and circled twice. From his perfectly
imperfect tousled hair (that even looks good after a hard match of polo!) to his
dashingly mischievous smile and suave Argentinian accent, Nacho is the complete
package.
In fact, Nacho is so gorgeous every woman you know has probably swooned
over him just a little bit - as an international polo ambassador and the face of Ralph
Lauren’s Polo and Black Label line, we imagine that Nacho is driving hordes of
women toward the polo world every day - which is exactly what he’s going for.
Nacho’s mission is to introduce the world to the sport of polo – he’s out to prove
that if a middle-class farmer’s son such as himself can make it, so can anyone who
puts their mind to it. And although Nacho is happily married to former model Delfna
Blaquier, with whom he has three adorable children, he continues to jet-set all over
the world to play - and publicize - polo.
When Sidelines caught up with him, he was headed to Beijing, China, having
recently played a match in Argentina. Naturally, we wanted to know what his travel
essentials were, expecting something along the lines of hairspray, hairspray and
more hairspray (the only way we can imagine his hair always looks so perfect,) but we were pleasantly surprised when his reply
included his iPad, credit card and a rosary. For all his sex appeal, Nacho really is a family man - in addition to keeping his faith
close to heart, he’s rarely seen with a drink in his hand. On the occasions he does drink, he prefers champagne, particularly
Veuve Clicquot.
Of course, with all this time in the limelight one would expect Nacho to be reserved or aloof, but that defnitely isn’t the case. He
greets friends and fans on and off the polo feld with a boyish grin, responding to questions about polo and requests for photos.
When asked how he feels about being a heartthrob, he demurely replies that his wife is the most beautiful woman in the world,
and he the luckiest man.
Gentlemen take note, because Nacho has fgured out the recipe for success – he’s down-to-earth, sensitive and approachable,
despite his fame and fortune. I’m sure his wife feels just as fortunate in her relationship as he does, having found what really does
seem to be the modern-day equivalent of prince charming.
Nacho is the face behind the World
of Polo fragrances.
Photo courtesy of Ralph Lauren Corporation