anyone going to the Arkansas State fair?

The girls want to go so they are showing their mini lops in the open A show on 10/12/14. The Jr. show on the Saturday before requires the rabbits to be held all week and I wasn't down with having them 2 hours away at a fair with a bunch strangers.

Depending on when the midway opens I may be the one putting rabbits on the tables :roll:

Just wondering if anyone from RT was attending -

I've gone the past three years, but will not be attending this year. They have a new superintendent this year, which may be a good thing, but I am not sure. Last year, they did not turn in the points to the national club. I contacted the ASF Livestock supervisor this summer in a final attempt to get them to turn in the show report into the LRCA and they did not even call me back. I wanted a copy of the pic of my RIS win, too.

I would love to support local events, but until things change over there, I won't be going.

Let us know how the show is with the new people running it.

I'll let you know

I went to the spring Jr show with the 4-H club under the new superintendent (I didn't know he was new) I didn't have anything to complain about but I haven't been to a ton of rabbit shows either. The spring turnout was really small so I'm sure that made things easier on him. My daughter got her leg and check in the mail within a month and her entry was verified via email before we showed up and the show reports were emailed rather quickly - a week or two, I forget... I don't remember there being any mention of ANY breed sanctions though. If it was awful last fall I'm sure nobody bothered.

I'm not part of any breed club - If I see anyone I know there who is, I'll ask them to give me a report on if the points are turned in.

__________ Mon Oct 13, 2014 10:37 am __________

well the spring Jr. Show was better than yesterday. We got no early email asking to confirm entries which was too bad... I heard the Jr. Show on Saturday was really long - But I don't know any details other than that. Sunday I personally didn't have anything to complain about but I heard a few grumbles from other participants. I know there are complainers in every crowd but some of the comments seemed justified. I think most everyone was ready for the show to start earlier than the given time of 10 a.m. Some folks were questioning the substitution procedures. One participant came extra early like the catalog requested to do her substitutions only to see that substitutions were being accepted right up to the show. She could have slept in 2 more hours if she had known - another substitution issue may have been (I have no way to confirm this) that some were switching breeds with their subs. Some paper work seemed to be slightly mishandled - scratched not recorded, stuff like that. The actual judging went quick and smooth show A was over by 1 and show B was just as quick. I didn't participate in Show B but I walked through the rabbit barn around 4:30 and everyone had just about packed up and left. I have a friend who belongs to a breed club and I'll see if her reports get to her club and let you know when I find out. <br /><br /> __________ Tue Nov 11, 2014 2:10 pm __________ <br /><br /> Update: As of Today I have not received any show report or premium check from the Arkansas State Fair. By this time at the Spring youth show emailed show reports were already delivered.

One would tend to think that a month would be long enough for them to fill out and file any paperwork associated with the show..... To either have it in the mail to participants or up on their website for them to look up themselves. :? :hmm:

The final count on rabbits entered at the Arkansas State Fair was right at 1443 for all three shows combined. Youth Show on Saturday 572, Sunday Show A 461 and B 410. I really don't remember when the youth show ended however I think it was before 5 clock. Impacts on the Saturday show is a Skilathon and Showmanship with no pre-entry required. I remember we started with 3 entries and then just prior to the general start time it shot to over thirty. This is why Tex and Tonna did Showmanship 3 at a time. I had promised an AG teacher that Meat pens and Fryers would go first but thought it would be OK to go ahead with Showmanship.
We are in the process of redoing a lot of the show policies and schedules (The Sunday Show start at 10 AM really was a bummer.) Right off hand the rewrite is going to go for an 8:30 Sat start and an 8:30 start on Sunday. Yes I am lenient on day of show subs.
Most of the time one can plan on judging to be about 30+ rabbits per hour. The consideration is that one judge may have 75 Netherland Dwarfs and another has 70 Californians. Guess who is going to finish first. So you have to shuttle judges toward the end of the show. Its a concern but my communication has to be better on this.
One of my big concerns in taking on the Fair show was the labor base. It is still a concern and hopefully it will be taken care of in the next month or so. This is where the Fair Ambassadors came in and worked the tables and assisted in the other areas. Weren't they great!! When was the last time you attended a show that lunch was served free to any exhibitors, family members and friends? It may not be a home style buffet but it beat the prices on the midway big time. This was provided by my wife and I and about 200 waters and sodas the Fair helped us with.
No excuses for not getting the paperwork done quicker. I'll just say that I considered Nationals important to help my networking and skill levels. Things are changing and some definite rewrites will take place shortly. Thanks for the constructive works!!

