I'm thinking about entering my first show late this month at a county fair. My concern is that I have Creme d'Argents, and at other fairs in the area this year I have seen zero Cremes. Is it worth the entry fee, time, and gas to enter rabbits who will only compete against themselves? At the time of the show I will have an intermediate buck and two junior does.
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- Thread starter Robin
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SatinsRule
Well-known member
Robin, whether or not you should enter your Cremes in the show is a question only you can answer.
If you're bucking for sweepstakes points or legs, obviously those are negatives to what you're asking us, based upon the fact that you're the only exhibitor.
If you're looking to encourage potential breeders to consider raising cremes, that would be an upside.
As good as my white satins tend to be at times, I get far more compliments out of red satins than anything else, not because they're better than the others I bring, but because they're different than what people are accustomed to looking at.
Here's an option: Show your best rabbits, but bring along a few of your lesser rabbits for display during the event and take your best back home when the judging is over. At the end of the day, the fairs usually just want an animal on exhibit and don't care if the rabbit you won with is there all week or not. Now way in the world would I leave one of my best rabbits on display for a week at a fair for people to shove corndog sticks, cotton candy, chocolate bars, etc., into their cages with each passing day.
If you're bucking for sweepstakes points or legs, obviously those are negatives to what you're asking us, based upon the fact that you're the only exhibitor.
If you're looking to encourage potential breeders to consider raising cremes, that would be an upside.
As good as my white satins tend to be at times, I get far more compliments out of red satins than anything else, not because they're better than the others I bring, but because they're different than what people are accustomed to looking at.
Here's an option: Show your best rabbits, but bring along a few of your lesser rabbits for display during the event and take your best back home when the judging is over. At the end of the day, the fairs usually just want an animal on exhibit and don't care if the rabbit you won with is there all week or not. Now way in the world would I leave one of my best rabbits on display for a week at a fair for people to shove corndog sticks, cotton candy, chocolate bars, etc., into their cages with each passing day.
HendricksHearth
Well-known member
I had the same problems with English Angoras previously and now Harlequins- no one raises/exhibits where I live. I don't know of any fairs locally, but what I did for the regular show was to enter an example of the rabbits I produced here just for comments from the judge to see how I was doing in their eyes. I also talked to people about the breed during the day in the hopes that it might spark an interest somewhere. So yes, I did spend the money, gas, and time just really for the experience.
I hope this helps,
Lauren
I hope this helps,
Lauren
We have Silvers, used to do Cremes. You often have no competition, thats the way it is with rare breeds. I try to bring Silvers to every show we go to, so that people can see them. Last year at PASRBA(PA Convention) in the youth rabbit ID competition guess what rabbit stumped all the kids? A black Silver, none of them knew what it was, and no one will know what these rarer breeds are if we don't get them out there.
SatinsRule
Well-known member
When I got back into raising Satins, I wanted to get some whites, but wound up having to go a pretty good distance (1200 miles round trip) in order to get good breeding stock.
If I show them at the AR State Fair this year, it will be the first time in as far as anyone can remember that a White Satin has been shown there. I know that if I am ever to get whites promoted in this state, that will likely be the beginning, and it will most likely be a 4-H or FFA exhibitor who will buy them from me.
I guess my point is that you have to start somewhere. Just about every breed you can name has a few early breeders/exhibitors who are regarded as breed pioneers, but you can bet that they faced the same struggles when they first started out, and in many cases, it was harder in an age when communication and transportation were nowhere near what they are today. Think I'm kidding? Google search and read the story of Oren Reynolds sometime.
One of my greatest desires in the trip through the Satin world would be to one day be named Mr. Satin. It's the pinnacle of recognition in the Satin breeders world, as it recognizes people who promoted the breed and made a real difference in doing so. I can think of no greater honor a breeder could have bestowed upon himself than to have his peers recognize him or her in such a way (and yes, several women have been named "Mr. Satin" over the years!)
If I show them at the AR State Fair this year, it will be the first time in as far as anyone can remember that a White Satin has been shown there. I know that if I am ever to get whites promoted in this state, that will likely be the beginning, and it will most likely be a 4-H or FFA exhibitor who will buy them from me.
I guess my point is that you have to start somewhere. Just about every breed you can name has a few early breeders/exhibitors who are regarded as breed pioneers, but you can bet that they faced the same struggles when they first started out, and in many cases, it was harder in an age when communication and transportation were nowhere near what they are today. Think I'm kidding? Google search and read the story of Oren Reynolds sometime.
One of my greatest desires in the trip through the Satin world would be to one day be named Mr. Satin. It's the pinnacle of recognition in the Satin breeders world, as it recognizes people who promoted the breed and made a real difference in doing so. I can think of no greater honor a breeder could have bestowed upon himself than to have his peers recognize him or her in such a way (and yes, several women have been named "Mr. Satin" over the years!)
Good points all around. thanks everyone. I don't think I'll be entering this particular show because I don't really feel comfortable leaving any of my animals at the fair grounds. I'll be looking at some other shows. anyone here going to the Mid Michigan RBA in Ionia, or Ann Arbor RBA?
SatinsRule
Well-known member
No, but I'm likely headed to Bloomington Normal RBA in IL this coming weekend. Any chance you'll be there?
Cattle Cait
Well-known member
I'll be going to the Ionia show. I think there's a fair amount of Cremes, not a ton but usually there's a couple of breeders.
SatinsRule
Well-known member
Yeah, they get a few breeders spilling over into IL for the shows there, and I didn't know if you were going to be there or not. I intend to be there if nothing comes up to prevent it.
Oh, I will most likely be going to Ionia, at the very least to watch. Seeing as I've never entered a show, would you all suggest I just watch a couple first to get the feel of it? That's what they say to do with dog shows, though I know rabbit shows are not as stressful as a dog show in most cases.
