colorful heritage

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46 N JUNE 2010 N PAINT HORSE JOURNAL


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A favorite mount forcharreadas, AmericanPaint Horsesbring good looks and versatility to these traditional Mexican rodeos.

By TOM MOATES

PAINT HORSE JOURNAL N JUNE 2010 N 47

Charreras embody

Mexican culture and

are comprised of

many skill-based,

crowd-pleasing

events.

Facing: Yesenia

Garcia takes a break

from practice with

Bonbon.

he large round sombrero hats with theirconical centers and slightly folded brims

are unmistakable. Men and women, char-ros and charras, alike wear them, and a sea of

the festive halos dot the arena and grand-stands. They alone are enough to signify thisrodeo as charrera Mexicana.

The scene, however, is rich with the flavorof timeless Mexican equestrian culture. Char-ros wearing tight-fitting leather shotgunchaps, long-sleeved shirts, and pluming but-terfly-style ties at their collars straddle thefence by the bucking chutes. Others aremounted on colorful horses, riding in ornatesaddles with huge wooden horns. A handfulof mustached men wearing short, somewhat

military-looking jackets with ornatelystitched patterns along the sleeves and lapelshover about tables in a judges stand. Analmost continual flow of a Spanish-speakingmans voice emits from the loud speakersacross the round arena and commingles witha Mexican tune being played somewhere closeby on brass horns, sounding like a marchingband in a nearby parade.

White chalk marks on the ground delineatevarious areas in the arena. One charro ridesaround continually swinging a large looparound himself and his horse with one arm

and managing a huge number of rope coilswith the other. A fancy trick is thrown in forgood measure once in awhile. Children, per-fectly dressed miniatures of their eldersboysin the same hats, ties, jackets and chaps, andgirls in beautiful flowing skirts, long-sleevedmatching blouses and hats whose colors easilyidentify them with their familys escaramuzateamdart here and there.

Several charros on horses begin to mill aboutthe arena, as one on foot begins to flip a loop

around himself. The lasso spinshorizontally to his side, and he jumps

through it once ...twice ... three times. Suddenly,the mounted charros move a mare around the

curved edge of the round arena past the pedes-trian, who makes a forth hop through the loop

just as the mare passes. Seemingly effortless, hethen casually flips the loop around her neck.

This is charreada.

A family traditionCharrera is the traditional

Mexican rodeo. Aside frombeing a very popular sport,charrera maintains great his-torical significance for people

of Mexican heritage. Thecharro, in olden times, was firsta cowboy by trade whose tal-ents with a rope and horse werepractical necessities of ranchingand working with cattle. Intimes of conflict, however, thecharro became a fighter. He

was a very important citizensoldier to the Mexican people,particularly during the Mexi-can revolutions (both the War for Independ-ence, fought from 18101821, and the

Revolution of 1910), and is of notable signifi-cance to the cultural identity of Mexicans.

The charro of modern charrera harkensback to these great heroes of the nation andcelebrates them, even as contemporary rodeochampions demonstrate their personal roping,reining and rough stock talents. Jorge Torres,a trainer since the 1970s from RiversideCounty in Southern California, is a renownedcharro and often competes with his childrenSandy, Gabi, Christi and Jaivo.

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Above and far right:

Performed by up to 12

charras, the escaramuza

is an intricate drill team

performance.

Right: Other

charreada events

include the rough-stock

competition jinete de

yegua. COURTESYCHARROUSA.COM

Torres is consistently at the top of the sport,and especially enjoys the registered AmericanPaint Horses he and his family use in char-rera. This time-honored event is more than asimple equestrian competitionits an entireequestrian folk tradition whose intricatedetails and stringent standards preserve andperpetuate the charro style and culture ofhorsemanship and roping.

