HORSEMANSHIP AT THE EXCALIBUR KING ARTHUR ARENA

You could hear a big sigh of relief from all of the contestants late this morning when the horsemanship competition was completed at the King Arthur Arena at the Excalibur Hotel. While the horsemanship award is one of the most coveted awards at the Pageant, the competition itself...well... makes most contestants just a little bit nervous.The horsemanship committee was up at the crack of dawn (literally, 4am) to get the horses ready for the competition; horses were provided by PRCA Stock Contractors.McKenzie Haley, Miss Rodeo America, presented the American Flag and the National Anthem was sang by Kara Hackney of Hays, Kansas. The contestants are taken down to their horses and assisted with stirrup length; they are not given a warm-up period and the first opportunity they get to "test" that horse is when the curtain opens. Once the competition started it went like clockwork with all contestants doing a great job and all of the horses performing well. After each contestant went through the "pattern," there was a brief intermission before the second go-round started. During the second go-round, each contestant did a 1 and a half minute "freestyle" pattern. It was interesting to see the routines that they came up with, they were all different and unique. For clothing, the monochromatic look was the most popular; and embellishments adorned most of the horsemanship shirts.At the conclusion of the competition, McKenzie gave a farewell arena run and was presented with a bouquet of roses from her parents.Immediately following the horsemanship competition, contestants enjoyed the Excalibur's Buffet with family & friends.