Héctor Barrantes Sansoni (1939–1990) was an Argentine

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

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 British author, philanthropist, television personality, and member of the extended British royal family. She is the former wife of P ...

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 Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

, 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'
''

The Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the larges ...

'', August 12, 1990Hector Barrantes, Argentine polo player
''

Bangor Daily News The ''Bangor Daily News'' is an American newspaper covering a large portion of central and eastern Maine, published six days per week in Bangor, Maine. The ''Bangor Daily News'' was founded on June 18, 1889; it merged with the ''Bangor Whig an ...

'', 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 in Stowell Park. 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 () 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 commander-in-chief of the Armed For ...

during the

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

of 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom, but did not fight.'Argentine stepfather a dilemma'
''

The Gainesville Sun ''The Gainesville Sun'' () is a newspaper published daily in Gainesville, Florida, United States, covering the North-Central portion of the state. History The paper was founded in July 1876 as the ''Gainesville Times'', by brothers E. M. and ...

'', March 20, 1986 Later, he bred polo ponies on his 1,000-acre (400 ha) ranch in Guaminí, 335 miles (540 km) southwest of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

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

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 Guaminí, Argentina.

Death

He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

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, from a car crash.

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''
/ref>

References

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