Everybody related to Jorge is involved incharrera in one way or another, saidToby de laTorre, president of the Charros Federation,USA, and southern Californiarepresentative forFederacion Mexicana de Charreria. Charrera isin his familys blood and his walls are covered

with accomplishments he and his family haveearned. Jorge has been a long time recognizedas a top reining trainer [for charro events] in theU.S. Besides winning more than 15 state cham-pion reining titles himself, his teams and horseshe has trained have won many state champi-onships. His teams have participated in eightnational championships, and I have participatedin three with him.

Torres children have also participated at thesports top levels.His daughters ride in the top U.S escara-

muza [drill] teams, said de la Torre. His onlyson, Jaivo, became one of the youngest topcharros in the U.S. to ever qualify for the

world national finals in Mexico. Jorge has alsoskipped important opportunities and compe-titions to personally assist and make sure hisdaughters and sons competitions go safelyhe and his wife, Romelia, gleam with pride

when it comes to family accomplishments.Men and women, boys and girls, and even

elders compete in charrera. Strong, ongoingfamily participation across generations, asthe Torres family demonstrates, is typical inthis horse-based pastime. In addition to theenthusiastic participants, many other familymembers and local people behind the sceneshelp make these rodeos possible and enjoy

watching the grand gatherings as well. Char-rera Mexicana is truly a major celebrationof a strong community identity, whereverthey are held.



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Naturally, Mexico is home to many rodeoteams and charrera events, but they haveenjoyed strong popularity in the United Statesfor many decades as well. In the U.S., manylocal, regional and state competitions are heldannually, and the best teams are eligible tocompete in the world finals held in Mexico.

Until recently, titles and trophies werethe sole winnings of charros and charras,and there were no cash prizes as in main-stream North American-style rodeo events.De la Torre explains recently changes some-

what, and monetary prizes have started fil-tering into charrera, although its nosubstitute for the personal pride earned by

winning an event.To this day, de la Torre said, the most

cherished prize is the applause and apprecia-tion of the audience and loved ones. That is

what we keep and take to heart and home.

Painted partnersThe very underpinnings of charrera,

however, are the athletic horses that makethe incredible feats of mounted charros andcharras possible. Paint Horses are a favoriteof many charrera contestants on both sidesof the border.

I like the Paint Horseits such a goodhorse, said Torres. To begin with, I like colorin horses. Color and conformation andmindif I can get all that together, thatll bemy horse!

I am excited about the influx of top reiningand cutting bloodlines in the APHA [Ameri-can Paint Horse Association] horses of today,de la Torre said. The unique beauty and ver-satility of the American Paint Horse adds tothe glamour of our traditional sport.

A tremendous amount of personal time andenergy are lavished on these horses, and it Far left: Paints color,

conformation and tem-

perament make them a

popular choice as

mounts.

Left: Charreadas are truly

social events, with

family and friends

coming together for the

competitions.

Below: Traditional attire,

like the escaramuza out-

fit worn by Yesenia, is an

important part of the

event, as well.COURTESYCHARROUSA.COM

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requires many hours of work to become adeptat the upper levels of these competitions.Some of the highest honors in charrera are

won by registered APHA horses, including theBabcock Ranch-bred 2001 bay tobiano stallionHB Instant Paint. Sired by HB Instant Choiceand out of Painted Liza Lynx, the stallion isTor-ress current cala (Mexican style of reining)

champion mount.I think my first Paint was 20 years ago,

Torres said. Lately, you see Paint Horsesmore and more working in this kind ofrodeo. Women love Paint Horses, you know.In the escaramuzas, you see a lot of PaintHorses. Where my daughter performs, thedrill team is eight ladies riding, and three areriding Paint Horses. They dress up reallynice, and a Paint Horse is even more of aflashy lookmore chrome! But these horses

have real strong bodies, and thats what weneed in our performances. We need powerin the horses.

