My first rabbit convention was back in 2011 at the 88th ARBA Convention (Indiana) and it was an experience of a lifetime. Like many firsts in life, I do not think I will ever forget the experience.
And it has not been the same since.
Why?
The friendships and relationships that I had prior, during, and after 2011 grew over the years and it makes me really happy to know that I now have a bunny family across the globe. One that loves me unconditionally – with or without rabbits.
And it is because of this wonderful bunny family that I decided to embark on this “full circle” trip to Indiana once again for the 94th ARBA Convention at Indiana. At the beginning of my journey, I told myself that this could be my last opportunity and I will cherish every moment – come what may.
After more than 30 hours, I finally arrived at my destination. It felt like coming home after a very long time.
After a well rested night, we headed out to the fairgrounds and it felt so good to be back here again.
Approximately 21,000 rabbits from 49 breeds under one roof this time around with the Lionhead and Argente Brun added to the list of recognized breeds since my first convention here.
As usual, there were many amazing animals and the finest representations of each breed.
Besides from seeing my bunny friends from all over the USA, I made new friends and added new members to my bunny family.
The highlight for me personally was meeting the lagendary Kay Miller for the first time. If you have been following my blog, Kay was the generous soul who had been monumental in getting my herd started. Without knowing who I was, she had sent me a top lop in Carmel and my all time favorite herd buck, Clark. To finally meet Kay was truly a dream come true for me. I finally had the opportunity to thank her in person.
I truly enjoyed myself throughout the convention which was held from 1st until 5th October 2017. It was nothing short of Friendship, Fellowship, Fun, and Food.
I realized that because I was a new visitor back in 2011, my focus was on rabbits alone. But this time around, it was a lot of fun hanging out with the bunny family. I felt so blessed knowing that not many will have the same opportunities and the experiences that I had.
The feeling ia truly priceless and indescribable.
Only time will tell what the future holds for me and all I have to do between now and then is BELIEVE…
From a very young age, I have taught myself not to subscribe to social acceptance and conformance. In other words, I hate following the crowd just because they seek to please a few they perceive as “leaders”.
I am sure most of you in your lifetime have experienced this sort of situations. It happens mostly in schools. Ever found yourself trying to please that popular kid or the popular group of kids just to fit in so you feel that little sense of belonging? The situation can be liken to a pile of dung surrounded by flies. Oh, how much I hated that! This is one of the causes of bullying in schools then and now. And what has changed for me since then? Nothing – the bullying is in a grander scale.
Almost 8 years ago, I started off this weblog to share information and my experiences in raising pet rabbits. My motivation is to help fellow hobbyists keep their rabbits alive lest they stricken with sorrow when losing their beloved pets to illnesses that can well be avoided with such knowledge.
As time went by, the hobby evolved into show rabbit breeding and while I am able to make sense of all the technicalities involved, I remained skeptical as far as the psychology behind this side of the hobby. I was intrigued nonetheless and kept an open mind.
Now that I can finally articulate my thoughts, it turned out to be the grandest social “thing” for those in the know and circle. Imagine the “drama” that comes with social networking, this can be a thousand fold worse if one does not thread on it carefully. And please allow me to tell you why.
It is still within the concept of pleasing a few popular “kids” and the need for affirmation and acceptance. A sense of belonging and fit in. And along the process, people are victimized and ridiculed by the popular kids.
Bullying for me is really a sign of weakness (obviously). Bullies are only strong when they operate in groups. Mainly because humans are not made to hurt others. In order to hurt another, they need draw more courage and strength. If you take on a bully alone, you will find that he/she can be very withdrawn. Therefore, it is safe to say that bullies almost always operate in groups because they are just that weak. On the contrary, when a group of talented people coming together to contribute their strengths for the greater good of the community, their actions will show us the true capability of teamwork and the collective strength amplifies the positive effort.
So how does all that I have mentioned jive together in a larger picture?
I have come to the conclusion that I enjoy most part of the hobby except for the human factors. At one point I was totally and enthusiastically immersed in this entire “show rabbit” craze. While it was happening, I faced a lot of contradiction that stirred a lot of discomfort within my conscience.
Psychologically & politically speaking, there are a few things that I am unable to fathom and make sense of and to list a few below in no particular order:
1) A standard strive to promote and unsure uniformity. How can people force another living thing or organism to conform to physical uniformity?
2) Why should I be motivated to produce hundreds of rabbits that look exactly the same as required by a group of people responsible for laying down the standards and judging them?
3) Glory obtained at the expense of rabbits is no glory at all. I understand the effort and resources that it takes to be a top breeder. One should be proud of his/her accomplishments but a breeder who only seeks selfish glory, fame, and power through his/her rabbits irks me!
