Apologies for the late
post – school has been keeping me very busy lately.
My last post of this series, I feel that showing is one of
the most rewarding aspects of raising rabbits.
It shows your abilities as a breeder to select rabbits that excel in
their breed and your efforts to making excellent representatives of the
breed. An additional benefit is the judges' valuable remarks about your rabbits which can help you to recognize features in your rabbits that you may not have realized before and to reinforce ideas about particular qualities and faults of an individual animal. While showing does not come
easily, it is a very rewarding process.
My suggestion before showing your own rabbits is to attend
an ARBA sanctioned rabbit show to see how it runs. Talk to rabbit breeders and ask them about
the show process. Most rabbit raisers
are more than happy to help you understand showing and can help you along the
way. Visiting the ARBA’s website will help
you locate a show in your area to attend.
A few key points to know before I get into show remark
cards: you need to know the sex of your
rabbit(s), age, tattoo number (if it isn’t tattooed it will need to be), and
color or color class. You need to review
your breed’s standard to ensure it meets all minimum show standards. For example, it is not over or under weight for its age, a broken patterned rabbit needs
to have a nose marking, a colored rabbit should have colored nails, etc.
Now, on to the show remark card. The first things you can fill out is your
name, address (this is so they can send you leg certificates and show reports
and is usually optional), rabbit’s ear number, sex, breed, the show, color
class (pay attention to this as some breeds are color specific while others
like the angoras is either “colored” or “white). You need to know if your rabbit is a 4 or 6
class. If you enter a 4 class breed,
(let’s say a Lionhead) as a six class and circle “intermediate” on the page,
you are going to run into complications with the show secretaries. A four class breed is generally a smaller
breed and would be entered in junior buck, junior doe, senior buck, or senior
doe. A 6 class; however, would have all
those classes in addition to intermediate buck and intermediate doe. If in doubt, check your breed standard. You don’t need and should not fill out any
more on the card. The remarks and judge
are for the writer to fill out.
After turning in your cards to the registration/awards table,
you can work on grooming your rabbit.
Use whatever tools are appropriate for your breed. You don’t want any loose fur flying so make
sure you clean them up. Keep your ears
open for your breed to be called. They
will usually say “youth (the breed) to (specific judge’s table) or “open
(specific breed) to (specific judge’s table).
This is when you need to go up with your rabbits (kept in carriers) and
get them to the table.
The first class done is senior bucks, followed by senior
does, intermediate bucks, intermediate does (in the case of a 6 class breed),
and finally junior bucks and junior does.
A specific color in the breed is typically done first and they work
their way through all the colors. If you
are ever in doubt just ask someone and they can help you out. Listen carefully to the judge’s comments on
the rabbits and watch them pose them so you can get a feel of how they should
look. If your rabbit does not place
first in their class or Best or Best Opposite of Variety they can be taken
back. Once all the breed’s variety
representatives are shown they will be evaluated again to determine Best and
Best Opposite of Breed.
After the judge is finished judging, you can take your
rabbits back. Pick up your remark cards
at the end of the table (where the writers were sitting) and take them up to
the registration tables so they can give you your awards. Some farther placings will not receive
ribbons and disqualified rabbits also will not be entitled to any.
There are a variety of ways your rabbit can win a grand
champion leg. First of all, you must be
an ARBA member or you will not receive a GC leg with your rabbit, even if it is
did place in the tops. A rabbit can
receive this award if:
·
It received 1st in class (and there
were 5+ rabbits in that class shown by 3+ exhibitors)
·
It received BOB (and there were 5+ rabbits total in the breed shown by 3+ exhibitors)
·
It received BOS (and there were 5+ rabbits of that gender shown by 3+ exhibitors )
·
It received BOV (and there were 5+ rabbits in that variety shown by 3+ exhibitors)
·
It received BOSV (and there were 5+ rabbits in that gender and variety shown by 3+ exhibitors)
·
It received BOG (and there were 5+ rabbits in that group shown by 3+ exhibitors)
·
It receives BOSG (and there were 5+ rabbits in that gender and group shown by 3+ exhibitors)
If your rabbit is entitled to a GC Leg, the show secretary will mail it to
you. A rabbit needs 3 GC legs, with at
least one being earned as a senior, in order to qualify for granding. A rabbit must also be registered in order to
be entitled to a GC title. The
registration process is simple and simply involved a registrar looking over
your rabbit and its pedigree, weighing it to record weight, and filling out
paperwork to send to the ARBA. You must show
your ARBA membership card to the registrar and there is a $6 fee for registration. Once you receive all 3 legs and you qualify
for granding, fill out the rabbit's date of birth and registration # on the leg certificates and send them in to the ARBA along with a small fee and they will then send you a grand champion
certificate.
I hope this brief post will help you understand the showing
process a little better. While it is a
time consuming and sometimes stressful process, it is extremely rewarding and
will allow you to become a better breeder. I have been showing for a few years now and it has given me an even greater appreciation for our breeds and in turn has made me a better breeder.
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