Colorful eventsThe charreada is made up of a unique set of

events conducted in an arena shaped like a keyhole: the a long alley is called the lienzo, which

terminates into a round area, called the ruedo.This layout facilitates all the events of charreraCharros compete using roping and riding skillsfrom their distinctive cowboying traditionThese are: Calaa form of reining Piales en el lienzoa mounted charro

ropes the hind legs of a running mare, andbrings her to a gradual stop by dallying tohis wooden saddle horn. He runs out longlengths of rope, which causes an impres-

Above: Gabi

Torres and Zorrillo

demonstrate the punta

event, which is similar to

a rundown and sliding

stop in reining.

Right: Many charreada

events took root in the

regions working

cowboy heritage.

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OUSA.COM



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sive cloud of smoke and an audiblesinging from the friction until the mareis halted.

Colas en lienzotailing the steer, where arider chases down a running steer, grabshis tail, and then uses his foot and leg topull the steer off balance, bringing it tothe ground.

Jineteo de novillosbull riding, in which acharro mounts a bull in a chute and thenrides until he is either thrown or the bullstops bucking.

Terna en el ruedoa form of team ropinginvolving intricate trick roping.

Jinete de yeguaa rough-stock event wherea charro attempts to ride a wild mare untilshe stops, becomes calm and can be quietlydismounted.

Manganas a pie and manganas a caballoroping a mare using intricate trick roping.The former is done with the charro on foot,

and the latter done from horseback. Paso de la muertethe leap of death,

where three riders and a wild mare ridetogether along the walls of the ruedo. Onecharro leaps from his bare-backed horseonto the untamed bare-backed mare andthen attempts to ride her to a quiet stop andcalmly dismount.Escaramuzas charras are the women of

charrera. They add tremendous color,elegance, and beauty to charrera. Thesehorsewomen participate in three events, the

punta (a single run with a sliding stop), thecala (a reining competition) and the incred-ible escaramuza (intricate drill team pat-terns). All charra events are ridden in longskirts and performed side saddle.

Escaramuza is often translated in Englishas skirmish, which is true in part, but theSpanish term carries an understood eques-trian slant as a small fight between soldierson horseback. The drills performed by asmany as 12 escaramuzas charras, while fullof pageantry and grace, are highly athleticand clearly give the artful appearance of cav-

alry in battle. In fact, the precise weaves,twists and sudden maneuvers of the

womens drills, often done at high speeds,are very dangerous. Collisions between rid-ers can occur with serious consequences,and the apparent ease that the women suc-cessfully portray in their maneuvers is testi-mony to their riding skill, dedicatedpractice and fine horses.

There are two riding outfits allowed forescaramuzas: the traje, a tailored suit with skirt

of a dark color, and the most often wornAdelita costume, named for a legendary fig-ure reputed to have been a fighter and com-panion of general Pancho Villa. In her book,Charrera Mexicana, Kathleen M. Sandsdescribes this typical escaramuza outfit as: along skirt, rebozo [womens shawl] crossedover her bodice, and calf-length boots [which]became popular during the revolution.

Charros adhere to five categories of attire forthemselves and their horses. These range fromthe simplest charro outfit, based on workingcowboys attire used in the 19th and early 20th

centuries, all the way up to the most formalcategory used exclusively for ceremonies, suchas weddings. Dress for both charros andcharras is carefully spelled out in the rules.Breaking these dress codes can causedisqualification, and since the correct attire incharrera is seen to relate to a contestantsproper representation of Mexican dignity, the

costume receives as much attention fromjudges as performance. This careful attentionto appearance is often enhanced by the color-ful and showy look of a Paint Horse.

Today, thanks to the passionate participantsof charrera for over a century, many people mayenjoy the remarkable skill and horsemanship ofMexican style charros and charras. Clearly, dueto the American Paint Horses looks, conforma-tion and mind, it is a proven favorite amongsome of charreras top winners.p

To comment on this article, [email protected].

Below: Charreadas are

rich in horsemanship

and filled with cultural

identity, and Paint

Horses are likely to

continue to play a

leading role in theseevents.

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