4) Unclear intention. Some do it for the passion while others do it for the money. Proclaiming that one breeds rabbits for the betterment of the breed can often be seen as “wolf in sheep’s clothing” these days because talk is cheap! No one can ever justify their real or “unreal” intentions.
By now, I believe most of you are totally lost as to what I am blabbering about. How is it possible that raising rabbits can be so complicated right?
That is exactly the point I am trying to put forth.
All these “smokescreens” seemed to take our focus away from what matters most – our beloved pets. The psychology behind many hobbies regardless of its nature, seemed to draw like minded people together. As the number of people getting involved increases, the dynamics start to shift and so does our focus. We are drowned by so many noises be it gossips, backstabbing, lies, or any other negativity.
Stop!
Read this word -> Rabbit.
1. Rabbits do not gossip (maybe among themselves but whatever we cannot hear, we don’t care)
2. Rabbits do not back stab (maybe they would like to because we feed them crappy food)
3. Rabbits do not lie (they just like to chill and lie down all day)
4. Rabbits do not have rules & regulations (just don’t pull their long ears)
5. Rabbits do not seek perfection (they do not see and tell you what are your faults)
Almost after 8 years of not seeking to fit in and yearn for affirmation or acceptance, I dare say that when you have a group of people in a room, the strongest person is one who stands proudly alone because he/she dares to be different and unpopular. One who does not need to please anyone else because he/she is strong enough on his/her own – strong enough to stand on one’s own feet that is…
And the rest are just holding a rabbit for a glass of champagne at the cocktail reception before the Grandest Social Event!
The huge amount of information and misinformation on the internet can either make you or break you. In my case, I cannot help my brain going crazy and think of funny things in reply to all that I have seen on the internet as well as in real life. I believe that to truly enjoy the rabbit hobby, we have to stop being too anal about it. In other words, we must “chill” and stop taking things too seriously. It is the ability to take a step back and laugh at some of the things that we do in life that enables us to have a great time. And it is on that note, this blog post was made possible. I really had a good time writing this piece which I know may not go down well with some people. For those who care to share a light hearted moment, I hope you will have a hearty laugh.
The traffic situation here afforded me the time to craft this entry. As I juggle with focusing my attention on the road, my mind carefully picked all the right and wrong words to be included in this blog post. However, I must warn you that I cannot be too careful with my words else it will not make this satirical piece a good one. I came to realization that such a post is only possible because I am not totally immersed and into it (the hobby) too deep that it will affect my livelihood without it. Being too into anything is a form of addiction and a drug addict without his or her fix can be crazy enough to kill. I am happy that life is quite balanced for me and grateful to be sober enough to write what I hope is a funny piece.
Having had watched a number of rabbit judges at rabbit shows, I cannot help but to put myself in their shoes and think about what I would say or not say differently. Or perhaps, to say that what he or she truly means and not use tons of wonderful or bombastic words but in the end, says nothing. As we play multiple roles in life, I too imagined (not necessarily aspired to be) myself being a rabbit judge. I wondered what I would say when addressing the exhibitors just before I start judging. It was through this imagination, that this disclaimer notice was born…
My dear exhibitors, breeders, hobbyists, and friends, I would like to thank you for your participation and making this event happen through your generous funding. I am honoured to be invited to be your judge today. I can assure you that the hotel was pretty awesome, you have afforded me to travel around the globe and given a choice, I wouldn’t be here on my own expense. I will ensure that you will get your entry fees’ worth by trying to spend more time going through each and every one of your rabbits. I know it is hard but I will try to also ensure that I do not put my foot into my own mouth by contradicting myself while judging your otherwise beautiful rabbits. Please allow me to be brutally honest and not sugar coat what I am going to say about your rabbits. Most often than not, I must not make politically correct statements lest be flamed on social media such as f@cebuk and tweedle-tweed-twee right after the show. May I ask that you will never forget that every judge have his or her personal preferences in each breed while upholding what has been specified in the Standard Of Perfection. I will try my level best to judge each rabbit in accordance to the best of my understanding and memories of such standards.
Since time can be a constraint, please understand that the duration in which your rabbits will be in front of me should or should not be made an indication of its favourable or unfavourable standings in this competition. Also due to the time constraint, do accept the fact that my judgements where measurements are required are solely based on my ability to guesstimate and please do not take me to court for guesstimating the various lengths and weights on your rabbits inaccurately.
