By Charles L. Westmoreland

One U of L student will be getting ready for the Kentucky Derby early this year. But the road leading up to Kentucky’s trademark annual event will literally be a ‘royal engagement’ for senior Stephanie Bumpus who was selected as one of this year’s Kentucky Derby Festival Princesses.

Bumpus, 21, from Henderson, Ky., will spend the next three and a half months serving as an official ambassador for the city of Louisville during various Derby festivities and events.

“It is such an amazing honor to be selected as a Kentucky Derby Festival Princess, and I am very excited to be involved with the Festival in such a unique way … at one of the world’s greatest community events,” she said. “The Kentucky Derby is such an important part of Kentucky history – and the Kentucky Derby Festival has made it more than just two minutes of horse racing.”

Bumpus said she will be committed to the Kentucky Derby Festival 24 hours a day once the festivities begin – and with a responsibility like this, a person would have to be.

Her reign will begin at the Poster Premiere held on Jan. 27 and will last through the Pegasus Parade May 5, totaling nearly 70 events overall, to include Thunder over Louisville, the Great Steamboat Race and an appearance on NBC’s “Today Show” with the other Princesses. Most of the events will be within a two-week time span. This may seem like a bit much for a graduating senior who is president of the RSA, a member of two honor societies and an active member of Delta Zeta sorority, but Bumpus said she is up for the challenge.

“I am lucky enough to have … a schedule that will allow me to attend,” she said. “My professors have been so wonderful already in allowing me to arrange my finals in order to accommodate the schedule.”

At a press conference held earlier this month, the names of the six princesses were announced, selected from an initial field of 80 applicants. The applicants were graded on “knowledge of the Derby Festival, poise, intelligence, personality and campus and community involvement.”

Bumpus was the only U of L student selected, making her a campus spokeswoman and student body representative. Bumpus sees the university as being an integral part of the city as well as an important factor in her being crowned.

“I hope to be able to represent the excellent educational and extracurricular opportunities the university offers,” she said. “There is no way I could have been selected … without the experiences I have had at the university.”

On April 22, Bumpus will find out if her collegiate career gets a fairy tale ending when the Derby Festival Queen is crowned at the annual Fillies’ Derby Ball.

“Being crowned a Kentucky Derby Festival Princess is an enormous honor,” Bumpus said. “But you never know how anything will turn out!”