Thursday 9 February 2017

Sam Barker | Charro

Photo © Sam Barker Photography -All Rights Reserved
Let's go south of the border with the charro. These are Mexican horsemen (the horsewomen are known as charra) typically dressed in an elaborately decorated outfit of close-fitting pants, jackets, and sombrero.

The charro originated in the ce
ntral-western regions of Mexico, and participate in the charreada; a form of rodeo riding that has become an official sport in that country. It is a competitive event quite similar to the United States rodeo, and was developed from animal husbandry practices used on the haciendas of old Mexico.

According to scholars, there is perhaps no better representative of the country's combined cultures and history than the horse trained for "charreada." Charros believe that Mexicans were originally conquered by horses, but gained independence with horses, so are inseparable from their steeds. 

The horses preferred by the charros are a combined breed: the American Quarter Horse, descending from European thoroughbreds, and the native horses descending from the various stocks brought by the Conquistadors in the 16th century..

Sam Barker brings us a colorful gallery of horsewomen wearing the striking costumes when participating in the rodeos..

Sam Barker is a commercial photographer who shares his time between London and New York. He also shoots travel stories and personal projects in Iraq, Ethiopia (don't miss it!), and Columbia and Bhutan.

For his commercial work, he was commissioned for campaigns in Europe and the US for the likes of Hugo Boss, Glennfiddich and Landrover amongst others ,shooting subjects as diverse as Matt Damon to Lewis Hamilton, to tribal chiefs in Africa and the Americas. He began his career in photography in 1997 whilst attending the London School of Printing.

His work was spotted by The Telegraph, and work started to follow from the likes of The Sunday Times, GQ Magazine and Harpers Bazaar. He is also contributor to the National Portrait Gallery where he has 12 portraits in the permanent collection.


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