While you stay engaged, immersed, indulged, and totally have your eyes on the ribbons, please leave room for a little consciousness and awareness so that you will not run amok if I may mistakenly not select your rabbit for any of the awards. Rest assured, it is totally unintentional (but you could have brought me out for fine dining last evening and now it is too late). What you must also know is that I had a blast last evening and I am so very grateful to my hosts. Picking their rabbits should not be made an issue as I am usually fair and just. Rest assured, I am totally professional as well.
Last but not least, please remember that we are all here having fun at the expense of our rabbits. They are lucky to have survived this long under your care and it is truly their lives we are celebrating today.
Now that I have said all that I can to cover my sorry ass, let the show begin (and be over with) and the (already identified) champ be crowned!
After a long, wonderful and productive year of sheer hard work, I decided to take a short vacation. It was a long overdue visit with my bunny family in the USA and I decided that the most appropriate time to visit was during the ARBA Convention since this is the time when most if not all my bunny friends will be gathering at the same place.
My view while having coffee at Terminal 2, Paris CDG Airport
Unfortunately, not all friends that I met at the 88th ARBA Convention (Indianapolis) attended the 90th ARBA Convention which was held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg, PA (October 19-23, 2013) and to make up for that, I met many friends in person for the first time after many years of correspondence.
At the main entrance at 5.30 am.
At the entrance of the Show Room.
Empty Holland Lop section at 5.30am on Friday.
Train track over the river.
A shop in Harrisburg.
A very busy and full Open section on Saturday.
My trip to the USA this time around allowed me to set foot in Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. It was Fall/Autumn and all three places were filled with beautiful colors.
Apples at a friend’s farm.
I am so blessed and lucky to have a huge bunny family that not only welcomed me into their homes but also allowed me to visit their rabbitries and showed me around town. I was able to live as a local for a couple of day and it was an experience one will never get being a tourist.
The beautiful colors on the trees during Autumn/Fall.
Part of the pine tree.
From within the bridge looking out.
Beautiful flowers blooming.
A tree with senses.
Awesome landscape.
The many beautiful farm houses.
My favorite white fences.
Silhouette at dusk.
After helping with bunny chores at the show room in Pennsylvania, we visited the National Civil War Museum and Hershey’s Chocolate World. We had a lot of fun learning about history and chocolate production.
The monument outside of the National Civil War Museum.
Self explanatory photo. 😛
Lots of chocolates!
One of the highlights of the 90th ARBA Convention was the passing of Tort and REW Lionhead as an official breed.
A very gorgeous Tort Lionhead rabbit.
The other amazing thing that happened was the 1st presentation and passing of the Argente Brun. A truly magnificent and gorgeous breed to look out for. I look forward to its passing as another official ARBA breed.
A worthy presentation specimen. Such beautiful rabbits!
Just before I left the USA, we did a 10 hours road trip from Pennsylvania back to Indiana and the sceneries are to die for!
The barn.
The beautiful corn field.
The corn field at dusk.
I must thank my bunny family and friends for their warm hospitality and taking good care of me throughout my trip to the USA. As I continue to miss all of them, I look forward to visiting them again.
It will not be complete without taking a photo with my favorite breed – The Holland Lop!
All I have to say at this point of time is, it is very good to be here with all my wonderful friends. It rekindles my love for the hobby and affirmed the fact that there are so many nice, genuine and respectful people out here.
When we attended school, the one thing that we are most afraid of is examination. We go through all the topics for a particular subject and at the end of the semester, we are tested through an examination or perhaps an assignment based on the topics covered. There is always fear surrounding the examinations that I believe can be attributed to the fact that it is natural for us humans to shun or avoid defeat. The peer pressure does not make it any better because our pride will be greatly damaged if we fail a particular subject.
I guess the entire ecosystem is taking examination the wrong way because now that I have gone through most of the “theoretical” examinations, I am indeed going through all the “practical” examinations life is throwing at me. Do I succeed in all so far? Of course not but I get to learn from mistakes! I believe whether it is a theoretical or a practical exam, the main objective of an examination is to gauge how well you know a certain subject or how well you are equipped for a particular skill. Each failure provides us with a new opportunity to sharpen the knowledge and skill needed to pass.
Like an examination, I look at rabbit shows as a time of examination or a platform to gauge how well one has harnessed the skill of breeding show rabbits. Technically, your rabbit is not competing with the rabbits in the judging coops beside it. It is judged against the Standard Of Perfection or at least that is how it should be. The closest to the Standard Of Perfection, the higher it places in the entire group. But of course it is not as mechanical as it seemed since there is human factor involved in the judging process. So perhaps a little dent or bald spot on your rabbit become the one factor it was placed 2nd.
