What began over one hundred years ago as a branch of livelihood for livestock breeders alike, has found it’s way into today as one of the most rewarding and fun of all animal sports, especially prominent in 4-H. Rabbit exhibition began when breeders devoted their attentions to producing supreme animals with greater survivability and superior physical attributes. Breeders would display their rabbits for judging, the winners would then be returned to the farm and begin their life propagating offspring that would improve generation after generation, arriving at the diverse and hardy breeds we have today. The American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) is the largest sanctioning organization for both Canada and the United States. Over 43 domestic rabbit breeds are recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association in several colors and varieties.

The are two basic types of shows; carrying case, the most common and cooped shows. Cooped shows supply the cages for your rabbits. These shows are generally several days in duration, like fairs or the American Rabbits Breeders Association convention. Carrying case shows last only one or two days in duration. The rabbit spends its time within the case except during times of grooming or the judges table. Unlike some animal breed shows, a pedigree is not necessary to show your rabbit, however, the rabbit must be tattooed inside of the left ear before being permitted to show. In the case of three major wins which entitles the rabbit for a Grand Championship title, the rabbit must at least possess a three generation pedigree for pure blood assurance. Rabbits may be registered once evaluated and approved by an ARBA licensed registrar, in which case, the registration number will be recorded with the ARBA and tattooed within the right ear for permanent identification.

There are three age classes in which rabbits are shown. Classes include Senior, Junior and Intermediate. Junior refers to a rabbit that is under the age of six month. The Intermediate age range refers to the age of heavy weight breeds also known as six class animals, meaning an ideal weight of nine pounds or over and between six and eight months. Senior is over the age of six months for four class rabbits and for six class rabbits over eight months of age. There are three distinct color categories; Broken, Variety and Solids. Solid is any breed color that extends throughout the rabbits entire body, some examples include shaded self, self and pointed whites. Broken is a breed color in combination with white, black and white being one example. Variety refers to the color the rabbit is, like black, broken, opal, etc.

There are five wins that may be obtained; Best of Variety (BOV), Best Opposite Sex of Variety (BOSV), Best Opposite Sex of Breed (BOSB), Best of Breed (BOB) and the coveted Best in Show (BOS). The BOS winner means that the specimen came the closest to meeting the American Rabbit Breeders Standard of Perfection than any other rabbit exhibited. As with all other sports, rabbit exhibition is not without rules of disqualification. Some DQ’s are easily corrected with time, for example a broken tooth, however, others, like a missing toe nail or nails can displace the rabbit from showing permanently.

If your not into rabbits then maybe a game of Billiards is more your thing. Just make sure you use the official rules of billiards to prevent any disputes.