Hector Barrantes
| Hector Barrantes Figueroa | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1939 Argentina |
| Died |
1990 Argentina |
| Cause of death | Cancer |
| Resting place | Peace Garden Cemetery, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Occupation | Polo player |
| Spouse(s) | Susan Barrantes |
| Family | Sarah, Duchess of York (stepdaughter) |
Hector Barrantes (1939–1990) was an Argentine polo player. He was the stepfather of Sarah, Duchess of York.
Biography
Early life
He was a member of the patrician Figueroa family, and was born in 1939 in Argentina. He was the son of Martin 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.[1][2] Hector Barrantes enlisted in the Argentine army during the Falklands War of 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom, but did not fight.[3]
Career
He started playing polo at the age of fifteen.[2] In 1967, he moved to England to play polo with Samuel Vestey, 3rd Baron Vestey in Stowell Park.[2][4] In 1983, he was barred from the international polo field for a year due to a bout of anger.[5]
Later, he bred polo ponies on his 1,000-acre ranch in Guaminí, 335 miles southwest of Buenos Aires.[2] His polo pony called Luna, which he bred on his ranch, won the Lady Townley Cup in 1989 and 1990, ridden by Gonzalo Pieres.[6]
Personal life
His first wife died in a car crash.[2] 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.[2][5][7] In 1975, they married in a civil ceremony in Argentina.[2] They resided on a polo ranch in Guaminí, Argentina.[1][2]
Death
He died of cancer in August 1990.[1][2] He is buried in the Peace Garden cemetery in Buenos Aires.[2]
References
- 1 2 3 Hector Barrantes, 51; Stepfather of Royal Family's 'Fergie', The Los Angeles Times, August 12, 1990
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Hector Barrantes, Argentine polo player, Bangor Daily News, August 13, 1990
- ↑ 'Argentine stepfather a dilemma', The Gainesville Sun, March 20, 1986
- ↑ Horace A. Laffaye, The Evolution of Polo, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2009, pp. 113; 226-227
- 1 2 Jeannie Sakol, Caroline Latham, The Royals, Congdon & Weed, 1987, p. 21
- ↑ Horace A. Laffaye, The Evolution of Polo, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2009, pp. 284
- ↑ Andrew Morton, Duchess: an intimate portrait of Sarah, Duchess of York, Contemporary Books, 1989, p. 26