Placing high or low is besides the point here. Again, it is an examination if you are going the correct direction in achieving what the Standard of Perfection is asking for. For show breeders, their rabbits are critically judged in many levels. The rabbits musts be first judged by the breeder himself or herself before deemed “showable”. They are then placed on the official show to be judged by the qualified judges. This can be seen as one sitting for the A Levels Examination as foundation and moving on to his or her Diploma examinations.
Whatever it is, examinations or rabbit shows are there for us to gauge our progress in the certain knowledge or skill we are trying to obtain.
Truth be told, my observation (and others as well) tells me that is not the case when it comes to rabbit shows in Malaysia or perhaps in other countries as well. Someone I know even shared his observation on rabbits being imported before shows. It is happening so rampantly that so much so, importation news can be taken as indication of a rabbit show coming soon. I do not have anything against importation since we need imports to improve our herd. Most imports if not all are very good breeding materials of course but I was hoping that breeders have a little more faith in their rabbits.
I like over analyze things so just to make sense out of it all, I would like to rationalize and put into writing the reason for this phenomenon. No one have to agree with me and I do not expect that. Just my thoughts thrown into my own writing space.
Examination Theory
Using the same examination theory that I have put forth earlier. Placing imported rabbits on the show table seemed a little weird for me because one seemed to be yearning for affirmation if he or she imported the correct stock. Knowing well that different judges seemed to have inconsistent opinions, what if your imported rabbits are placed at the bottom? That is such a hard blow to the resources spent. But the point really is, what would you like to gauge showing imported rabbits? I can only think of the following:
Did I import good rabbits worthy as breeding stock? Isn’t that too late now that the rabbits have arrived?
Are my imports winning materials? If I am spending that amount of money, I better be sure to win but there are just too many variables to fulfill in order for someone crown your rabbit a winner.
Are my imports better than his/her imports? There is no point competing on the human level. You will soon be outplayed by millionaires who have money to burn.
There is a misconception surrounding rabbit shows as of late. Winning seemed to determine everything for a breeder. More rabbits and rabbit products sold just because the breeders are in the business and ride on the win to promote certain products they carry. More than meets the eye in my opinion.
The real reason in my humble opinion for any new acquisition of rabbits be it purchasing locally bred or import is to improve whatever traits that are lacking in the current herd.
And to conclude, it makes sense to me that to show my home grown rabbits to gauge of my progress and if I am happy with the placement, I am confident that is an affirmation telling me that I am on the right track and I should continue doing what I am doing to improve my rabbits further.
Two good examples I have in my rabbits that I have harnessed the skill and am now ready to move forward with life.
The first is Murdoch the broken tort buck that was placed 1st and last by two different judges. That proves that there tend to be inconsistencies between judges. I am indeed happy with how Murdoch turned out to be and as his 1st level judge, I passed him with flying colors.
The second is Blaze the solid tort buck that was placed top 5 by two different judges. Extremely happy with his development and as his 1st level judge, I also passed him with flying colors.
Am I praising myself? Sure and of course. This hobby can get really self glorying at times and who better to praise you other than yourself, right? You need that much confidence to be able to be courageous enough to put your own rabbits on the show table most of the time.
Beyond the technicalities of the standards, and above all, rabbits like Murdoch and Blaze are first and foremost my pets. I treat them like my little children and they deserve all the care an owner can provide.
And what does all the ribbons and trophies mean to me? Rightly so, they belong here…
Ribbons and trophies will never match the worth of joy, friendships and companionship these rabbits have provided to my family and I.
The wonderful people at Bunny’s Journal is kicking off the new year with a wonderful monthly effort – the Bunny’s Journal Road Tour Show. There will be a gathering for rabbit lovers every first weekend of the month starting from 3rd February 2013!
The main objective of the event is to allow all rabbit lovers to gather in one place and have fun, lots of fun! It is a great place to share experiences with fellow bunny lovers.
There will also be Rabbit competition and it is open to all rabbits regardless of breeds, color and sizes! Rumor has it that rabbits will be judged based on stringent but yet special criteria and the judging system is one that promotes fairness and equality!
Lucrative prizes awaits the top 3 winners including a challenge trophy that will be changing hands at each Bunny’s Journal Road Tour Show! While this post is being written, it has been confirmed that 3 Pedigree rabbits of various breeds will be up for grabs as well! Winners will also receive Genesis Ultra Premium Products!
This event is powered by none other than Genesis & TinyCritterz.com!
Let’s come together to support this wonderful event!
Due to other commitments, I may not be able to join in the fun but hope to see you there!
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Tru-Luv Rabbitry: Quality Holland Lops in Malaysia 