The Cordilleran cowboy and his horse

THE photo of Mateo Carino saddled in his horse displayed the importance of horses during the early 1900s when Baguio was a pastureland for his cattle and other domesticated animals.

The horse was such an important work force during the era when Baguio and the rest of the Cordillera region were being explored. For the “Kadangyans” or the rich Cordillerans, it was used to roam their land and round up their cattle and other domesticated animals, used to carry heavy baggage to distant areas.

Today, the horse provides livelihood for Cordillerans who rent them out for horseback riding, picture taking and others. But the riding skills of these horsemen continue to flourish and improve through the years.

The annual pony boy’s day last March 2 proved how the horse riding skills had developed since the frontier days.

When western movies became the fad in the post war, most of the Cordillerans emulated the ways of the cowboys, probably due to the hard life they imbibe with their own.

Suddenly, the cowboy way became much the fashion and the lifestyle for the hardy and hardworking Cordillerans, be it the educated ones or the farmers in the distant parts of the region.

The annual event proved to be a festival in celebrating the relationship between the Cordillera horseman and his animal and the hard life that come their way.

Emulating the western cowboy and how his horse became the way of the American west.