The American Royal is a

livestock show A livestock show is an event where livestock are exhibited and judged on certain phenotypical breed traits as specified by their respective breed standard. Species of livestock that may be shown include pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, horses, llamas ...

horse show A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer fo ...

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

, and barbecue competition held each year in September – November at various sites in the

Kansas City Metropolitan Area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

. The Future Farmers of America (now the

National FFA Organization National FFA Organization is an American 501(c)(3) youth organization, specifically a career and technical student organization, based on middle and high school classes that promote and support agriculture, agricultural education. It was founded i ...

) was founded during the annual Royal. The

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

professional baseball team derived its name from the Royal.

History

The American Royal began as a cattle show in 1899 in the

Kansas City Stockyards The Kansas City Stockyards in the West Bottoms west of downtown Kansas City, Missouri flourished from 1871 until closing in 1991. Jay B. Dillingham was the President of the stockyards from 1948 to its closing in 1991. History The stockyards ...

. The name "American Royal" was inspired by a 1901 editorial in beef industry publication '' Kansas City Drovers Telegram'' titled "Call it the American Royal". The editorial said the

Royal Agricultural Society of England The Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) promotes the scientific development of English agriculture. It was established in 1838 with the motto "Practice with Science" and received its Royal Charter from Queen Victoria in 1840. RASE is bas ...

has a similar event called the Royal Show. The first American Royal horse show was added in 1907, and has grown to include five shows ( Quarter Horse Show, Hunter-Jumper Horse Show, Arabian Horse Show, American Saddlebred, Youth Horse Show, and a

Cutting Horse A cutting horse is a stock horse, typically an American Quarter Horse, bred and trained for cutting, a modern equestrian competition requiring a horse and rider to separate a single cow from a herd of cattle and prevent it from getting back to ...

show). In 1926, the American Royal invited vocational agriculture students to judge livestock. During the 1928 American Royal, 33 of the students meeting at the Baltimore Hotel in downtown Kansas City formed the

Future Farmers of America National FFA Organization is an American 501(c)(3) youth organization, specifically a career and technical student organization, based on middle and high school classes that promote and support agricultural education. It was founded in 1925 at Vi ...

. Now, the National FFA Organization has 579,678 members. The group proceeded to hold a convention every year during the Royal in Kansas City until 1998. The original home of the American Royal was destroyed by fire in 1925 during an Automobile Show. The structure was rebuilt in time for the event that year and served as the center for events until the American Royal complex was built across from Kemper Arena in 1992. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the Royal complex was converted into a glider factory. No event was held in 1917–18 nor 1942–45. In 2011 American Royal officially "obtained the legal rights to the Barbecue Hall of Fame in 2011". In 2020, some events moved online because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

New complex 1992

The new American Royal Complex was constructed in 1992 to replace the outdated facility constructed in 1926. The complex was designed by the engineering design firm

Black and Veatch Black & Veatch (BV) is the largest engineering firm in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Founded in 1915 in Kansas City, Missouri it is now headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas It is a global engineering, procurement, construction ( EPC) and ...

and constructed by Walton Construction. The new complex consists of a museum and visitor center, three exhibition halls,

Hale Arena Hale Arena is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Kansas City, Missouri. It was built in 1992 and was home to the former Kansas City Knights basketball team after they moved from Kemper Arena in 2003. It was named in honor of H. D. "Joe" Hale and ...

, a theater, a full-service restaurant and concession stand, and the administrative offices. In 1993, the new facilities were flooded but were restored in time for the American Royal livestock shows to continue late that year. Hale Arena has since been replaced by

Hy-Vee Arena The Hy-Vee Arena, previously known as Kemper Arena, is an indoor arena located in Kansas City, Missouri. Prior to conversion to a youth sports and community gymnasium facility, Kemper Arena was previously a 19,500-seat professional sports arena ...

and the

Sprint Center T-Mobile Center (formerly Sprint Center) is a multi-purpose arena in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. It is located at the intersection of 14th Street and Grand Boulevard on the east side of the Power & Light District. It has effectively become ...

as arenas where the livestock and rodeo shows are held each year. The barbecue competition had been held on the complex grounds, but was moved to the

Arrowhead Stadium Arrowhead Stadium is an American football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The stadium has been officially named GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stad ...

parking lots in 2015 and then to

Kansas Speedway Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 2011 ...

in 2016.

American Royal Museum

The American Royal Museum is open by appointment and for extended hours during the American Royal season. Exhibits include horses, veterinary medicine, the history of the American Royal, agriculture in Kansas City, and horse, rodeo and livestock show clothing, saddles, and memorabilia.

Move to Wyandotte County

In October 2016, the American Royal Association announced its relocation to Wyandotte County, Kansas. It had secured the land by December 2019.American Royal secures land for development in western KCK; project moves forward
/ref> Groundbreaking was expected to start in early 2020. The complex was expected to open in November 2021.

Events

The American Royal is an annual eight-week season of barbecue competition, rodeos, livestock shows, equestrian events and agricultural activities benefiting youth and education. One of Kansas City's premier late-year events with annual economic impact of more than $62 million, the Royal hosts the world's largest barbecue contest, one of the Midwest's largest livestock exhibitions, one of the top five ranked rodeos in the nation, and is home of the national championship horse competition. The barbecue contest is divided into several categories:

brisket Brisket is a cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef or veal. The beef brisket is one of the nine beef primal cuts, though the definition of the cut differs internationally. The brisket muscles include the superficial and deep pectora ...

, pork ribs, pork shoulder, chicken, sausage, side dishes, and dessert.

Organization

The American Royal is a not-for-profit, community volunteer-based service organization which raises funds for endowments contributions, sponsorships, and event revenues. In 2005, the organization contributed more than $1.3 million in the form of scholarships, educational awards, educational programs, community donations, competitive awards, and prize monies and premiums.

References

External links

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Kansas City Public Library article
{{Kansas City Royals Kansas City metropolitan area Agricultural shows in the United States Agricultural organizations based in the United States Equestrian sports in the United States Economy of Kansas City, Missouri Sports in the Kansas City metropolitan area Tourist attractions in Kansas City, Missouri Recurring events established in 1899 Rodeo in the United States