The agony of victory

[phillinley]

Took my children and 10 of their bunnies to the Peoria RBA show this weekend and there goal was to break their trophy drought. The first show they did decent, got a second leg for their Flemish Giant buck Gigantor, but no trophies. The show secretary came up to them and told them that there were no entries for Silver Fox and Flemish Giant in the youth division in the second show, and if they wanted to switch to youth so they could bring home some hardware. I left it up to the kids and told them they would be sacrificing possible legs for guaranteed 'hollow' trophies. The girls didn't hesitate to go for the bling. My son wanted to compete for the legs. The girls win four trophies and my son gets shut out again. Which started a bit of tears. Then it gets worse. Gigantor goes to the best six class final table and gets best opposite 6-class in the youth show. He ran out to the van and hid the rest of the show. I was so torn on how to approach it. On the one hand, it's a character builder to be able to root for you siblings and friends even if you aren't winning, but on the other hand, he went for being competitive instead of the easy out. Even though the easy out did really well even against hard competition at the best of show table. It was hard to keep a straight face though with the sibling rivalry running rampant.

 

[ZRabbits]

I know he's upset but I'd congratulate him on taking the "hard" road instead of the "easy hollow" victory. The "bling" will be a thing of the past when the girls get older, just something to dust or put in a box, but this "hard" lesson will help your Son for a lifetime. Anything worthwhile is hard.

My hats off to your Son!

Karen

 

[SatinsRule]

Hopefully, you're being careful not to belittle the accomplishments of the girls in order to make your son feel better about the path he chose. Winning at the 6-class and 4-class levels from smaller classes and breeds is often more difficult than we might think. Too often, we see judges who pick rabbits from more heavily contested breeds when it gets to that level.

The one thing your son will eventually realize is that taking the more difficult path results in more bumps and potholes, but winning feels much better at the end of it all.

Above all else, it's not so important how you get where you're going as it is the fact that you got there which counts.

BTW, how many rabbits were there? I would have loved to be there, but work prevented me from being able to do so.

 

[phillinley]

BTW, how many rabbits were there? I would have loved to be there, but work prevented me from being able to do so.

It wasn't a huge show (maybe 1000+), but there were 13 judges there so both shows were done before 3pm which was good and bad. Good that we got home before dinner, but things went so fast we had all three kids split across the show showing all three breeds at once and being in youth, they had to each get their buns up on their own. The best thing about this show is they had banners way above each table with each judge's name on the banner. It gets so confusing for a new person when they call out your breed at so and so judge's table and you have no idea who that person is and we wander around the room until we see a table with rabbits that look like ours

 

[SatinsRule]

BTW, how many rabbits were there? I would have loved to be there, but work prevented me from being able to do so.

It wasn't a huge show (maybe 1000+), but there were 13 judges there so both shows were done before 3pm which was good and bad. Good that we got home before dinner, but things went so fast we had all three kids split across the show showing all three breeds at once and being in youth, they had to each get their buns up on their own. The best thing about this show is they had banners way above each table with each judge's name on the banner. It gets so confusing for a new person when they call out your breed at so and so judge's table and you have no idea who that person is and we wander around the room until we see a table with rabbits that look like ours

Yeah, and in a place like the arena they have the Peoria shows, that can be a big thing.

I normally make their February shows, and of all of the ones I attend in a year, it's my favorite one. Last February, the place was packed to the gill flexors. If it's at all possible, I will make it this February as well.

 

[phillinley]

I normally make their February shows, and of all of the ones I attend in a year, it's my favorite one. Last February, the place was packed to the gill flexors. If it's at all possible, I will make it this February as well.

We'll be there february too, but probably with less buns than this time since some of them will still be nursing kits (well, hopefully they will).

 

[SatinsRule]

I normally make their February shows, and of all of the ones I attend in a year, it's my favorite one. Last February, the place was packed to the gill flexors. If it's at all possible, I will make it this February as well.

We'll be there february too, but probably with less buns than this time since some of them will still be nursing kits (well, hopefully they will).

My numbers for early season will be noticeably lower than in the past. I have 2 red does that are due to litter this weekend, but the reality is that those buns won't be ready for their first shows until late March or early April.