By Monica Irizarry and Jake Moore
Before his death 64 years ago, Calletano Salazar, better known as “El Jinete,” was a horse-riding legend. In the town of Jesús María, Mexico, which is only 257.5 square miles, Salazar made a presence from his charro lifestyle. The town knew him from his participation and success in competitions. Salazar’s exploits on horses didn’t end with his passing. His talent was genetic, and it passed down three generations to his great-granddaughter Brenda Zaragoza—all the way to Chattanooga, Tenn.
As a girl, Zaragoza and her family attended Mexican rodeos around Tennessee, because her father expressed his love for horses and how equestrian life fit into Mexican culture. As she watched her father and other men participate in the competitions from afar, Zaragoza’s admiration for the sport grew. Eventually, she reached a point where she wanted to be just like her dad and those men, and with a barn in her own backyard, she believed horse riding was an achievable hobby. And though Zaragoza was told horse riding was restricted to the men in her family, that didn’t discourage her.
“[When] starting to ride horses, I always heard you’re a girl, and there’s only guys going [on trail rides],” Zaragoza says. “Or [they said] you shouldn’t go cause you’re a girl, my dad especially. I couldn’t go on a bunch of trail rides with him, but I really enjoyed it [when I could].”
In the backyard, her father and uncles would spend time learning how to ride their horses western style, going on trail rides around the neighborhood and training them to dance for competitions. Dance routine was a time-consuming teaching process, but Zaragoza’s father knew her love for their horses, so he allowed her to walk the horse around the backyard at the end of the sessions.
After some convincing, a 15-year-old Zaragoza made a deal with her father. He eventually got her first horse so she could learn the basics in the comfort of her backyard. Chapito—translated into baby El Chapo—was a short, strawberry blonde horse, who had a habit of tripping over his own hooves. Chapito may have been an inexpensive purchase for Zaragoza’s dad, but he was her horse.
“I think me and the horse both learned a lot about each other,” Zaragoza says. “I had to learn his movements, and he had to learn mine as well.”
Learning how to properly ride Chapito, and train him, was not a single-woman process. Zaragoza was partially self-trained, but she had the help of her father, uncles, and grandfather to guide her to ride safely and correctly. Despite the tedious technical aspects of training, Chapito was Zaragoza’s escape.
“Learning how to ride a horse, when I was really depressed, helped a lot just because it was a diversion from being self-consumed,” Zaragoza says.
Riding around in the back yard and trailing around her neighborhood led to Zaragoza competing in rodeos, which includes the horse dancing competitions and other riding events. Her father first brought the idea up, but she was apprehensive because women are not usually participants. Around 17, she began entering rodeo competitions, and the nervous, yet exciting, energy of walking into a rodeo is indescribable for Zaragoza.
“Every time I go in there, I feel like a celebrity,” Zaragoza says. “Everyone is clapping. Everyone is recording. The music is going on, so hearing that and being on a horse is just like an adrenaline rush. Like being on three Red Bulls, all at once, before the comedown. I usually had to sit on the stands, and now I’m in the arena.”
She has won four competitions, and she was most confident in her performance from last month. Her father also participated in the event, and he complimented her skills after they performed.
“Right after we performed, my dad was like today I’ll give you a nine out of ten on your performance,” Zaragoza says. “Once they lined up all the participants, and they were ready to announce the winner, it was crazy because I got the prize, and not my dad.”
Usually, Zaragoza is the only woman who participates in rodeos, which intimidates her, but it doesn’t stop her from wanting to win. Sexism at the rodeos is prevalent, but Zaragoza puts in her best effort to prove her talent. She believes she needs to work twice as hard in horseback riding and training to show the judges and audience her gender does not inhibit her gift.
“I’ve seen grown men get pissed because I’ve won a competition,” Zaragoza says. “The first thing they’ll say is that she got the prize because she’s a girl, and that’s fucking stupid. Why is it just because you’re a man, you think you’re a winner? There should be equality in rodeos."
“While I feel like it’s empowering, it’s also kind of sad just because I wish I wasn’t the only girl there. I’ve had people come up to me and take pictures, but I have also heard comments that are very, very sexual and inappropriate. It makes me feel like I’m an oddity and a commodity at the same time, just because it’s not the Mexican culture’s normal.”
Although Zaragoza jokes about how she is a Mexican horse girl, her commitment to this sport transcends the meme of that stereotype. The training and time put into her craft led to her first-place prizes, and Zaragoza’s passion for rodeos and love for horses is deeper than a surface-level joke.
“Being around a horse, or riding a horse, definitely helped me with [my mental health],” Zaragoza says. “I feel so stress free and calm when I’m out, and I guess it’s how people feel like when they’re hiking."
“In terms of rodeo, I think it boosted my self-esteem and confidence cause a lot of people [after a performance] will go up to me and be like oh my goodness can I please get a picture with you? If people are coming to take pictures with me, I feel like it’s for a reason. Knowing that I’ve beat a 40-year-old man riding an expensive horse, my [big dick energy] goes through the roof.”
Only three years into her rodeo career, Zaragoza will continue to channel the genes of her great-grandfather “El Jinete,” whether she’s free riding in her backyard or competing at events.
Photos by Monica Irizarry