LOS PRIMEROS. THE FIRST VAQUEROS
By Lynn Kirst

Santa Barbara, which in many ways might well be the oldest cowtown in the far west, was celebrated from Monterey to Mexico for the brilliant horsemanship of it people. An old, familiar expression often heard at that time was ‘ he rides like a Barbarano, wrote Luis Ortega in a 1943 issue of Western Horseman magazine.

Luis Ortega (1897-1995) was a fifth generation Californian and renowned rawhide braider whose ancestor was a comandante of Santa Barbara’s Royal Presidio. He was direct descendent of the horsemen who inspired the title of Los Primeros: the First Vaqueros. Fittingly enough, Los Primeros will have its premier by candlelight in the Santa Barbara Presidio Chapel.  Filmmakers Susan Jensen and Paul Singer shot extensive footage both in Spain and Mexico. Their mission was to race the roots of the vaquero from the moors in Spain, whose several centuries of influence evolved into the art of Doma Vaquera, an equestrian discipline developed to test the bravery of fighting bulls in Andalusia. When the Spanish settlers brought horses to the New World, they gradually adapted their traditional methods to meet the demand of the new terrain. The wooden poles used Doma Vaquera soon had a noose attached, then morphed into the rope, which provided a more efficient method to deal with cattle on the huge Mexican haciendas. Modern charros are famous for the trick roping, but Los Primeros shows how the Mexican style took a somewhat different turn father to the north.

In Old California, Presidio soldiers were renowned for the horsemanship skills, but they also needed help in managing cattle herds when the huge land grant ranchos were established. As a matter of necessity, the former soldiers taught the native population their horsemanship skills, and together they evolved into Calfornios. The training methods and tack of this distinct breed of horsemen are still in use today. They are known for their slick fork saddles, Santa Barbara spade bits, and Santa Ynez romal reins. In Los Primeros, Jensen and Singer celebrate the antique origins and modern practitioners of the Vaquero Style.
Check out the music from LOS PRIMEROS