Nacho Figueras. Photo by Peter Ash Lee.
“Popularizing polo is the challenge for Figueras. And although the sport hasn’t erased its public image as a rich man’s game, that is a misconception that Figueras has spent much of his career trying to correct. ‘I understand where the elite thing comes from, obviously, because polo is associated with Prince Charles and Prince Harry,’ he says. ‘Polo is a sport that you pass from generation to generation. Today, playing polo, logistically, is a bit more complicated and expensive, but in the beginning of the [last] century, horses were around. We didn’t have cars. We had horses. And if you had a horse, you grabbed a mallet, and you played polo.’
How do you persuade North Americans to watch men with mallets ride horses? Figueras, a 6-handicap player (which places him in the top 5 per cent of players in the world), is suited to the task. ‘I do believe there is a little space for polo,’ he says. ‘And if I can widen that space…’He trails off, and then adds, matter-of-factly, ‘Polo will never be basketball or [American] football, but there is room to grow.’”
To read the full story (published today on NUVO’s website), visit: http://nuvomagazine.com/magazine/autumn-2013/nacho-figueras.