We named these excessively
cool spurs, purchased from the lovely Cecibel Martinez, after Roberto Daza, a
La Paz native and three-time Grand Prix Champion of Bolivia. See the spiky
things? Those are called rowels, and back in the days of the conquistadors they
were kind of like the equivalent of modern-day rims: the bigger, the better.
Spurs, which apparently
have been used in one form or another since the 5th century BC, were
promoted to the status of art objects around the 15th century, with
intricate engravings, long shanks, and giant rowels. ...
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Spurs, which apparently
have been used in one form or another since the 5th century BC, were
promoted to the status of art objects around the 15th century, with
intricate engravings, long shanks, and giant rowels. The reason? The abundance
of precious metals, especially silver, coming out of the New World—i.e., places
like Bolivia. Talk about bling; it’s said that the spurs used by the Spanish
conquistadors were called “Espuela Grande,” or “Grand Spur,” and sometimes had
rowels up to six inches around. Could we possibly be compensating here?
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