Fast horses and beautiful girls.
Flying around the arena at mock speeds. Nothing but a flash of rhinestones and curly hair atop beautiful horses.
The rodeo queen buzz run is a staple of the rodeo royalty. Often times when people think about rodeo queens this is the image that comes to mind.
This is often the first impression that audience members and rodeo contestants will have of the rodeo queen and as such it must be a good one.
Buzz runs are not only a primary role of holding a title, but they also account for a portion of the horsemanship competition score.
It might seem like a minor task or detail in completion, but a properly executed buzz run is an important skill for any rodeo queen and contestant.
Competition Buzz Runs
Fast.
The faster the buzz run the more exciting and exhilarating to watch.
As a young rodeo queen hopeful speed was my middle name. I would buzz around the arena at breakneck speed on my little dun mare and while I was in total control and felt that it made me look like a good rider.
I was wrong.
For years judges would leave notes on my judging sheets saying "too fast, slow down."
I would shrug these off thinking I knew better than the people judging me because everyone told me they liked when I went fast.
Then, one day, I watched myself ride.
Seeing my buzz run at full exasperating speeds while fun to watch, looked wild and uncontrolled.
My young mind at war with itself I made a resolve: I would slow down.
I spent an entire summer of chasing cows forcing myself to send my horse at an even and collected gait. While still fast, the movement was more collected and felt all the more fluid to me.
By my next contest not only was my buzz run all the more graceful, but my entire pattern was executed with a level of poise and connection I had never before felt.
Judges commented on the beauty and connection that not only could I feel, but others could see.
There is of course more to a buzz run than speed. There's keeping a big smile, looking out to the audience, and keeping your hand out.
There is a variety of ideas on the proper form to a wave.
Some say the elbow must be bent others think the arm should be extended. Through years of competition I have seen both.
To me a bent or straight elbow is an individual preference, but one commonality I've found is that a wave must stay up.
You are waving to an audience often times in bleachers above you, not the dirt below.
keep your eyes, smile , and hand inclined to the audience and wave all the way around the arena even if there are no spectators.
In short, the tips to remember on a proper competition buzz run include:
- Slow down! (not a slow pleasure lope, but have your horse collected)
- Big smile to the audience
- Arm bent or straight and up to the audience
- Wave all the way around the arena
- Don't loose your hat!!! (bobby pins, duck tape, whatever just don't let your hat hit the ground if your head is not in it)
Appearance Buzz Runs
Shouldn't the same rules apply as the competition run?
Yes and no.
While you are trying to display exactly how you will ride in a rodeo performance during a competition, you also do not have fans, loaded rough stock, judges, cowboys, and flags all around the arena. Chances are there's not even excessively load music at competition.
With this in mind you have to realize that you will have to ride and consequentially, wave a little differently.
Your first priority with an appearance buzz run is safety. Yours and the many people and participants around you.
Make sure that you have good control of your horse and that he/she is warmed up really well to get out any jitters.
When you take off around the arena it is okay to speed it up a bit.
The rodeo is on a schedule and depending on the sanctioning body, might be on a tight timeline.
Don't get me wrong, rodeo committees are grateful for the work and help of their rodeo queens, but the ones that take a full minute to make their way around the arena slow down the show and keep contestants from hitting the rode to their next rodeo.
Remember your big smile and wave to the crowd just like in competition and wave all the way around.
Be aware before hand what the rodeo does with their queens.
Some will have you in and out while others invite you to post in the middle. Find all this information out before making your way down the alley so you look like a pro and not a lost puppy.
Lastly, have fun!
Buzz runs were one of the best parts of being a rodeo queen just getting to be on your horse as a part of the rodeo.
To summarize, the tips to remember on a proper appearance buzz run include:
- Be safe and aware of those around you
- Speed it up a little bit
- Big smile to the audience
- Arm bent or straight and up to the audience
- Wave all the way around the arena
- Don't loose your hat!!! (bobby pins, duck tape, whatever just don't let your hat hit the ground if your head is not in it)
Gotta Buzz?
Buzz runs are a fundamental tradition for rodeo queens to participate in rodeos.
Their significance makes them just as important in competition as they are in actual appearances and though they may not be worth a ton of points, a well executed run gets noticed.
Remember the differences between each style of buzz run and while each is individual, there are a few common factors that every judge and spectator is expecting to see in a rodeo queen.
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