Ignacio “Nacho Figueras was born on 4th March 1977 in 25 de Mayo, Buenos Aires Province. He is one of the most celebrated polo players in the world with a 6-goal handicap.
He is married to Delfina Blaquier, a photographer and former model since 2004. The couple currently has four children.
As of September 2009, he is ranked as one of the top 100 polo players in the world. In 2015, models.com ranked him in the top eighteen of their Money Men.
Sometimes called the “David Beckham of polo”, he usually plays in Argentina and in the U.S. as part of the Black Watch Polo Team. He has also been the face of Ralph Lauren’s Black Label line since 2005 and was recently chosen to represent the entire line of Polo fragrances.
Figueras began playing polo at the age of 9. He turned pro at 17, playing at various locations in Europe before arriving in Bridgehampton, New York in 1999. There, he joined White Birch, a team shared at the time by Peter Brant and Neil Hirsch. He currently plays for and is captain of Black Watch, a team he co-owns with Hirsch. The team is named after the Scottish Black Watch regiment that served the British Crown for 266 years. The Black Watch Polo team has won numerous tournaments throughout the US- entering competition at the high goal 26 level in 2004, Black Watch has enjoyed success by reaching the finals of the 2004 US Gold Cup, and the 2005 CV Whitney Cup. They were also successful in winning the 2007 Hall of Fame Cup.
When he was approached by the photographer Bruce Weber 12 years ago at a dinner party held by Kelly Klein, he thought that modeling would help him out in buying more squirrelly mounts. He then realized that he can make some extra money and raise awareness for the concerned sport.
Nacho started modeling for Ralph Lauren in the year 2000, eventually became the face of the Ralph Lauren Black Label in 2005, and has been under contract since then. In May 2009, he was made the face of the World of Polo fragrances, including Polo Black, Polo Blue and Polo Modern Reserve. Black Watch is also a label under the Ralph Lauren umbrella, offering tight polo shirts emblazoned with Nacho’s number 2, an idea of Figueras to make it a billion-dollar brand.
In October 2010, Nacho Figueras co-hosted the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic with Cameron Silver in Los Angeles at Will Rogers state park attracting celebrities and socialites like Minnie Driver, Mischa Barton, Donovan Leitch and Rachel Zoe. When this party was organized initially, it had a handful number of guests under a tent. Later, people started liking the idea, which eventually attracted top brands and top celebrities wanting to be a part of it.
With all that fashion and glamour attached to him, his heart still beats faster for Polo. According to his recent interviews when he is on the field, mounted on his horse in a match, his heart beats faster and Polo is like life to him. For a polo player the first love is always his horse and of course the polo field.
