Héctor Barrantes

Héctor Eduardo Barrantes Sansoni (9 March 1939 - 10 August 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 on 9 March 1939 in Argentina. He was the son of Martín Barrantes Figueroa 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.

Career He started playing polo at the age of fifteen. In 1983, he was barred from the international polo field for a year for a bout of anger.

Héctor Barrantes enlisted in the Argentine Army during the Falklands War of 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom, but did not fight.

Later, he bred polo ponies on his 1,000-acre (400 ha) ranch in Guaminí, 335 miles (540 km) southwest of Buenos Aires.

Personal life His first wife died in a car crash. In 1975, they married in a civil ceremony in Argentina.

Honours A major polo trophy in Argentina has been named in Barrantes's honour, the Copa Héctor Barrantes.