tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20379199.post-66953766304608379522008-07-15T12:10:00.003-04:002008-07-15T12:12:51.053-04:00<h2 class="entry-title">Nacho Figueras Explains Polo to Us</h2> <div class="entry-content"> <div class="entry-body"> <div class="image left"><img alt="Nacho Figueras" src="http://images.nymag.com/images/2/daily/intel/08/07/14_figueras_lgl.jpg" /><p class="caption"><cite>Photo: Getty Images</cite></p></div>July14, 2008<br /><br />The Hamptons polo season <a href="http://www.bhpolo.com/">starts this Saturday</a>, and one of the world’s most famous players, occasional <a href="http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/designers/bios/ralphlauren/">Ralph Lauren</a> model Nacho Figueras, moves into his Sag Harbor summer rental to prepare. (Okay, let's face it, he's the <i>only</i> famous polo player. Why is he the only one anyone ever talks about? Because he's hot? Okay, that's fair.) He’ll be playing in Bridgehampton each Saturday through mid-August. The eternally adorable Argentine explained the appeal of the game to Julie Earle-Levine and answered our ultimate burning questions about polo: Isn't it <i>really</i> just about wearing pastel and drinking Champagne? (Answer: apparently not.) <p><strong>Does anyone in the U.S. actually follow polo?</strong><br />New Yorkers are obviously very into baseball and football, but I think that New Yorkers are very open-minded, so they are really into any sports. </p> <p><strong>But isn’t the polo thing really just about the Hamptons social scene?</strong><br />No! Polo is a sport that is very underrated and has a lot more to offer. It is a great thing to do with family. I play polo with my son, who is 8 years old. He is learning the sport. It is a very special thing. The bond you have with horses is very, very special. They are wonderful creatures. You cannot be a polo player unless you have special relationship with horses.</p> </div> <div id="more" class="entry-more"> <p><strong>And you think the Bridgehampton crowd appreciates that bond?</strong><br />Of course some people are there to socialize. But after the matches, many people come up and tell me about the game, and I realize they have been following it. When I first got to America, in 1999, I couldn’t understand baseball. It is the same with polo. You need to learn the game and watch it. Then you can appreciate it.</p> <p><strong>Is it played in places more accessible to normal people than the Hamptons and Greenwich?</strong><br />You need room, like fourteen acres. There is a polo club in Meadow Brook, Long Island, a club in Greenwich, and a club in Millbrook, upstate New York. </p> <p><strong>And the crowd seems to be all models, media barons, and hedge-fund guys.</strong><br />I think polo is for everyone. Polo is for kids, family, and everyone. Polo is a sport that brings together people from all over the world. I mean, a guy like me, from middle-class family in Argentina, I met the Queen and played polo there, and then I spend a lot of time with the grooms in the barns.</p> <p><strong></strong><span style="font-weight: bold;">ends</span><br /></p> </div> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/20379199-6695376630460837952?l=julieearle.blogspot.com'/></div>Julie Earle-Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04691578312896667223julie@julieearle.net