CRUELTY vs CULTURE....... you be the judge???

How would you feel if you saw this at a rodeo?

"You are in the front row. A bony Arabian mare stands so close you can see the scars on her flanks, and the terror in her eyes. Three men on horseback swoop down on the mare, chasing her with swinging lariats, until she's galloping 25 miles an hour. Each time the mare races round the ring, a fourth man aims a rope at the mare's forelegs. The goal: to topple her to the ground, and win points.

This mare has already been lassoed several times - those scars you saw were rope burns that carved away inches of her flesh. But this time the mare won't get up again. She crashes head over heels, breaks her leg, and is euthanized."

The 3 events which include tripping are:

• piales en la lienzo -- roping of the hind legs of a horse
• manganas a pie -- tripping or felling of a horse from on foot
• manganas a caballo -- tripping or felling a horse from horseback

Charro Rodeo History

The charreada is the national sport of Mexico. It is a time-honored tradition dating back to 16th century Spain and brought to the Americas after the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1520. In the early 1700s, the "sport" moved to the Mexican ranch where ranchers roped steers and bucking horses in a display of their skill, horsemanship, and machismo. In the 1950s and '60s, charro associations began to crop up in the U. S., eventually becoming established in six states in the Midwest and Southwest (Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, and Texas). Today, all U. S. charreada competitions are overseen by 84 charro federations.

Cruelty versus Culture

The charreada is based on the notion that the charro must be a brave and skilled horseman to confront the fury of a wild horse and bring the animal to the ground. Such romantic legend, however, ! has little relevance to the manner in which the rodeos are practiced today. "Killer" buyers purchase unwanted horses at auction and squeeze the last nickel out of these pitiful creatures by renting them out, at about $65 per day, for a weekend of torture in the charro rodeos. There, the frightened animals are lassoed and tripped repeatedly in 3 different horse tripping events. Some horses have been known to try to leap over walls in an attempt to escape from the arena, only to be captured and brought back to be subjected to more torment -- all to the cheers of the spectators. After they are used in the rodeos, the horses are sent to slaughter.

Outlawing Horse Tripping

On August 26, 1994, California Governor Pete Wilson signed into law a bill banning the intentional tripping of horses for entertainment or sport. The bill was supported by numerous groups including the California Veterinary Medical Association, the American Horse Protection Association, the California Council of Police and Sheriffs, the California District Attorney's Association, the Great American Cowboy Association, and breeder and racing associations. Hispanic organizations also endorsed the legislation. The banning of intentional horse tripping for entertainment does not end the Mexican charreada tradition, merely the 3 events involving an act which inflicts needless suffering on animals.

Horse-tripping is so cruel that it has been banned in other U.S. states, California, Florida, Illinois, Maine, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, in film and TV production, by! the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), and by the American Quarter Horse Association. As of this writing, the practice has spread to Nevada, Wyoming, and Colorado.

This information was collected by www.fund4horses.org

www.coronaranch.com This is where the advertising of the rodeo is located.....

http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/0827phx-rodeo0829.html This is an article in The Arizona Republic on Monday August 27, 2007

www.sharkonline.org/indexrodeom.mv This is graphic and very painfull to watch!!!!

www.house.gov/writerep/ Contact your local government to help stop "Horse Tripping"

www.fund4horses.org More information regarding this practice and other horse issues.

Joey Ogburn, President/Founder
LUV Shack Ranch Rescue, "changing the world, one horse, one child at a time"
501(c)3 Registered Charity
www.luvshackranch.org
602-400-0826