Showmen shine with wiggly rabbits

Rabbit Showmanship may not have the shock factor of youngsters chasing squealing pigs or getting dragged by irritated steers, but few events have more “ahhh” than children wrestling wiggly bunnies under the judge’s scrutiny.

From dwarfs to giants, rabbits at Monday’s 4-H or FFA Rabbit Showmanship events at the 2012 Northwest Montana Fair reflect the huge variety in the world.

According to judge Kelley Phipps, youngsters interested in showing may select from 47 recognized breeds.

She couldn’t recommend one breed over another as better for showing. Phipps said one factor makes a difference.

“The more the kids work with their rabbits, the better they behave,” she said.

A veteran of 10 years in rabbit showmanship, Phipps said she didn’t show as a child because her parents didn’t think she could participate with an animal that didn’t weigh several hundred pounds. She got involved with 4-H and rabbits as an adult as a way to get socialization and peer interaction for her home-schooled daughter.

The two worked through rabbits, poultry, horses and archery.

“There was a lot to learn,” Phipps said.

A resident of south Bozeman, she said this marks her third year of judging. In 2012, she will hit four fairs to judge dozens of events.

“I really enjoy working with the kids,” she said. “My daughter graduates next year so this is my way to stay involved.”

Phipps said she makes her judgments based on how well the youths handle their rabbits, their attentiveness to the judges and their knowledge of rabbits and rabbit husbandry. She was amply impressed by the many Flathead Valley youths who stepped up to the table to show their skills.

“I think they are very excellent showmen,” she said. “These were some of the better novices I’ve seen.”

She  launched the morning events with Senior Rabbit Showmanship. To participate, youths must have turned 14 by Oct. 1, 2011.

Each event followed a similar formula. The youth moved up to the horseshoe-shaped table and placed the rabbit on a square of carpet.

Phipps asked the showmen to introduce themselves and their rabbit, discuss the breed and go through its anatomy and various conditions that might affect it.

Not surprisingly, most started with the ears and discussed the importance of looking for ear mites, cuts or scabs as well as a tattoo or registration number. Moving on to the eyes, the showmen mentioned diseases such as conjunctivitis that apparently infect rabbits as well as humans.

Who knew that rabbits also suffer from malocclusion, meaning their teeth don’t align and they may have problems chewing food? It turns out Snuffles is not a cute bunny name but an upper respiratory infection causing a thick nasal discharge that can be fatal.

Rabbit competitors moved from the head to the back divided into forequarters and hindquarters and the tail — an important part to check for alignment and straightness. Next, handlers faced the challenge of grasping the rabbit’s ear and neck to control its head as they attempted to roll it over on its back.

This became the downfall of more than one showman’s flawless performance. Rabbits, it seems, have enough wiggles and twists to thwart the youngsters intent on flipping them over to check the belly for abscesses, the legs for straightness, count the toes and check out the toenails.

With rabbit judging and pens sharing quarters at the fair with poultry, the youngsters competed with crowing roosters, squawking hens and the odd honk of a goose as they searched their memory banks to answer the judge’s questions.

A break in the crowing allowed the audience to hear Brittany Bosley of Kalispell describe her rabbit as a Polish rabbit.

“They’re known as ‘the little aristocrat,’” Bosley said, keeping her eyes riveted on Phipps.

Her good eye contact and confident rabbit handling paid off with the Grand Champion Senior Showmanship ribbon. Melissa Johnson of Coram took the reserve champion ribbon.

In the senior novice class, Moriah Venable of Whitefish experienced the horror of showing in a group of one. But she did well enough to win the reserve champion ribbon.

Emma Trunkle of West Kalispell took top handler honors as the grand champion in the Junior Rabbit Showmanship while Tommy Diegel of Kalispell took home the reserve champion ribbon. Trunkle, 12, said this was her fourth year showing her crossbreed rabbit named Patch.

Her formula for success matched the judge’s recommendation.

“I practiced a lot,” she said. “Last night I studied a whole lot.”

Alexis Faulk of Kalispell was named the grand champion of the junior novice class and Emma Pound of Bigfork was the reserve champion. All the competitors received blue or red ribbons along with some tips such how to safely flip a rabbit on its back by controlling its head and making sure the judge can see everything you do.

Phipps stumped them all with the question, “What is a rabbit’s gestation period?” None knew that gestation meant the length of pregnancy.

“It’s 28 to 31 days,” Phipps said with a laugh.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.