Jaripeo

Jaripeo  ɣarípeo (help·info) is a form of bull riding practiced mainly in western, eastern, central and southern Mexico that developed in the 16th century. Originally it was a form of bull fighting where the rider rode the bull to death, but evolved into a form where the rider simply rode the animal until it stopped bucking.^[1][2] Today there is a modern form in the charreada called Jineteo de Toro. It also requires the rider to stay on the bull as long as possible, preferably until the bull tires and stops bucking. This differs from the sport of bull riding seen in the United States, Canada and other nations, where riders are scored on the quality of their ride for a limited time period, usually eight seconds. In northern Mexico, especially in the state of Chihuahua, American style bull riding and rodeo in general is what dominates and even that state is considered by many to be the "American Rodeo Capital of Mexico". Jaripeo, however, has several styles, including the Colima (or Grapa style), the Charro style, the San Luis Potosi style and the most common style, Tierra Caliente. The state of Jalisco is considered by many to be the "Jaripeo Capital of Mexico".

Charro

Dating back to the 16th century, the Charro style is the oldest of all four and has become the least popular nowadays since the charro only rides small bulls or larger calves. Very few ride big bulls because the spurs are dull and have no grip. Although this style is practiced, very few places are known where charreadas occur and have large crowds of people watching every single show.

Tierra Caliente

The Tierra Caliente style is the most common of all the jaripeo styles. It is called such because, it found its origins in the Tierra Caliente regions of Mexico (namely Michoacán, Guerrero and Mexico State). This style is controversial to many spectators who care for the safety of the bulls and riders because, the spurs used by the riders, for the most part, are sharp. A rider relies almost entirely on his sharp spurs while riding a full-grown bucking bull. Most riders do not even hang on to the bull rope while the bull bucks. They hope that the sharpness of their spurs will last long enough to successfully ride their bull until it stops bucking. The sharp spur way of riding dates back as early as the late 1980's. Since then, most jaripeo riders, with the exception of those who ride in the Charro style, ride their bulls with sharp spurs. Riding with sharp spurs has become notorious because of serious injuries or deaths of many jaripeo riders, as well as injuries to bulls, over the years. Riders tend to fall off of their bulls, but get caught by the bull's skin or rope and get tossed around or trampled. However, nowadays there are some occasions where Tierra Caliente jaripeos occur with riders riding their bulls with dull spurs.

Colima

The Colima style comes from the state of Colima, located in the southeastern part of Mexico. This is considered the hardest of the four due to the risk level. This is also the style that is different from any other style because of the way the rider's legs are positioned and how the rider rides; instead of having both feet falling down toward the belly of the bull, the rider sits both feet at the bull's neck in a position called the tablilla. The bull rope, or pretal, is also different; two large rings are on the posterior part of the rope so that the rider can hold onto both rings but the rings also create huge risks when falling. Many riders have lost their lives in this style because of the way a rider usually falls; the most common way of falling is toward the front of the bull. In other words, the rider is thrown forward due to the force of the bull and the rider lands either in front of the bull or on the horns. This is probably the hardest style to master and takes years to perfect, and sometimes it is never perfected.

San Luis Potosi

The San Luis Potosi style of Jaripeo is named such because, it is seen almost entirely in the northcentral state of San Luis Potosi. However, this style is also commonly found in southern Tamaulipas. It is very similar to the Charro style. Riders ride their bulls with both hands on the bull rope and ride them until they stop bucking. However, these bulls are almost always full-grown. Riders who rode in this style used to ride their bulls with dull spurs. However, most riders now ride with sharp spurs like Tierra Caliente and Grapa (Colima) riders, causing controversy. The San Luis Potosi style is treated like a series professional sport by many spectators. Until recently, a national champion is crowned annually.

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