FAIRFIELD – Fairfield residents were treated to an impressive display of horseback riding while also learning a bit about Mexican culture during a rodeo at Maasdam Barns on Saturday, June 10.

The barns welcomed a Des Moines-based equestrian team called Escaramuza Quetzalli, a group of female horseback riders who celebrate Mexico’s history of herding and horsemanship. The riders wore long, flowing and ornate dresses as they rode side-saddle on their horses. The riders began the event with a parade, and performed various synchronized routines throughout the late morning and early afternoon. Members of the public had the chance to ask the riders questions, and even got to ride on their horses, too.

Escaramuza Quetzalli was founded in 2022 by Alejandra Piña, who was one of the riders who performed Saturday. Piña has been riding horses for 20 years, since she was 8 years old. As a beginner, she remembers feeling comfortable walking with her horse, but her father prodded her to make the horse run, so one day he whipped the horse she was riding and told her not to fall.

“I remember crying and screaming, and I was just holding on,” Piña said. “It did work, but it was not the most pleasant or efficient way to learn.”

Piña said she had been part of other riding teams, and felt a competitive desire to start her own team with other Iowans who shared her love for Mexican culture and horseback riding.

“I wanted to give other girls the opportunity to be on a competitive team,” she said. “We don’t just focus on Escaramuza, the Mexican rodeo. We also do other equestrian dynamics. We’ve been to horse shows where we do Western Pleasure, poles and barrels.”

All of the members of Escaramuza Quetzalli were born in the United States, and almost all of them are of Mexican heritage. In its first year, the group has competed at regional and national competitions. This year, the group plans to attend the national competition in Katy, Texas. The group also hopes to qualify for a competition in San Luis Potosi in Mexico. If they qualify, it will be the second competition in Mexico they’ve gone to.

Escaramuza Quetzalli member Wendy Murillo said that when the group participated in a rodeo competition in Mexico last year, it was the first time that a team from Iowa had ever competed in Mexico.

“They let us borrow horses there,” Murillo said. “But we only got two, 20-minute practices with them. That’s the struggle we have coming from the United States. The teams from Mexico haul their own horses in.”

Murillo said she loves that Escaramuza Quetzalli represents Iowa wherever the team goes.

“People see the pretty dresses, but there’s a lot of cultural history behind us,” Murillo said. “My reason for joining is that I’ve always loved horses, and I was taught to be proud of where you come from. I used to do the [Mexican] ballet folklorico with the dresses, so that’s what I got into first. Then I learned there was something with both dresses and horses.”

The performance by Escaramuza Quetzalli is part of a series that Maasdam Barns puts on where it hosts a horse-themed event on the second Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., though this was the first time the barns had hosted a rodeo. Board members said they are looking forward to having Escaramuza Quetzalli back next year, too.