Héctor Barrantes Sansoni (1939–1990) was an Argentine

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small ha ...

player. He was the stepfather of

Sarah, Duchess of York Sarah, Duchess of York (born Sarah Margaret Ferguson; 15 October 1959), also known by the nickname Fergie, is a member of the British royal family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, the younger brother of King Charles III ...

Biography

Early life

He was a member of the patrician Figueroa family, and was born in 1939 in Argentina. He was the son of Martín Barrantes Figueroa y Arias and Clelia Josefina Sansoni Pais, both born in Salta, Argentina. The Figueroa family descended directly from Francisco de Toledo y Figueroa (10 July 1515 – 15 August 1582) who was an aristocrat and soldier of the Kingdom of Spain and the fifth Viceroy of Peru.Hector Barrantes, 51; Stepfather of Royal Family's 'Fergie'
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'', August 12, 1990Hector Barrantes, Argentine polo player
''

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'', August 13, 1990

Career

He started playing polo at the age of fifteen. In 1967, he moved to England to play polo with

Samuel Vestey, 3rd Baron Vestey Samuel George Armstrong Vestey, 3rd Baron Vestey, (19 March 1941 – 4 February 2021) was a British peer, landowner, and businessman. He served as Master of the Horse to Queen Elizabeth II from 1999 to 2018. Lord Vestey was part of the famil ...

Stowell Park Stowell Park Estate is a historic agricultural and sporting estate in the Cotswolds, Cotswold Hills, Gloucestershire, England. The estate includes the village of Yanworth. The main house is a Grade II* listed building and surrounded by e ...

. In 1983, he was barred from the international polo field for a year for a bout of anger.Jeannie Sakol, Caroline Latham, ''The Royals'', Congdon & Weed, 1987, p. 2

/ref> Héctor Barrantes enlisted in the

Argentine Army The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the Army, land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the comman ...

during the

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial ...

of 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom, but did not fight.'Argentine stepfather a dilemma'
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'', March 20, 1986 Later, he bred polo ponies on his 1,000-acre (400 ha) ranch in

Guaminí Guaminí is the capital of Guaminí Partido in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. History The area was first occupied by Europeans during the Conquest of the Desert The Conquest of the Desert ( es, Conquista del desierto) was an Argentine mil ...

, 335 miles (540 km) southwest of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. His polo pony called Luna, which he bred on his ranch, won the Lady Townley Cup in 1989 and 1990, ridden by

Gonzalo Pieres Gonzalo Pieres Jr. (born December 17, 1982) Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Province is a professional Argentine polo player with a 10-goal handicap. Currently, he is ranked number 3. Biography Early life Gonzalito was born into a family of polo playe ...

Personal life

His first wife died in a car crash. In 1974, he started an affair with Susan Ferguson, the mother of Sarah Ferguson, who divorced her husband Major Ronald Ferguson and left her two daughters in England. In 1975, they married in a civil ceremony in Argentina. They resided on a polo ranch in

, Argentina.

Death

He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in August 1990. He was buried, initially, in the Peace Garden cemetery in Buenos Aires. Later he was reinterred in a vault under his home and next to a polo field on his 'El Pucara' estate where, in 1998, his widow Susan was buried following her death.

Honours

A major polo trophy in Argentina has been named in Barrantes's honour, the ''Copa Héctor Barrantes''.Article from Infoecos mentioning the ''Copa Héctor Barrantes''
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrantes, Hector 1939 births 1990 deaths People from Buenos Aires Province Argentine people of the Falklands War Argentine polo players