Rejoneador

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Rejoneador ("lancer") is the name given to a bullfighter who fights the bull on horseback. Along with the picador, a rejoneador is the second type of mounted bullfighter in Spanish bullfighting.

Classic bullfights may also exhibit a rejoneador spectacle preceding the main event but if the corrida is made up exclusively of rejoneadores, it is called a rejoneo or corrida de rejones. A rejoneo has a scheme identical with the one of classic bullfighting. It has three stages named tercios:

• Rejoneador tries to provoke the bull to attack and run after the galloping horse (like in the suerte de capote). Then he stabs one or two of rejones de castigo ("lances of punishment") (analogous with a picador thrusting the vara (a long lance)). A rejón de castigo is a lance that has a flag on its tip that reveals when it contacts the bull's body.
• Rejoneador stabs six banderillas ("little flags"), harpoon-pointed colourful sticks on the bull's back. This tercio is the parallel of the tercio de banderillas in classic bullfighting.
• Rejoneador kills the bull with a rejón de muerte ("lance of death"). Rejón de muerte is a sword shaped into a lance. In some occasions, the rejoneador will kill the bull on foot by the traditional way with muleta and estoca.

Horses used for horseback bullfighting are Andalusian horses trained and skilled in dressage. A rejoneador's usual costume consists of a dark waistcoat (usually brown or grey), brown leather chaps and a broad, straight-brimmed hat.

[edit] Cavaleiros

Cavaleiros (horsemen) are mounted bullfighters in a traditional Portuguese bullfighting. For the Portuguese corrida de touros does not follow the scheme of the Spanish bullfighting, they only stick the bandarilhas on the bull's back. Then, they will leave the ring for the performance of forcados. However, Portuguese cavaleiros are also named "rejoneadores" in Spain. Cavaleiros are the stars of a Portuguese bullfight as opposed to Spain, where the matadores are the most prominent bullfighters. The costume of the cavaleiros is a flamboyant one, reminiscent of the clothing of 18th century aristocrats. The breed of horses they use is Lusitano. Since bullfighting is seen mainly as an equestrian event in Portugal, cavaleiros have developed their work into an art.