Cowboy Dressage Freestyle and La Garrocha

At the 2013 Cowboy Dressage World Finals we were excited to see the Freestyle competition.  Cowboy Dressage Freestyle allows maximum creativity while maintaining the principles of Soft Feel.  Freestyle allows multiple horses, multiple riders, ground work and you can incorporate all manner of props in your exhibition.  Your creativity is pretty much allowed to soar. 

One of the most impressive freestyle performances we watched was called La Garrocha, meaning pole or stick in Spanish.  This traditionally vaquero style comes from Spain, wherein a pole is used rather than a rope to move cows.  The garrocha pole, which is around 12 to 13 feet in length, was especially handy for fighting wild bulls.  The length of the pole gives protection and time for a horse to react to a charging bull.  The maneuverability of the pole allows the handler to prod or poke the bull in order to gage the bull’s reactions and his suitability for the bullfighting arena.  The term cowpoke originates from this form of working cattle.  

Now the art of working with the garrocha pole has been turned into a spectacular demonstration of horsemanship.  Some of the movements included in a La Garrocha exhibition may include rollbacks, spins, lead changes, leg yields, and perfect circles.  We think that this would be a very fun and challenging opportunity to showcase horsemanship skills!

Please visit this YouTube site to see Jeff Sanders’ freestyle La Garrocha run at this years’ Cowboy Dressage World Finals http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjuOfVTnbiY.  We enjoyed watching this in-person and think you will enjoy it, too.  It may just inspire you to new levels in your own horsemanship!