Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association "CMSA" - The Fastest Growing Equine Sport In The Nation
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SIXGUNS OVER TEXAS— 2008 SUNDOWNER CMSA WORLD & INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
THE LARGEST CMSA CHAMPIONSHIP EVER!
Most folks have surely heard of the theme park, “Six Flags Over Texas,” well, the CMSA introduced “Sixguns Over Texas,” with thundering hooves and blazing six-shooters signaling the arrival of the CMSA as we rode into Amarillo, Texas for the Sundowner CMSA 2008 World & International Championships. With 372 adults and 30 Wranglers, including 13 men & women riders in a special international class competition that boasted of competitors from Sweden, Germany and Canada, this marks the largest CMSA World—in fact the largest CMSA event of any type—ever held! We even had one competitor, Mickey Williams of Jarrell, Texas, accompanied by his nephew, Dusty Springfield, ride 320 miles on horseback to get to this match!
This long-awaited championship match was held in Amarillo’s TriState Expo, occupying the spacious Amarillo National Center arena, along with the Cody Horse Barn and arena. The Amarillo National Center boasts a 150 x 300-foot dirt arena, plenty big enough for CMSA courses, and has seating for 5,000 spectators, as well as spacious vendor spaces that surround the arena. Altogether, the Amarillo National Center occupies 158,562 square feet of space, while the Cody Horse Barn and its arena take up 74,750 square feet, including its 94-foot x 225-foot arena floor (where several of our shorter courses were held).
The weather in Amarillo in November can be quite chilly and it was just that. However, the indoor arenas were very comfortable for both horse and rider. Of course, we also faced the legendary West Texas wind. In fact, it was commented that the air in Amarillo was nice…but it went by you way too fast! Nonetheless, with the sheltered indoor stalls and the warm, friendly welcome we received from the locals, putting up with cold, windy weather was just part of being in West Texas in the fall.
