My First Year Showing Rabbits

A chocolate Dutch rabbit kit born on our farm

I started showing rabbits in 4-H when I was nine, and it’s something I’ve always enjoyed and wanted to stick with. I started out showing Dutch rabbits, and since then I’ve had Rex, New Zealands, and Netherland Dwarfs. The Dutch are still my favorite though, and I wanted to share one of my favorite memories with them.

Although I have some pretty high-quality rabbits now, I didn’t start out that way. I bought my first rabbits at an auction for $16 each when I was 9. They were actually pretty nice, and when I started 4-H I decided to breed them. I picked out two of the “unique” kits, a tortoiseshell and a black one with one white ear.

I didn’t know then that the Dutch breed is mainly judged on markings, and I just picked the “different” rabbits… who had the worst markings in the litter. They were both does, and I named the black one North and the tort Blaze. I had intended to take them both to the fair, but North was a bit too territorial and aggressive, so I chose to only take Blaze.

I learned how to do showmanship through books, the internet, and YouTube videos. I studied as much as I could and practiced with Blaze daily. I put a lot of time and effort into training her, and it was paying off. When you do showmanship, you flip the rabbit over and basically do a health check. I remember that I could flip Blaze over and completely let go of her to do the check because she was so tame.

Eventually, it was time for the fair. Although I took a hamster to the fair when I was a “cloverbud”, it was really my first time showing anything. The week flew by, and soon it was the day of the rabbit show. I remember I was practicing with my friend and saw the older members doing showmanship. I was pretty intimidated by them.

Animals have a way of sensing how you feel. When I started to get nervous, Blaze started to get worked up too. She would try to flip herself back over or jerk away every time I flipped her. I started to lose my confidence.

The next day was the show. I was very nervous, especially after the last practice. Blaze seemed a little bit less worked up than before, but she wasn’t back to her usual self yet. Although the Dutch class was one of the earlier ones, I still had some time, so I used it to practice a bit. Soon, it was time for my class.

There were only five people in my class. Although Dutch are a popular breed, they were tough to show, and a lot of 4-H members avoided marked breeds like them. We were all asked to pose our rabbits as the judge came around. Blaze didn’t pose as well as she normally does, but she was behaving better than some of the rabbits.

After the judge flipped Blaze, he brought me down to the other end of the table. He went around and flipped some of the other rabbits and moved them around, but I stayed in my spot at the end. He had placed them all, and came to me first. I was in last place, since her fur was “ugly”. Now, I understand it was just a harsh way of saying that her markings weren’t even close to being correct for the breed. Then, I was really hurt.

I put Blaze in her cage and hurried back to my mom in tears. She tried to comfort me, but I was too hurt to console. I had put a lot of work into training my rabbit, and it seemed like it had been useless. Then my mom reminded me that I had entered one other class, showmanship. I wanted to quit, but my mom convinced me.

Hours passed before it was time for showmanship. I was still pretty upset and nervous, and one of the rabbit committee members, who I’ll call V, noticed. She came over and confronted me about it. When I explained my concerns, she told me not to worry. She explained that although the show was completely judged on the quality of the rabbit, showmanship is only judged on the handler and the rabbit’s training. She knew I had put a lot of work into Blaze’s training, and she thought I had a good chance. I still wasn’t too convinced, but she told me that in the end it was great to win, but learning and enjoying the experience was the most important part. She also promised that my mom would buy me a lemonade when I was done, even if I got last place. I felt better, and went back to practice.

I sat inside the rabbit barn in my long-sleeved shirt in the heat for a few hours before it was finally my turn. When I walked up to the table, the judge asked me to pose my rabbit. Blaze listened well and stayed still now that there weren’t any other rabbits to confuse her. Next, I was asked to flip her and do the health check. Blaze stayed completely still, and I thought we did well.

Next, the judge asked me questions. This was really my time to shine. He asked me the basic questions, my rabbit’s name, breed, age. Then he asked me some more advanced questions about breeds, health, and other trivia. I had studied hard, and I didn’t think they were too difficult. I finished quickly, and I was dismissed.

It was a while until we actually got results. I left for a while and got the lemonade my mom promised me before we came back. As they started announcing names, I didn’t hear mine called early on, so I assumed I had placed too low for an award. However, when they announced the first place winner, I heard my name!

I excitedly rushed up to get my blue ribbon. They also handed me an envelope with a thank-you note inside. I was confused. The girl passing out the ribbons explained that it was for my trophy. I was thrilled! My mom and I went to the 4-H building to get my trophy, and I found one more surprise. The trophy had been donated by the committee member who had helped me before.

4-H is very important to me, and in my opinion, my experience with rabbits my first year is a great example of everything 4-H should be about; hard work, helping others, and the joy when you finally succeed.