
Five years in, Fort Worth rodeo’s escaramuza competition spotlights Mexican culture
The eight young women on the Selección Oklahoma Juvenil escaramuza team galloped side saddle into Will Rogers Coliseum Feb. 1 with their heads held high. The team — sporting the same black embroidered traditional Mexican dress — smiled from ear to ear. Sara Seanez, the team’s captain, looked around at the circular arena with excitement. The youth escaramuza competition at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo was the first time the women were performing together as a newly formed team. Over the next several minutes, the women performed a synchronized escaramuza routine, composed of various turns, crosses and passes within the arena with the goal of showcasing their precision, fluidity and timing in their movements. Several judges sat high above the arena, tallying points and scoring their overall presentation. Six escaramuza teams participated in the youth competition that day. After hours of deliberation and final performances, the members of Selección Oklahoma Juvenil erupted into cheers of joy as they heard the news: They had won first place. For team members, winning first place at any escaramuza competition is special. But, it meant more for the team to be recognized at an event growing in popularity within the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo. “We’re just happy and thankful about the work we did. We only got together for this competition. We only had a small amount of time to practice and it took a lot of patience, unity and teamwork,” Seanez said.Members of the Selección Oklahoma Juvenil youth escaramuza team gather inside Will Rogers Coliseum after their routine on Feb. 1, 2025. Team captain Sara Seanez, center, stands in front of her team. (David Moreno | Fort Worth Report) How escaramuza competition made its way to Fort WorthEscaramuza charra is the female equestrian event within the Mexican tradition of “charrería.” The other event in “charrería” is the charro competition, where male riders in traditional charro attire compete to showcase their horsemanship skills. The events date back to the Mexican Revolution of 1910.The sport is relatively new to the U.S., but has grown in popularity thanks to competitions bringing it to the spotlight. Fort Worth’s escaramuza competition became the first major livestock show and rodeo event sanctioned by the Mexican Association of Charros Federation in 2020, and was expanded to include the charro cala in 2022. Dora Tovar, the rodeo’s director of Hispanic programs, said plans to include escaramuzas and charros in the annual event originated in 2007, when several city leaders visited Zacatecas, Mexico, to experience the National Charro Championship and Congress. Several conversations emerged from that trip, but nothing formalized for over a decade due to limited space at Will Rogers Coliseum. Once the stock show moved its primary events to Dickies Arena, the dream became a reality, Tovar said. “Our objective was to build the charro and escaramuza sport in the state. We issued a call to action to all the state escaramuzas,” she said. “We got eight teams and it was really exciting to see the immediate impact. The word spread really fast.”When Fort Worth escaramuza trainer Ruben Garcia heard the competitions were coming to the stock show, he immediately knew he wanted to be involved. Over the competition’s five-year run, he’s trained numerous teams, including Selección Oklahoma Juvenil.“It was always a dream for me to train teams for the stock show and rodeo one day,” he said in Spanish. “I have really strived to show the girls humility and to honor the history of the escaramuza.”Expanding audience, educating fans about Mexican sportThe Fort Worth competitions have seen an increased interest from out-of-state escaramuza teams traveling down to participate. The competitions have also served to educate those not familiar with the Mexican sport, Tovar said. “The competition has served as an educational opportunity. We really saw the audience shift from it being a Hispanic event to a much wider audience,” she said. “All of a sudden the escaramuza was a huge billboard for everyone coming in.” Escaramuza dresses are currently on view in the “Soldaderas to Amazonas: Escaramuzas Charras” exhibition at the National Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame in the Cultural District. The equestrian sport has also been showcased during the All Western Parade in downtown Fort Worth. Escaramuzas wave at the crowd while riding down Main Street during the All Western Parade on Jan. 13, 2024, in downtown Fort Worth. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)For Tovar, visibility has been the biggest accomplishment. She hopes to see the competitions continue to be an event of choice for Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo attendees. “I feel immensely proud of making the event successful, but it wasn’t just me — I’m an implementer,” she said. “It’s really the support and the vision of the stock show to say, ‘We want to make this happen and invest in this.’”David Moreno is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from Texas Health Resources. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. 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