Gene Williams
ASF Rabbit Show Superintendent

I sincerely hope you can help the current livestock director understand more about the energy, time and money most of us put into showing our rabbits. By the time we pay breed club fees, sanction fees, entry fees, fair tickets, motels and food, the cost of showing rabbits gets up there. So, to pay all that and then not have the show reports ever turned in is very frustrating. In addition, most of the clubs will put the BIS/RIS in their quarterly magazines which are usually nationwide exposure. When the show reports don't get turned in, the winners lose the free advertising.

When the people in management can't be bothered to return phone calls, they probably can't be bothered to look for a file with missing show reports in it--at least, that was the way I felt about it.

I sincerely hope things are changing. It sounds like you are very motivated to improve the experience for everyone. Good Luck!!

Thanks for replying and giving us some insight. I did enjoy myself that Sunday and overall the day of experience was just fine. ANd hey, free food is the best food I always appreciate that.

I'll echo ilovehome and say I look forward to seeing what improves

For conversational aspects ARBA has acknowledged and accepted the show reports for all three shows as of today. I am now receiving acknowledgements for the breed sanctions in show A and B.
We do have a new Livestock Director at ASF. His name is Sherman Lites and is being mentored by Bill Dorough ( Eternal Livestock Director ) until he gets up to speed. A big learning curve. Sherman is a Prince of a fellow and not at all adversarial . He and Bill have charged me to improve both the show and relations with exhibitors, AG Teachers, FFA and 4H leaders, Parents and anyone involved with the ASF and rabbits.
My background is similar to some of yours. My first rabbits came at the age of 8. My sons showed rabbits in late 80"s and into the 90's all across the Southern US and Central US. Also in Texas if you want to count it as a state and not a country. I know the cost and it is more than just money. A lot of my very close friends have passed and I will never forget the fun we had at the shows. Let me give you an example. Ken lived in Cotton Town TN and raised Rhinelanders and they were superb. He always greeted us with, "How are you'ns doing?" or some other down to earth greeting. I was working on a Rabbit Auction to benefit "Children's Hospital " and I called and asked if he would donate a pair of his Rhinelanders. No problem. Three weeks later I called to check on pick up and we arranged the date and time. Then he said. "By the way I went to a couple of shows the past weekends and you'll need to bring 25 holes with you to carry all these rabbits home! " He had gathered up donations from 5 other states by people that were interested in helping out. You just never know.
The one thing that I installed at the ASFair is the opening ceremony. Presentation of the US Flag complete with Color Guard. Then the Pledge of Allegiance" and introduction and a brief background of the judges. Introduction of staff and Ambassadors (Purple Shirt Youth) and color guard. For one brief moment we are all united. I tremendously dislike going to a show and the first thing someone yells at me is to get my rabbits on the table. Never thought that was a proper way to greet your guests.
Please remember that we are not adversarial to our exhibitors. WE are the host and have invited you to participate in the ASF, the largest single event held in the state every year. We want to treat you as an honored guest to show the state some of the most beautiful, and versatile creatures there is. Thank you for reading and if I may assist, contact the Fair or reference me in the 2014 rabbit show on line catalog.

Gene Williams
ASF Rabbit Show Superintendent

Just wanted to let you all know that Friday I got our legs in the mail. They were dated 11/10/14. <br /><br /> __________ Sun Nov 23, 2014 11:39 am __________ <br /><br /> Show reports came in the mail yesterday - 11/22/14