Rodeo Days

"A man without a horse is a man without legs" - a saying recorded by the naturalist William Henry Hudson on the gauchos he knew as a child. These are photos of Patagonian Huasos - the Chilean gaucho. A huaso (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈwaso]) is a Chilean countryman and skilled horseman, similar to the American cowboy or the gaucho of Argentina. This was a festival day where the Huasos had a horse-breaking competition, a huge "asado" (the best barbecue I've ever tasted) and various games and music.