When I was flying Pattern here in Texas, we shut the engine off on landing for two reasons. Number one, once you kill the engine, you're committed to landing, and the plane stays down. They do not remove points for the engine running or not. The landing itself is what was judged.

Second is, when you're flying competition, our group always carried out planes onto the runway for each other, and we always had someone to pick the plane up after landing, so taxi around was never a consideration. There were always too many people around for taxi, and the contest went much faster and smoother when you had someone to carry on and off. When 40 pilots were there to fly 5 or 6 rounds in two days, you had to move things along.

That's why I would kill the engine on landing. But only during competition. During practice, I would fly like anyone else.