or mounted bullfighter...

The rejoneador’s horses are very different to the picador’s horses. A ‘corrida de rejones’, or a bullfight of mounted bullfighters, involves a horse at each of the three stages of the fight. Usually, *a rejoneador (mounted bullfighter)* will travel with around six horses. He or she will have horses trained and most suitable for one of the three phases of the fight. For example, in the first phase, the bull is fast and tries to ‘catch’ up to the horse. The horse for this phase is usually an anglo-arab that is fast and agile to entice the bull’s charge but can gallop in front of it, maintaining its tail in the bull’s face, during changes of direction. In this first phase, the rejoneador used the rejones de castigo (rejons of punishment). These are wooden sticks about 150 cm long with barbed ends that break off into the bull as they are placed, resulting in the unravelling of a flag that is tied to the main handle of the rejon. The rejones become progressively shorter with each of the three phases as the rider dares to come closer and closer to the bull. By the third phase the bull is slower and more tired but it is believed to be more ‘clever’. The pure Spanish horse or three blooded horse (Spanish stallion X anglo-arab mare) is preferred at this stage. This is a horse that can perform alta escuela (high school) movements in front of the bull but react quickly to its sudden charge. The aim of the rejoneador is to demonstrate his skill in horsemanship and intuition by allowing the bull to come as close to the horse as possible without placing it in danger. He does not allow the bull to run and knock his mount as is the case with the picador and the risk to the horse is further lessened in a corrida de rejones by the fact that the tips of the bull’s horns are either blunted or covered.