Traveling to Shows

Well...I have been a bit lax in updating the blog. Our rabbits are doing well and we recently attended the Quad-shows in Sandpoint, ID. I would like to thank Donna, Barry and the entire group for putting on a wonderful show that ran remarkably smoothly. In fact, we were on the road home by 2:00 pm on Sunday. Talk about efficiency.

This show really had me thinking about Rabbit Shows and the future of showing. We are all facing the rising costs of gas and overall expenses and some think I'm "silly", "insane" or "stupid" to be attending shows so far away. Twice we have chosen to go east instead of attending shows happening here on the western side at the same time.

I have to agree that at some point, usually at least once every day, those remarks fit. However, in choosing to travel to these shows, I would disagree. We chose those shows for a variety of reasons....the main one for me is rabbit showing is a hobby and should be fun. I don't intend to earn an income or become rich and famous by showing rabbits. I do it for the friendship and fun and enjoyment. If wanted to be stressed out all day I would stay home, work and be paid for it!

(Emily is more of a traditionalist -- legs and points.)

We opted to travel to Davenport over Bremerton as the MRFGNW were hosting a specialty show on Friday night. That is 3 chances to show Mini Rex and a chance to support the club and of course earn those elusive sweepstakes points. (We are 3rd in the National Mini Rex club with Opals.) We also coordinated with Cinnamon breeders and had competition from Montana attending this show. The chance for "real" legs and real competition - this would not be the case in Bremerton.

We had a great time visiting friends on Friday night and the show was smooth sailing on Saturday. We had a nice "pre-test" prior to State Convention for our Cinnamons. Visiting with Helen is always a joy.

And, in "true" rabbit showing fashion, we did earn points, legs and even Granded my English Angora.

Traveling to Montana was almost a no-brainer. This was the final show for this club, this is the home of the Cinnamon breed, we had the CRBA president as our judge and Ellis & Rose Houseman were there. Having the developer of the breed look at your animals (see past blogs) is priceless. And, thanks to Lawrence Weeks, having Ellis at the table was, as my son used to say, "A once in a lifetime opportunity".

Sandpoint was a bit more of a stretch. However, after being over in Davenport and then Montana, ID didn't seem so very far. After sitting next to Donna in MT for two days, we were pretty much sold on the idea and heard it would be a great time. We were not disappointed. It was well-organized and the club quickly solved any glitches. We saw a variety of breeders, made new friends and visited with old ones.

The potluck Saturday was great! It is really refreshing to say something other than "What breed did they call?" to other breeders. Most of us are actually intelligent people who can hold a conversion. I learned a lot talking with fellow breeders Susie, Nancy, Frank and the list goes on. I definitely learned what breeds are not for me!

Of course there were points and legs earned.

As everyone faces different financial challenges, we will all prioritize differently. We all show and raise rabbits for different reasons, choose different breeds and therefore different shows will meet different needs. This is one of the joys of this hobby.

Enjoy!