♪♪ Escaramuza is the female counterpart of the Mexican cowboy.

We can do anything the man can do.

But we do it sidesaddle with one leg.

Escaramuza gives a really, really nice touch of a fiesta.

♪♪ I think it's one of the hardest things you can do while still claiming to have a good time, that's for sure.

♪♪ You can have expensive hobbies and you can have dangerous hobbies, but if you're going to have an expensive and dangerous hobby, you've got to be in it for the love of the game.

This is as expensive and as dangerous as it gets.

And for a lot of these girls this is a way of life.

♪♪ [Nebbe] The sport of Escaramuza dates back to the 1950s and is the only event for women with in the Charrería, or Mexican rodeo.

Charrería is Mexico's national sport and is deeply rooted in tradition.

Juan Piña, who is from the state of Zacatecas was born into the sport and brought it with him to Iowa in 2007.

[Juan Piña] This is a 100% family sport.

So, I grew up with it.

I inherit it to Alejandra in this case.

We started back then when I moved in 2007, it was only two or three teams max.

Now we have eight teams of Charros and four teams of Escaramuzas.

[Nebbe] Escaramuza consists of a team of women who perform choreographed maneuvers around a lienzo, or circular arena, while riding side saddle.

A routine can last anywhere from three to seven minutes and consists of a series of coordinated tricks such as turns and crosses.

Teams are judged on synchronization, execution, timing, symmetry and presentation.

♪♪ [Anna Garcia] The routines themselves, they are designed to impress.

You're going fast and you're in these tight, tight, tight crosses where the only thing that is keeping you from being bulled over by your teammate is a hope and a prayer and a couple of practices.

♪♪ [Anna Garcia] It's an incredibly difficult and nerve-wracking.

I'm just watching my girls do these tight cruzas where they're crossing right in front of each other.

My breath catches.

Get closer, get closer, get closer!

[Anna Garcia] As far as the things you have to do, I think the judges to expect to see an abanico.

That is a staple.

It's one of the most beautiful maneuvers and it really is one of those that consolidates all of the work and all the timing and the beauty.

When they're all in that line and you're galloping around in that beautiful, big, smooth motion it looks fantastic.

♪♪ Uno, dos, tres!

[Alejandra Piña] I would describe it as a gentle ballet with horses, but at the same time you're synchronizing it with your team.

We bring the elegance, the simplicity, the beauty of the sport into the arena.

The women, we are as fierce as the Charros are, but our outfits are very sophisticated.

There's so many rules to our outfits to our sport that they don't even know.

♪♪ [Alejandra Piña] So, these are all my dresses that I've used this term as Queen of Iowa and delegada, so the female coordinator for the state of Iowa.

This is my most recent dress that I just got here in May.

♪♪ [Nebbe] The dresses that Charras wear for competitions are inspired by the Adelitas who were women who fought in the Mexican Revolution in the early 1900s.

Most of the outfits are made by talented dressmakers in Mexico.

[Alejandra Piña] Everything is handmade, so all this fabric is handmade, very detailed, made back in Chiapas.

♪♪ Today we're making history for the first time ever, the Charros and the Escaramuzas will be showing here at the State Fair.

Once you have your dresses on, come over here for a team huddle, please.

We're going to do the exact same thing we always do to the exact same level is that perfection.

We've worked on it.

We've strived for it.

We've achieved it.

Carry it over.

Do not let the nerves get you.

Okay?

[Anna Garcia] Culture should be appreciated no matter who you are, what culture you're from.

It's the same as you don't have to be Mexican to enjoy Mexican food.

You just have to have taste buds.

It's for everybody.

You'll find something that will appeal to you, you'll find something that will touch your heart in this.

It could be the horsemanship, it could be the beauty, it could be the fashion.

There is something for everybody and you don't have to be Latina or Latino just to participate.

We accept everybody with open arms, the same that we want to be accepted.

That's why we're doing all these things is to bring our culture to the forefront, it's to bring this beautiful community into the public eye.

♪♪ Thank you everyone for being here.

We're going to get started right away!

♪♪ [Juan Piña] This is our passion.

We really love it so much.

And we wanted to share it with Iowa, seeing where we came from, our culture, our roots.

♪♪ [Alejandra Piña] I love the passion.

I love the adrenaline.

It has put me in very uncomfortable positions that I would not have ever put myself in.

And at the end of the day, I grow and I learned a lot of things.

Escaramuza is about fierce women, fierce individuals that if they set their mind to it, they can do it.

[Juan Piña] Having her doing this, I just feel really, really proud of her because she got this passion for this sport and I just can't tell you enough how proud I feel.

♪♪ [Anna Garcia] It demands perfection and I think it pushes the girls to strive for that perfection.

And in doing so they truly do become better versions of themselves, able to have applicable skills that serve them well in life and as horse women and in any career, they want to do, I joke with them about it, whatever you're doing tomorrow is not as hard as you're doing right now.

So, I think it really is fantastic for just teaching wonderful, wonderful life skills.

[Alejandra Piña] Just not about Charraria, it's about yourself pushing yourself to the limit and trying new things and knowing that you can do it and have that confidence in you.

♪♪