Four young women on horseback dressed in the same dresses and hats looking into camera.

See stunning images of female equestrians inspired by the Mexican Revolution

A Swiss photographer and horse lover became fascinated with escaramuzas, who practice a colorful and historic sport to connect to their heritage.

Constance Jaeggi photographed riders for Escaramuza Charra Azteca from Manor, Texas, and other teams at practices and competitions.
ByAshley Harrell
Photographs byConstance Jaeggi
July 9, 2024

“It’s elegant and powerful—and also kind of dangerous,” says photographer Constance Jaeggi, describing escaramuza charra, an all-female Mexican rodeo event popular in communities across North America. Riders known as escaramuzas sit sidesaddle in colorful dresses inspired by fighters of the Mexican Revolution. In teams of eight, they perform veritable ballets on horseback—frequently at a gallop. Growing up in Switzerland, Jaeggi adored horses and learned to ride at age 14. Nearly two decades later while living on a Texas ranch, she competed in equestrian contests and became fascinated with escaramuzas, seeing them as kindred cowgirls. After traveling the United States to interview and photograph them, she began to see how the sport offers Mexican American women a sense of connection to their heritage.

(Mexican traditions live on in California through female rodeo performers.)

Five young women in red dresses and yellow belts on the stone stairs.
When competing, members of Escaramuza Charra Villa de Guadalupe, of Brownsville, wear sombreros, ruffled dresses, and rebozos, knotted shawls worn around the waist.
Profile portrait of young woman in sombrero and red ribbon in her hair.
Interest in Mexican rodeo often runs in families. Laura Escobedo of Brownsville, Texas, learned about the sport from her parents.
Portrait of young woman in blue dress and sombrero looking into camera.
Miranda Vargas’s portrait is displayed at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas, along with some of Jaeggi’s other works.
Look from above at send arena with sever horse riders on it.
At a morning practice in Manor, Escaramuza Charra Azteca riders kick up dust, a move mimicking revolutionary battle tactics.
Woman's hands holding religious pins.
Rosary beads, religious cards, and cameos, such as these belonging to an escaramuza from Manhattan, Illinois, often adorn uniforms.
Three young women sitting against round hay bales.
Part of Escaramuza Quetzalli from Des Moines, Iowa, Isabelle Marquez, 19, and cousins Candy Murillo Guzman, 15, and Wendy Murillo Camarena, 23, pose after a competition in Katy, Texas.
This story appears in the August 2024 issue of National Geographic magazine.

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