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Ecuador in Pictures
Traditional Rodeo

(Click on either photo for a larger image)

horses Andean altiplano

The annual rodeo, or roundup of cattle, takes place in Ecuador's Andean highlands, with cowboys, called chagras, mounted on mixed Criollo (native South American), English Thoroughbred and Arabian stock horses, using traditional Chagra saddles with intricate leather-work and saddle horn.

cattle Andean altiplano

Note the llama or goat-hair chaps these chagras wear while rounding up thousands of cattle, including the wild "bravo" bulls, bred from Spanish fighting stock.

Visitors with riding experience can take part in a rodeo from one of Ecuador's haciendas, such as the Cattle Round-up Ride at Hacienda La Alegria.

Read about Chagras and Bravos - Ecuador's Annual Rodeo, Ecuador and the Cities and Regions of Ecuador.

More Ecuador in Pictures

Photographs thanks to Gabriel Espinoza of Hacienda La Alegria


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Copyright © Bonnie Hamre 1998 - 2006

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