A Mexican charro event in which the rider, on horseback, chases a young bull across the ring, takes hold of its tail and brings it down, scored by the judges for skill, timing and control.
Colas en el lienzo is the tail-pulling event of Mexican charreria, often called coleadero. A young bull is let into the ring, the lienzo, and the charro, mounted on his own horse, has to ride level with it, take hold of its tail and use the horse’s speed to bring the animal to the ground. The word cola means tail; the event is about reading the bull’s line, closing the distance and finishing the move cleanly.
On eTalenter the item is an individual event for the charro. A competitor enters alone and is placed in one of six age-based groups: Dientes de Leche up to 10, Infantil A and Infantil B for older children, Juvenil for riders under 18 by birth year, Libre for the general adult field, and Mayores for riders aged 50 and over. The template assigns the same item to every group, so a coordinator can run the whole age range from one set-up.
A round is a single run in the ring. The judges watch how the rider starts from the gate, how he keeps position beside the bull, how he takes the tail and how the animal is brought down, awarding points for the work and extras for polished execution and deducting for faults. As with the other charro events, the total is an open-ended sum of points, extras and deductions rather than a mark out of a fixed ceiling. The template carries a working maximum of 20 for each group, but the source rules were not verified to fix a flat cap for this event, so that figure is a default for the scoresheet, not a rules-defined limit.
Organisers include it because it is one of the nine traditional events (suertes) of a charro championship and it tests a skill the other events do not: riding at speed beside a moving animal and acting at the right instant. It pairs naturally with piales en el lienzo, the other roping-and-riding event, in the programme.
Where Colas en el Lienzo comes from
Tail-pulling comes from the working life of the Mexican hacienda, where riders had to bring down and hold cattle on open ground. Charreria later turned the task into a formal sporting event with its own rules.
Where Colas en el Lienzo is run
On eTalenter this item is used in one template, built from the official rules of the national charro championship of Mexico. Charreria is practised in Mexico and in Mexican communities in the United States, but each association publishes its own rule book, categories and scoring tables, so coordinators should follow the rules of the event they are running.
- Mexico
Key facts
- Individual item: one rider on one horse per entry
- Template assigns it to six age groups, from Dientes de Leche (up to 10) to Mayores (50 and over)
- The rider takes a running bull by the tail and brings it down from horseback
- Totals are open-ended: points plus extras minus deductions; the 20-point maximum in the template is a working default, not a rules-defined cap
- Run in Spanish; no time limit is set in the template
- One of nine traditional charro events (suertes) listed on the template
On eTalenter, Colas en el Lienzo is filed under On Stage and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Colas en el Lienzo is most often entered as an Individual competition, commonly run for Male, typically scored out of 20.
The scoring method the templates attach to this item, and what that scale means. The category this competition is filed under when a template is installed. Others in this category: Dance, Music, Drama, Mimicry, Debate, Elocution, Story Telling, Group Song, Action Song eTalenter matches an item to its criteria on the words in its name, and creates exactly these when the template is installed. No criteria match this name, so none are created automatically — judges score it on the event’s own criteria instead.How it is scored
Where it sits
Judging criteria installed for it
What judges look at in Colas en el Lienzo
What a Colas en el Lienzo panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Start and approach: a clean start from the gate and a quick, straight run to the bull’s side shows a rider who has read the animal
- Position beside the bull: staying level at the right distance, without crowding or losing ground, is visible to every judge
- Taking the tail: a firm, controlled grip taken at the first attempt scores better than a scrambled or repeated one
- The finish: bringing the bull down smoothly and under control beats a rough or lucky fall
- Horsemanship: a mount that stays steady and responsive through the whole run shows training as much as rider skill
- Faults and deductions: infractions of the event rules are deducted, so a careful, correct run is worth more than a hurried one
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Colas en el Lienzo under Scoring Setup, or start from judge scoring and tabulation software.
How to prepare for Colas en el Lienzo
How entrants and their teachers usually get Colas en el Lienzo right on the day:
- Read the event rules first for the order of the run, the points table and the list of faults, and practise that exact sequence
- Work on position and pace on horseback first, riding alongside a moving target until the distance is automatic
- Train the horse separately to run straight and hold its line beside another animal without shying
- Build grip and timing with a trusted instructor before any live attempt, and only progress when each stage is safe and controlled
- Rehearse in a ring of the same size as the competition lienzo so the distances feel familiar on the day
- Check saddle, tack and clothing well before the event, and ask an experienced charro to watch a practice run and point out faults you cannot feel
Events that run this (1)
Ready-made templates that already include this competition. Installing one sets it up for you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Colas en el Lienzo judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, commonly for Male, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
What does colas en el lienzo mean?
Colas are tails and the lienzo is the charro ring. The event is the taking of a bull’s tail and bringing the animal down, from horseback, in that ring.
Is colas en el lienzo a team or an individual event?
It is individual. Each entry is one rider on one horse, and the template assigns it to every age group so each rider is scored on his own run.
Is there a maximum score?
The template uses 20 per group as a working default, but the source rules were not verified to fix a flat cap: points, extras and deductions add up to an open-ended total.
Is it the same as piales en el lienzo?
No. Both are riding events in the same ring, but piales is roping a mare’s hind legs while colas is taking a bull’s tail. They are separate suertes with their own scoring, each with its own item on the template.
Similar competitions
Items whose names share a word with this one — usually the same discipline in another form.
Want the full judging picture? Read judge scoring and tabulation software, or browse every on stage competition item.
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