Cuba's pint-sized cowboys

Not just reserved for the American West, rodeo culture has a long and rich history in Cuba

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David Obregon works to lasso a goat for milking at his parents farm in Sancti Spiritus, central Cuba.
(Image credit: The Associated Press)
A cowboy throws a calf to the ground to wrap its legs, during an improvised rodeo game in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba.
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)Cattle ranching and rodeo culture actually have a rich history in Cuba. Colonizing Spaniards introduced cattle to Cuba as far back as the 1500s. Herding skills, cowbo)

Five-year-old cowboy David Obregon holds down a calf.
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa))

Cowgirl Dariadna Corujo rides her horse. Just 6 years old, Dariadna is already an expert barrel racer and calf roper, wearing pink boots as she competes in rodeos on the flat grasslands.
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa))

(Image credit: The Associated Press)

David Obregon learns to ride a calf. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Young cowboys milk a goat together.
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa))

A cowboy playfully threatens to dunk a younger boy into a water trough.
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa))

Cowgirl Dariadna Corujo winds up to lasso a calf.
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa))

David Obregon works to lasso a goat for milking at his parents' farm.
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa))

A young cowboy looks out from a bus window as he waits to be transported to an improvised rodeo event.
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa))

Lauren Hansen
Lauren Hansen

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.