What
is showing a rabbit all about?
People have often asked
us what is it like to show a rabbit and what goes on at a show? We wondered about this ourselves and so went along to quite
a few shows before we even considered buying our own show stock. It is a wonderful way to look at the various breeds, speak
to exhibitors and watch the judging.
If you are considering
doing the same, we suggest you get there early in the morning before the judging starts, which is usually 10 to 10.30am. The
general public are always welcome at shows, but at some shows like the agricultural ones they are excluded to the outside
area of the rabbit pens.
Exhibitors will arrive
at least an hour before judging to do the final show preparation on their rabbit(s), pen them, book them in and pay the entry
fee(s).
Of course 99% of show
preparation is done at home i.e. keeping the rabbit clean, well groomed and in good physical condition. The final grooming
is done to remove the loose hairs, comb the feet etc and for angora rabbits fluff up those coats till they look like a puff
ball using special blowers.
Some exhibitors prepare
their rabbits on what will become the judges table later; others place them on the top of their travel boxes which have a
special piece of carpet inlaid or on their laps at the side of the exhibition hall.
Once the exhibitor is
happy with the groomed rabbit it is placed in its pen with a water bottle attached (and hay put in, if desired). Next
the rabbits ring number(s) are entered on to the entry form which is then taken to the member of that club dealing with entries
and the monies paid. Once in the pen the rabbit is left alone until the time for judging.
Judging
The judges’ tables
are arranged in the centre of the exhibition hall. Usually there are 4 tables, one each for Fancy breeds (Dutch, Tans
etc), Lops, Rex and Fur (Sables, Foxes, Satins etc).
The judge stands on one
side of the table with his/her booking steward and will call out the pen numbers for the stewards to go and fetch the rabbits
from. They are brought to the table and a sticker with the pen number on is attached to each rabbit, either on its neck, tail
or inside of ear. The stewards hold the rabbits in a line on the opposite side to the judge and he/she will in turn look at
each rabbit.
The judge will be checking
each rabbit to ensure it is healthy and clean and the teeth are correct. Next the judge will be checking for underside colour
and toenail colour. The rabbit is then put back on to the table and the top colour, ears and coat quality will be checked.
The shape of the rabbit must conform to its breed standard, head, ears and so on. Rabbits are expected to pose according to
their breed. Fur should lie flat, so the judge can run his/her hand through the coat, racy breeds such as Poland’s and
Hares should sit upright and lops sit mid height to allow the ears to lop and show off the head and crown shape.
The judge will place
in order what he/she considers the best in each line up as he/she works along the table. For the stewards and judges it can
sometimes be quite perilous handling the rabbits as you will have frisky ones, nervous ones (which may bite) and then you
have ones that are so laid back they will not pose in the correct manner!
Once the judge has made
his/her decision the ring numbers of the top 3 in that class are taken by the book steward as the judge reads them out, then
the rabbits are returned to their pens.
Often the entries are
split in to various colour and pattern groups. The top three entries are then placed in either the adult or
the under five month’s class. Next the Challenge Certificate (CC) is awarded for the best rabbit in
that colour/pattern between the adult and the U5.
At smaller shows there
may be only one or a few entries in some these classes, so achieving 1st to 3rd may not be considered
such a fantastic result by some! The award cards will show the amount entered in each class.
Judges can and do withhold first
places if they feel there was no rabbit worthy of being placed 1st.
Finally all the CC winners
are then brought back to the judges table to select the Best of Breed.
After this the Best of
Breeds are put up against each other for either the Best Lop, Fancy, Fur or Rex.
There is an award
for juniors who have entered; their rabbits compete in the main show but are brought out again for the Juniors Awards.
Some shows also invite
specialist breed clubs to judge, so you may find rabbits coming back to the judging table more than once. On these occasions
you will see more of that breed at the show than normal.
At the end of the day
the final award is made for Best in Show, where the best Fur, Fancy, Lop and Rex are brought up against each other. At this
point the whole show is gathered around to watch the judging and await the result.
Cups and rosettes are
given out to the best in each of the four sections and finally the Best in Show receives theirs too.
For
further information about the various breeds please visit the BRC site (see our Links page)
