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Veteran rodeo journalist Neal Reid is sharing his observations through the National Finals Rodeo on his "NFR Insider" blog at NFRexperience.com. Here are some excerpts:

From the Miss Rodeo America Kickoff Party:

Miss Rodeo Nevada Ann Clemmitt recognized me from my ProRodeo Sports News days, and stopped me to check on how things were going. I had been thinking about the tons of clothing and accessories the queens have to bring to the pageant, so I asked Clemmitt how many bags she'd brought.

"I actually brought a horse trailer," she said, laughing. "Some girls flew here, and I know Miss Rodeo Minnesota brought six bags. I have 17 pairs of boots, four hats and a jewelry rack that is part of it all. I did pretty well though, considering I only used the tack room."

I talked to Miss Rodeo Wyoming Brittany Richards, who was dressed in vintage clothing reminiscent of an old and famous advertisement from decades ago.

"It's been a lot of fun, and the girls have been great," Richards said of the pageant and her fellow queens. "There's no way you can expect what (the pageant will be like), because it's so much more than you could ever imagine. It's been great, and I'm looking forward to the rest of it."

From my blog on the PRCA Exceptional Rodeo from today:

I've had several NFR rodeo contestants tell me through the years that they think they get more out of it than the children, and bull rider Seth Glause said he had a lot of fun participating.

"I had a lot of fun coming here and hanging out with these kids," said Glause, who won Round 1. "You see their eyes light up when they get to be around the horses and in the arena. The little girl I was with today loved it and was all over the place. It was a lot of fun."