Gothic Stud - Showing

Showing in the U.K

There are many shows held each week across the UK. They are usually run under the British Rabbit Council (BRC) rules and are given star status from 1 to 5. To be eligable to show your rabbit in the main show you MUST first become a member of the British Rabbit Council. The rabbit has to have a ring on its hind leg. The number on this ring MUST be registered in your name.(i.e. a ring that you have purchased in your own name or a ring which you have transferred to your name. A transfer is not complete until you have received the confirmation slip back from the BRC).

Although, most shows also have a PET section for newcomers who have not yet registered. To obtain information concerning show dates you should also subscribe to the (Fur & Feather ) Magazine this is the official journal of the BRC and keeps you in touch with all events.

Showing rabbits is a hobby enjoyed by many people in the uk. It is often surprising to new rabbit owners that such a hobby exists. Preperation can be time comsuming, but if you want to show your rabbit and follow good hygiene on a daily basis in your rabbit shed or with your pet rabbit- it really is not too much work.

There are classes foe all different breeds and many shows have specific classes for colours and ages too.

Fur & Feather:

"Printing for Pleasure" Ltd.,
Elder House,
Chattisham,
Ipswich,
Suffolk.
IP8 3QE .

British Rabbit Council:

Purefoy House,
7 Kirkgate,
Newark,
Notts.,
NG24 1AD.
tel:01636-676042

London Show pic

Stewarding

Getting involved at a show Stewarding is proberly the easiest and best way to get used to handling rabbits, however you will still need to be a member of the B.R.C to do so. Position yourself at the table when the judge and his book steward appear and ask if you can help steward. Stewards are always needed and they will be happy for you to help. The book teward will call out the pen numbers and these relate to the pen that each rabbit is in. Go to that pen that has been called and collect the rabbit and bring it back to the table. If this is the first time the rabbit has been out then you will be given a small white sticker with its pen number on it and this should be placed inside the ear.

The stewards job is to hold the rabbit so that it doesnt interfere with the other rabbits on the table or leap off. Different breeds need to be handled in different ways to help them show themselves at there best. An angora for example, is to be held as little as possable and is picked up with hands underneath so as not to flatten the coat that its breeder will have worked hard at getting fluffed up whilst a netherland dwarf needs to be pushed at the rump to encourage it to raise its head.

If you end up stewarding your own rabbit, NEVER say that it is your rabbit. Always treat all the rabbits you handle with as much care and respect as you do your own.Once the judge has picked up and examined each exhibit he will decide the order of placement and once the decision is made the stewards will be told to return the rabbits to their pens.