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Escaramuza

Escaramuza

by Constance Jaeggi

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In the sport of escaramuza, all-female precision horse ridings teams execute daring manoeuvres whilst riding sidesaddle and dressed in traditional attire. Constance Jaeggi travelled across the US to document this Mexican tradition by photographing participants and recording their stories. As an outsider to the culture she invited Mexican-American poets Ire’ne Lara Silva and Angelina Sàenz to create prose in response to her work. In the forthcoming book Escaramuza, their poetry is displayed alongside Jaeggi’s photographs to collectively impart the layered and complex narratives of the escaramuza tradition.

More about this book

Escaramuza evolved from charrería—the historically male-only national sport of Mexico. This equestrian sport is both an aesthetic performance and a display of athletic prowess with origins in cattle ranching. The escaramuza discipline was invented for female participants, and the costumes and the synchronised patterns they perform were inspired by the Soldadera or Adelita, the women who fought in the Mexican Revolution between 1910-1920. Each team consists of eight riders who perform patterns, criss-crossing each other at high speed, handicapped by riding sidesaddle with only good control over one side of the horse.

Jaeggi, herself a competitive horse rider, was initially drawn to the visuals of the sport. The Victorian-era traditional dresses are colourful and intricate, and the performance described as a ballet on horseback. However, she was soon captivated by the stories of the women she met. A narrative emerged focused on immigration and its role in the development of the sport in the US. Many of the riders expressed ‘not feeling Mexican enough when traveling to Mexico, but not feeling American enough at home either.’  

Escaramuzas work year-round to perfect their skills. They care for and feed their horses, train with them, drive long hours hauling trailers to competitions and budget to pay for their gear, tack and outfits. Over the course of two years, Jaeggi travelled to Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Oregon, Texas and Washington to document this culture that bridges contemporary Mexican-American identity and the women freedom fighters of the Mexican Revolution.

‘My portraits seek to amplify empowerment, and I believe the subjects’ gaze to be central to this. The women confront the camera and own the spaces that they occupy. These choices are significant, as I’ve photographed the escaramuzas within the landscape that, historically, has been the privileged domain of the white male. Given this, escaramuza may be said to represent women’s reclamation of that space, of their right to coexist within it, and to refuse to be confined to the domestic sphere. For all its tradition and formality, I believe that escaramuza is a powerful force for the disruption of established gender roles in charrería.

Published December 2025
Poetry by Angelina Sáenz and ire’ne lara silva
350 x 282 mm
128pp, 50 images
Hardback
ISBN 978-1-915423-96-2

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From the author

  • Constance Jaeggi is a Swiss photographic artist based between Fort Worth, Texas and Denver, Colorado in the US. Jaeggi moved to Texas from her native Switzerland in 2009 to pursue her degree from Texas Christian University (TCU) and begin her competitive cutting horse riding career. In addition to her Bachelors from TCU, Jaeggi has studied at the New York Film Academy and holds a Masters of Art History and Art World Practice from Christie’s Education. Jaeggi’s work has been the subject of two solo exhibitions at the National Cowgirl Museum in Fort Worth, Texas and exhibited widely across Europe. Her work has been published by National Geographic, The Guardian and The Washington Post amongst others. ‘Escaramuza, the Poetics of Home’ was Lensculture Critics’ Choice Awards Winner 2024 exhibited at Photo London in May 2025. Jaeggi is also a member of Women Photograph.

    Ire’ne Lara Silva is the 2023 Texas state poet laureate and Angelina Saenz is an award-winning poet, educator and UCLA writing project fellow.

  • ‘My portraits seek to amplify empowerment, and I believe the subjects’ gaze to be central to this. The women confront the camera and own the spaces that they occupy. These choices are significant, as I’ve photographed the escaramuzas within the landscape that, historically, has been the privileged domain of the white male. Given this, escaramuza may be said to represent women’s reclamation of that space, of their right to coexist within it, and to refuse to be confined to the domestic sphere. For all its tradition and formality, I believe that escaramuza is a powerful force for the disruption of established gender roles in charrería.'

    - Constance Jaeggi