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In a remote Nevada cow camp, they jingle in the remuda. There’s a chill in the air, and steam rises up off the horses’ backs. The jigger boss’s rope whistles through the air, expertly landing on target. A buckaroo picks up a horse, halters and leads him to the corral.

It’s a ritual that seems almost choreographed, but to a buckaroo, it’s just part of another day, an outgrowth of a tradition that goes back 300 years, to the original Californio Vaqueros. This is the story of how it began in Alta California, moved into the Great Basin country of Nevada and Oregon, and shaped one of the world’s greatest horse cultures. (90 minutes)