Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 34

can rider displays correct technique. The first picture shows how he uses his right leg as a lever after catching the tail, then a quick twist and the bull Is off balance. The final picture shows the bull down. THROWING THE BULL Is one of the most exciting events of the Charro Club's Sunday shows. The contestant sets out after the bull at a dead run, cnTthrnws the animal.

In the pictures above an Ameri- ii i mm i urn in i imiiiiil iiMiriiiininiTnrrrTllTflnirfmHrri ll i I I I i r.pirir-i-yiipiu-i-i..iiii...i-J.u.Min.. 1 1 1 1 i i i in impm mwiini nin mi iipnii jbii iihiium I- iiiniiiiininiiiciniiniiiifi-5i By GRACE ERNESTINE RAY f'CN it 7 II I wr if 'v-'" instinct to fight bulls is so strong in Mexico that at least anv ordinary wild-west rodeo is a bull-tight. How- THE inst half of evfr, in HE in rodeos, the bulls are not slain. They are merely fnrmpn trH nnd turned loose. Cape-plav with bulls trom horseback is one stunt.

Riding a bull bareback while he charges toreadors armed with red capes is another. Weekly rodeos on Sunday mornings the year-round are conducted by the Charro (cowboy) Club of Mexico City. It is composed of native aristocrats, deposed hacienda owners, doctors, lawyers, army officers, and other people with previous experience as cowboys. They perform for the fun of it, as U. S.

business men play golf. COME of the Mexican cowboys them- A former Oklahoma City man who i ,,7 FOR A THRILL, try roping a wild horse with the lariat tied around your own neck. The Mexican cowboy literally bets his life on the skill of his roping and gives the wild horse an even break. r'A I V' -iii l.ij Mill A TYPICAL CHARRO. decked out in Sunday best for the rodeo.

His jacket and breeches are of deerskin, studded with silver. A charro's outfit may valued at thousands of dollars. has been a resident-geologist in Mexico for 20 years, recently beat the natives at their own game and won the prize in bull tail-throwing awarded by the Charro Club. He is Lowell P. Ridings, graduate of the University of Oklahoma Geology School.

A Mexican rodeo is more violent than its counterpart in the United States. It has the usual roping, bronc-busting, and bull-dogging, but it also stages such things as "the leap of death," in which a rider jumps from his own running horse to the bare back of a wild mustang that is racing hell-bent across the arena. If the charro misses, he may be kicked by the wild horse or merely trampled by the mounts of the pick-up men. A daring charro will also rope a wild broom-tail horse, keeping the free end of the rope tied around his own neck while riding full blast. Such possibilities! The favorite sport is throwing wild bulls by the tail.

As soon as the bull is released in the arena, the rider chases him, grabs his tail, and draws it under his own leg for leverage. He gives the tail a quick, powerful twist. If he is successful, the bull is upset, and, because of the headlong speed, the bull, seated on his tail, slides along the ground with his own momentum for several yards, to the crowd's amusement. Cowgirls usually take no part in performances, but feminine admirers in charro-girl costume decorate the stands and cheer the dashing fellows. Accidents are frequent, but when one happens, he victim is removed from the arena, and a tipica stringed orchestra takes his place.

Stirring music erases the unpleasant memory from spectators' minds. Native dancers entertain on improvised platforms. A grand march, with a queen leading the parade, always opens a rodeo, and specialties of equestrian acts are inserted. I saw a waltzing Arabian white steed, which danced forward, then backward, in perfect waltz time, for the length of the grandstand. The queen, of "a honey," to use the American slang term which has been adopted by the Mexicans.

It is hard to beat a Mexican senorita on looks, and the men know how to pick a winner. I IHMI If Iff llN-1 fa I 1 I I selves die on muigi nanujuuit, although one sees some examples of the stocky, homely, type we read about in bandit fiction stories. Costumes and equipment of members of the Charro Club surpass those of most cowboy performers in the U. S. Breeches and bolero jackets are usually of soft deerskin, studded with silver ornaments or elaborately embroidered.

The breeches are neatly fitted, and chaps, if worn, gracefully follow the outlines of legs, instead of flaring out. No boots are worn, but instead, deerskin shoes extend under the leather breeches. Hand-made silver rowell spurs are used. I saw one charro whose costume, weighted with silver, was evaluated at 10,000 pesos, or Mexican dollars. On the other hand, I saw another Mexican native charro who was attired in the neatest English riding breeches and boots that ever appeared on American soil.

He contrasted strangely with Ridings, the American man, who wore a Mexican costume. The horses of Mexican cowboys are equipped with bridles ornamented with silver, and the saddles have the great wooden horns that are used on Mexican ranches. A man can't "pull leather" or grab the horn when he is afraid he is about to be unseated from one of these saddles because the horns are so large he can't get his hand around them! Silver is not overlooked in fashioning the saddles, because Mexicans know how to show off their famous hand-made silver in artistic patterns. Charros prefer heavy-chested, high-stepping horses of the charger type which have power to hold roped animals. Incidentally, such horses are good-looking animals with arched necks and dainty, graceful carriage- The wild horses used in the rodeos are mustangs picked up, on the range.

They are fierce and wiry. Once I saw a mustang approach the five-foot wall around 'the arena and climb over it like a The rodeo serves as a weekly warm-up for the spectators, who get their sporting blood flowing freely, then rush over to a bull-fight in another part of the city and watch the 'matadors dispatch six or seven bulls each Sunday afternoon. Hilt it BRONC TWISTING without saddle or hackamore. Once the wild horse is caught, the rider mounts at a run from another horse and stays as lonr as he can. It's a wild bareback ride! i It.

-H fit i rr i 5 I. BULL BAITING combines riding and cape-play. The contestant on the bull's back gets an exciting ride while other charros torment the bull wiu YANKEE and prUe-winnin tail twister is Lowell P. Ridings, graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He has lived in Mexico for 20 years, beats even the best charros at their own game.

capes, in best bull-ring fashion. i i 1 4 5 i- "4 VI wr 1 1 ts VO 1 hsftrrJJ ik fen i i 'mm vt 9- -r L. 31. im Urt NATIVE DANCES are abo included. They are performed during intermissions to the accompaniment of a stringed orchestra.

If a contestant is injured, the dancers go into action at once to make the crowd forget the accident. GIRLS ARE BANNED from competition in this daring Mexican sport. The beauties dress in cnarro cosiuim. their favorites from the stands. They take part in the parade, too, and a rodeo ueen is always elected.

(Every Week Magazine Printed in V. S..