To celebrate the holidays, Yudit Pinedo Bugarin is helping spread the Mexican equestrian tradition of Escaramuza in Clark County. 

Dozens of people attended a holiday event she organized on Dec. 13 in Las Vegas. Bradley Park was brimming with kids, frantic parents and food vendors selling menudo and pan dulce under the warm December sun. 

For Pinedo Bugarin, 46, part of the magic of organizing the event was bringing all these Mexican traditions together for the public — folkloric ballet, donkey racing, and of course, Escaramuza. 

“No other event compares to ours,” she told The Indy. 

Escaramuza has grown in popularity in the U.S. during the past decade. Half equestrian competition, half art form, it’s the female form of Mexico’s national sport, charrería. Teams of eight or so women perform tricks on horses while wearing traditional garb such as embroidered charra dresses and sombreros. 

For the last decade, Pinedo Bugarin has been doing her part to spread the sport through her organization, Escaramuza Charra Colibríes de Nevada. The organization holds regular events throughout Clark County, and in September, was honored with a proclamation from the City of Las Vegas for its work in preserving Mexican culture.

Pinedo Bugarin said that Escaramuza — a lifelong passion — has become a form of therapy for her. Her father had his own horse-riding team when she was a child, but after he was kidnapped and disappeared in Mexico, it remains one of the few ways she continues to feel connected to him.

“How beautiful it is to be able to cross borders and continue to honor our country and our family,” Pinedo Bugarin said.

Others at the event also felt that Escaramuza is one of the few traditions to tether them to their heritage. As a girl, Sandy Rios, 37, dreamed of becoming an Escaramuza, but her parents never supported her in the endeavor. Now, as an adult, she goes to events whenever she can, even attending shows in different states. 

“I love that our communities are able to continue to preserve our traditions,” she said. 

Yesenia Rivera and her family have been bringing their horses — Frida, Travieso and Maizena — to the event for the past three years. She first found out about the event because her niece was a member of Escaramuza Charra Colíbres de Nevada. She hopes that it can help connect her and her family to her family’s home.

“It’s the only heritage we have from Mexico,” Rivera said.