Last weekend I was all over the map; judging in Georgia and showing in Kansas. The Georgia show went very well, the club took very good care of the judges and had a great facility! There were 2000 entries in the double-plus-specialties show and the showroom could have easily held twice as many!
Meanwhile, I sent rabbits with my mom to our club’s (notoriously chilly) local show in Harper, KS, a single with a Mini Rex specialty. I know how much of a hassle it can be to show two breeds. I think Murphy’s Law of Rabbit Shows states that no matter what, your rabbits will ALL be on the table at the same time! So I limited myself to one carrier containing 3 Dutch and my broken chin buck Amante. I also got all my paperwork ready, loaded the grooming table, and I even let her take my car.
Of course, I asked for text updates which I checked between breeds. After last weekend I was worried that there wouldn’t be much Dutch competition, but a few breeders showed up. Midnight won BOB and a little doe named Dandelion had her first win with BOS. Apparently Midnight was misbehaving on the table (besides his usual “look at me!” antics) and getting a little nippy. I doubt he was actually being aggressive, but he’s outgoing and curious and likes to ”nibble.” He hasn’t shown any signs of stress, but may be getting a little tired of all the trips. I was told he also acted up during BIS judging, but whatever he did wasn’t bad enough to keep him from winning Reserve in Show!!
I was also thrilled to hear that Amante took BOSV Broken in the specialty show! Showing Mini Rex is a little different for me. Their fur requires a little more time to be show-ready, and most juniors who are showing well are 5 months or older. This was Amante’s first show at a little over 4 months, so I was quite pleased with his placing. He’s actually a few days older than some of my Dutch who have been showing well since early October!
My mom also had the task of checking on my 6 does due between Saturday and Monday. I did try to be nice and made sure they were all experienced moms, and I told her if they did anything dumb it was their own fault. All the litters had been born by the time my plane landed Sunday, so after coming home I went out to the barn to count babies! K49, Virginia, Bud and Showgirl each had 5. Tasha had hers on the wire, and Dice surprised me with 8! Hopefully I will have some good NDS prospects in there!
My rabbits will get a rest this weekend since there are no local shows and I’ll be judging in Oregon. The triple show in Duncan is Thanksgiving weekend, and will most likely be my last for the year. Then I’ll have to figure out what it is normal people do on the weekends…
