This weekend the Escaramuza Competition takes center stage at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. The queens of the Mexican rodeo will ride sidesaddle in unison into the Dickies Arena and Tierra Azteca from Midlothian is the team to beat.
From traditional dress to traditional riding, Escaramuza teams keep the strength and beauty of Escaramuza alive.
"So Escaramuza to me is more than just a passion, it's a lifestyle to me," said Aber Alcala, team captain of Tierra Azteca Escaramuza. "I've been raised in this culture. I've been brought up with this."
Escaramuzas are the queens of the Mexican rodeo, but they are also royalty at the Forth Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.
"It's given me a sense of respect and knowledge," Alcala said. "The horsemanship that goes into this culture, that goes into the beauty, the art of the Mexican charreria."
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The Escaramuzas perform daring and balletic moves while riding side-saddle.
"We do a bunch of maneuvers that incorporate, honestly, from the American reining, but transition into a Hispanic culture kind of way," Alcala said.
It takes practice and dedication.
"We all have normal jobs, so we're working all day and we get home, get ready, and go straight to practice. Sometimes our practices last as late as 11 or midnight," Alcala said. "We're working as a team to get where we need to be so that we can come here and dominate like we did last year."
Tierra Azteca Escaramuzas are the reigning champions from last year's FWSSR competition. They hope to make it a repeat win.
This year the FWSSR has added a junior division open competition for the first time. There is $16,000 in scholarship money at stake for the team that places first. That's the largest purse for an Escaramuza competition anywhere in the United States or Mexico.
For a schedule of the FWSSR Escaramuza competitions this weekend, click here.
