Charrería is the national sport of Mexico — and a family tradition for Sonoma winemakers Juan and Miriam Puentes. Loosely translated as “horsemanship,” charrería predates the American rodeo and traces its roots to the 1600s, when Spanish conquistadors introduced horses, cattle, and ranching culture to Mexico.
“These were tricks and other things that they would use to handle cattle back in the haciendas,” Juan says of skills like roping, horse handling, and riding bareback on a wild mare. “They would say, ‘Oh, I bet you my guys are better than your guys.’ Friendly fun turned into a sport.”
The Puenteses’ award-winning charrería team, Charros de Honrama, includes not only Juan, 45, but also his son Andres, 16, and his daughter Paula, 12. Together they’ve won numerous competitions at the state and national levels, as well as in Mexico.
The Puentes family also runs Honrama Cellars in Sonoma, their wine labels adorned with charrería iconography. “In our culture, wine is not a common beverage,” Juan says. “It’s a very unique brand.” The winery will host a Dia del Charro celebration on Sept. 13. honramacellars.com
A busy schedule
We practice Tuesdays and Thursdays and ride every weekend. We’ll ride everything from little rodeos to massive events, and we take every competition just as seriously. We travel with two horse trailers, about 16 horses. This year we’ll go to Colorado, Texas, Arizona, L.A., San Diego, Las Vegas. We got invited to a competition in Washington. Every weekend we’re booked.
Dressing the part
I’m very proud when I dress the part. All of our gear has to be traditionally made. We can’t wear an American buckle, we can’t wear an American belt. I can’t wear Wranglers underneath my chaps. It has to be a charro pant. We have people make all of our clothes, the chaps, the saddles. And then the coolest part is the guy who makes the hats.
Los caballos
Part of the success our team has had is because of our four-legged friends. You can have the best charros, but if you don’t have them on good horses, they’re not gonna do anything. We have a very special horse named Chucho. He’s famous in the charrería world. It’s just one of those horses that is born one in a million. He’s a Seabiscuit, a Secretariat.
A successful pairing
If it wasn’t for charrería, we wouldn’t be as successful as we are in winemaking. Charrería is our hobby, but after riding that weekend, we come back on Monday in a good mood. My wife runs the tasting room, and I’m in charge of winemaking and production. They’re very similar passions. Being able to make wine with amazing grapes, it’s fun. We love what we do.