American Royal

The American Royal in Kansas City, Missouri, is a , horse show and rodeo held each year in October and November at Kemper Arena. The Future Farmers of America (now the National FFA Organization) was founded during the annual Royal. The Kansas City Royals professional baseball team derive their name in part from the Royal.

The American Royal began as a cattle show in 1899 in the . The name "American Royal" was inspired by a 1901 editorial in beef industry publication Kansas City Drovers Telegram entitled "Call It The American Royal." The editorial noted the Royal Agricultural Society in England 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 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. 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, the Royal complex was converted into a glider factory.

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