home team

With help from designer Sarah Sherman Samuel, polo champion Nacho Figueras and photographer Delfina Blaquier create a chic family- and horse-friendly base in Florida

- JENNIFER ASH RUDICK

Sitting in their airy living room, champion polo player Ignacio "Nacho" Figuerasone of the world's most recognized athletes, thanks both to his superlative skills on the pitch and to his 20-year career as a Ralph Lauren model-and his wife, photographer Delfina Blaquier, are the picture of breezy graciousness. Massive windows overlook a man-made lake; blue herons stride around its grassy rim. Such a mythical scene could imply a remote setting, but in fact, it's the middle of Wellington, Florida, the "winter circuit" horse capital of the world.

Blaquier is happy to be back from having spent weeks in Argentina, where the couple's 13-year-old son, Artemio, was competing in a tournament. Figueras and their older son, Hilario, spend winters playing polo professionally in Florida. The couple's younger daughter, Alba, divides her time between polo and show jumping, while their older daughter, Aurora, studies industrial design in Buenos Aires. "We're always going in different directions-it's the life of a horse family," says Blaquier. "The nice thing is, when you travel a lot, every time you return, you see your surroundings with fresh eyes."

Until two years ago, the family's Florida base was a nearby three-bedroom condominium, more of a place to eat and sleep than a sanctuary. When Figueras, a design devotee with an eye for real estate, heard this house was coming on the market, he and Blaquier purchased it without hesitation. "It's the best lot in the development because it's on a corner and surrounded by water," Figueras says.