2009 - The four continents of MAXIMILIEN BRUGGMANN

Le Manoir de la ville de Martigny


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Of horses and men

Argentinean gauchos or cowboys from the land of Uncle Sam: wherever there are horses, Maximilian Bruggmann takes part in the life of these space- and freedom-loving men, who proudly become one with their horses. There is a sort of desert wind blowing around their hats, and a series of deep affinities bond the photographer with these unknown but heroic John Waynes: Simplicity, integrity, honesty, courage and selflessness can be read on their faces.

#1

The Gauchos

Apart from his horse, the gaucho only possesses that which his belt can carry: an impressive, artfully engraved knife, some money and his own name, so people know who he is.

#2

The large-wheeled wagon

Gauchos use their horses only for riding and let oxen pull the large-wheeled wagons along the poor paths in the pampa (Villa Aberastain, province of San Juan, Argentina).

#3

Utensils of the Gauchos

The gear gauchos use in the Argentinean pampa includes the typical hat, boleadoras or Tres Marias (small balls, fixed to the end of a long leather strip, thrown to hunt rheas), a lasso, a whip, a belt with the indispensable facón (a knife), a stirrup, spurs, and the traditional bombilla (a metal straw used to drink mate tea from a hollowed colocynth pumpkin).

#4

Jineteada

Riding games in North and South America differ only slightly. In Argentina, contests are more strongly linked to everyday life and to Spanish riding games. In the jineteada, the rider attempts to tame a half-wild criollo horse armed with nothing but his rebenque, a whip ending in double leather straps that snap over the animal.

#5

Drinking mate ...

The life of the gauchos is one of hard work, but also one marked by a liking for fun and celebration. Unlike celebrations in the Patagonian pampa, in north-western Argentina women always take part. This has undoubtedly been inherited from times of the Independence War, in which women played an important role. In the picture, Arturo und Marion Fernández are to be seen drinking mate at their finca in Campo Alegre, province of Salta.

#6

Gaucho with guardamontes

The landscapes in north-western Argentina have more hills and the vegetation is lusher but also more hostile than in the pampa. To protect the horses from thorns and thistles, gauchos wear long leg pads made of thick leather called guardamontes, which are even more impressive than the chaps worn by cowboys (Campo Alegre, province of Salta).

#7

Terry Milliken and his cat

What does a cowboy have in common with his cat? The moustache, of course. Terry Milliken spends the summer in a cabin up in the Rocky Mountains, where he, together with a few other cowboys, looks after hundreds of cattle... and a cat (Raspberry Camp, Douglas Lake Cattle Ranch, British Columbia, Canada).

#8

Saddle bronc riding

The Calgary Stampede, which takes place every summer, is considered the world’s greatest rodeo event. Over a hundred thousand visitors come to admire the audacity of the riders. In the saddle bronc riding competition, cowboys must remain in the saddle for at least 8 seconds, atop a wild Mustang trying with all its might to regain its freedom.

#9

Steer wrestling

In the steer wrestling or bulldogging competition, the rider jumps – while in full gallop – from his saddle onto a (usually young) bull and tries to throw it to the ground by twisting its horns (Ponoka Stampede, Alberta, Canada).

#10

Bull riding

Bull riding is no doubt the most dangerous rodeo competition. Instead of a wild horse, riders have to try and mount an angry bull, which does not hesitate to gore the cowboy once it has thrown him on the ground if he does not escape quickly enough (Ponoka Stampede, Alberta, Canada).

#11

Gathering the herds

The work carried out by the gauchos in Argentina is similar to that done by the cowboys in North America: gathering the herds, sorting the calves from their mothers to brand them with a hot iron and ear tag them; the male calves not determined for breeding are also castrated (Estancia Palitue, province of Neuquen).

#12

At Longview Ranch

When the prairie was not yet enclosed by barbed wire, rodeo originally consisted in rounding up free-wandering cattle to then take them to new pastures. This practice has survived until this day in some parts, like in the Longview Ranch (Alberta, Canada), belonging to Tom Bews, one of the best-known breeders, cowboys and rodeo men in Canada.

#13

Quarter horses

On Canada’s largest ranch (Douglas Lake Cattle Ranch, British Columbia) live over 400 quarter horses, a crossbreed of Arab and Spanish horses brought by European conquerors to America and later improved by cross-breeding with English Thoroughbreds.

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