Nacho Figueras has your next summer beach read – champagne, glamour and riding crops included.
The renowned polo player and Ralph Lauren model is launching Polo Season, a trilogy of steamy novels that kicks off with High Season on May 31.
A close friend of Prince Harry’s, Figueras, 39, will spend some of the summer playing polo in California and the Hamptons, New York, before returning to his home in Argentina for fall. Here are five things you need to know about the scorching star:
1. He has been on horseback since age 1
As captain and co-owner of Argentina’s Black Watch team, he lives and breathes the sport of kings. “My dad was an amateur player, and I first rode a horse at age one,” he tells PEOPLE. “I began playing polo at nine. I am so passionate about polo, horses, breeding and being in the barn, that I want to share my enthusiasm with others.”
2. Polo Season is about a lot more than horses
“Polo players are sexy!” he says. “They fall in love, drink champagne, dine in expensive restaurants and have love affairs on the beach. With writer Jessica Whitman, we showcase the hard-riding, hard-partying polo players and their lives.”
3. He is a married father of four
“I have been with my wife Delfina for 18 years, and we have four children [Hilario, 16, Aurora, 11, Artemio, 6, and Alba, 3]. I found out a lot of things about life early on, so I was ready to settle down when I met Delfina at a polo match. We both love horses, traveling on long trips with our children for polo matches and seeing the world together.”
4. He has a few secrets to keeping his marriage hot. (Hint: no kids allowed)
“Delfina and I admire, love and respect each other, and we work on our relationship every day. We keep our marriage strong by creating activity for ourselves and immersing in different cultures. We add a couple of days to short business trips and take off on our own. We enjoy restaurants and museums in Paris, romantic excursions in Rome and Venice and visiting interesting friends in Los Angeles.
“But our favorite place to be together is our home in Argentina, about 45 minutes from Buenos Aires. We love our property, our barn and waking up each day to mingle with our horses and enjoy polo.”
5. He and Prince Harry are united for a good cause
“I enjoy working as an ambassador with Prince Harry on Sentebale, his children’s AIDS foundation in southern Africa. He is totally committed and that inspires me. He is the first person to wake up and see the kids. He pushes charity polo matches to achieve more for the children, and he is constantly raising the bar. He never ceases to amaze me.”
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