The following is an aticle published in Sunday's Omaha World-Herald. I was wondering if anybody elsewhere have experienced this situation. There are two disturbing comments made by those involved.."It's my culture. We are Mexicans..and ..they didn't know horse tripping was illegal..! Illegal mexicans have been swarming to Omaha in recent years so things here are relatively new compared to Texas and California, for example. We have experienced twenty year olds being married to 13 yr. olds, taking guns to soccer matches and people being shot, cock fighting and on and on. In the example of the twenty year old marrying a 13 yrs. old, a liberal judge said...well, it's a cultural thing in their country....which is a liberal excuse for this cultural diversity bull-shit! In my opinion, it is gross disrespect for the law and thumbing their nose at us!

Anybody have any comments or know of someplace else where this was handled or mis-handled?

Published Sunday | December 2, 2007
Humane Society wants to ban Mexican rodeo events
BY ANDREW J. NELSON AND KAREN SLOAN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS

The Nebraska Humane Society says there's nothing sporting about tripping a horse or twisting a steer's tail.

Armando Pliego of Omaha disagrees. He says those are time-honored rodeo events in Mexico.

Horse tripping is a practice in which a Mexican cowboy, known as a charro, chases a galloping horse and attempts to lasso its legs, sending the animal to the ground.

In steer tailing, a charro rides behind a steer and attempts to grabs its tail and wrap it around a stirrup, bringing the animal down.

The Humane Society says both actions can result in traumatic injuries to the animals. A horse's legs can be broken, and a steer's tail can be pulled off — an extremely painful injury since a steer's tail is connected to its spinal cord. The organization is seeking state and local prohibition of the activities.

Mexican-style rodeo
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The charreada or charro rodeo is the national sport of Mexico. A time-honored tradition dating to 16th-century Spain, it was brought to the Americas after the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1520.

In the early 1700s, the sport moved to the Mexican ranch, where ranchers roped steer and bucking horses in a display of their skill, horsemanship and machismo.

In the 1950s and '60s, charro associations began to appear in the United States, eventually becoming established in six states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico and Texas. Today, 84 charro federations oversee all U.S. charreada competitions.

Source: International Fund for HorsesPliego, 45, is a charro and treasurer of Charros La Amistad, an Omaha-based rodeo club that has performed in Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. He is co-owner of a concrete flatwork company in Omaha.

Pliego said horse tripping and steer tailing are similar to practices performed in rodeos across the United States and no more harmful.

"If you grab the steer by the tail, that's more dangerous than grabbing the steer by the head and making it roll over? Of course not," Pliego said.

The charreada — or Mexican rodeo — practices caught the attention of the Humane Society in Omaha in July when someone contacted the organization about possible horse cruelty at a two-acre site with a barn and horse ring near 49th Street and Curtis Avenue.

Investigators found five horses with rope burns on their legs and ankles, and nine men who said they had participated in horse tripping, said Mark Langan, vice president of field operations at the Nebraska Humane Society.

"This is much more dangerous than recognized rodeo practices," Langan said. "They take it to a whole new level where the animals break bones and feel pain."

Langan said the men, including Pliego, were cited for suspected animal cruelty. The charros — all members of Charros La Amistad — said they didn't know horse tripping was illegal. They cooperated fully, Langan said.

The horses were confiscated and placed in the care of the Humane Society. Each man convicted in the case was fined $900 and ordered to pay $200 to the Humane Society for care of the horses. Two of the five horses now have new owners; the three others are still available for adoption.

Pliego denied that the horses had been mistreated. "For the charros, if you don't know how to take care of a horse, you can't call yourself a charro," he said. "It's my culture. We are Mexicans. And we are not blind in how to take care of a horse, how to keep the horse healthy."

Want to adopt?`
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Two of the five horses confiscated in Omaha in July have been adopted, but the Nebraska Humane Society is still looking for homes for the remaining three. Anyone interested in adopting the horses can call 444-7800.The Humane Society has contacted State Sen. Abbie Cornett of Bellevue and Omaha Councilman Chuck Sigerson about drafting legislation to specifically outlaw horse tripping and steer tailing.

Langan said legislation beyond existing statutes is needed to "combat this unique type of cruelty." He said the Humane Society sought out the legislation "in order to be proactive because reports (of horse tripping and steer tailing) are becoming more prevalent."

Cornett said her office was drafting a bill that would prohibit horse tripping. Steer tailing may be added to the measure, she said.

"I've ridden horses my entire life," she said. "I can't imagine the amount of damage you can do to a horse with that practice."

Sigerson said he didn't hesitate to introduce a proposed ordinance that would expand the city's definition of animal cruelty to specify the two activities.

"When they described it to me, it sounded very gruesome," Sigerson said. "I thought, 'Surely nobody is doing this.' But I was told people are."

Sigerson said that tradition is not an excuse for the practices and that he was confident the City Council will approve the proposal. A public hearing on the measure is scheduled for Dec. 11.

Pliego said he would speak against the measures.

"I'd be glad to be there," he said. "We don't try to hurt the horses or the animals. We are just trying to perform our sport."