The Horse holds a special place in the Mexican Society. In 1519 Cortes brought the first 16 horses to New Spain (Mexico) and later proclaimed "After God, we owed our victory to the horses". The Indigenous Mexicans had never seen a horse and thought that the Spaniards and their horses were one animal.
Over the next decades, many more explorers and settlers brought more horses to the country. Huge Ranchos spread throughout the country requiring horses and skilled riders to control and roundup the cattle
During the wars of independence and revolution horses were instrumental in moving large groups of men from one place to another quickly. With time the world was introduced to the horse skills of the Mexican Vaquero. Even today the "Charreada" is used to show off the skills of Charros and Charras.