State closer to banning horse tripping Bill would ban sport of tripping at rodeos Scott Wong The Arizona Republic Mar. 26, 2008 07:32 PM Arizona could soon join a handful of states that have outlawed the Mexican sport of horse-tripping, appeasing animal-rights activists who have deemed the cultural practice cruel and inhumane. The state House of Representatives on Wednesday gave tentative approval to a bill that would make the deliberate tripping of horses and other equine animals illegal. Horse-tripping mostly occurs in small, Mexican-style rodeos called charreadas, where cowboys score points by lassoing the legs of the galloping animal, forcing it to crash to the ground. Three rodeo events involve taking down a horse: roping the horse's hind legs, tripping the horse while on foot, and tripping the horse while on horseback. Supporters of the bill acknowledge that the practice has long been a part of Mexican rodeo tradition, but they say it often leads to serious injuries. When tripped, horses can break legs, necks and teeth, fracture their shoulders and hips, and gash their faces. Some animals must be put to death. "If anyone respects the Mexican culture and community it's me, but it's wrong to support hurting animals for sport," says Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, a Phoenix Democrat and the bill's prime sponsor. "We need to treat animals appropriately." Hector Corona, the former longtime operations and ranch manager at Laveen's Corona Ranch, says he backs the bill. He points out that the legislation wouldn't affect the family-owned Baseline Road ranch because it hasn't allowed horse-tripping during its popular charreadas for the past 17 years. But Corona, 45, a former charro (cowboy) who has attended dozens of rodeos in both the U.S. and Mexico, says concerns about animals being injured during Mexican rodeos may be overblown. In all his years of watching and participating in charreadas, he has seen a horse seriously injured only once or twice. "It's rare that you see this happen," says Corona, who now lives in El Paso. "In the Mexican arenas, the terrain is very soft, and it's not to the best interest of ranchers to be hurting their livestock. They would lose money and it's not something you would want spectators to see." House Bill 2539 would make horse-tripping a Class 1 misdemeanor, carrying a sentence of up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. In addition to horses, the bill would apply to ponies, mules, donkeys and hinnies, which are the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey. Under the amended version of the bill, equine-tripping would not include horses that accidentally fall during jumping, steeplechase, racing, calf- or steer-roping, and a number of other Western rodeo events. Seven states, including California, New Mexico and Texas, have prohibited horse-tripping. Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska are considering legislation to ban the practice. With neighboring Western states barring horse-tripping, rodeos could begin looking to Arizona to host such events, said Phoenix City Councilwoman Thelda Williams, who was pushing for a citywide horse-tripping ban before Sinema took up the issue. "We are right in the center of them and we don't prohibit it, so we easily could become the place to hold these events," said Williams, who owned about 30 show horses at her Sunburst Farms in north Phoenix. "I wanted to make sure it stopped right now. It would be legal here and that's not a practice I think we want to see."
If you outlaw horse tripping, then only outlaws will be able to trip horses. yes, I'm going to redo this lame bit every time a "ban" thread comes up, in the interest of beating others to the punch
