Category Archives: Rabbits Around The World

94th ARBA Convention 2017

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…

 

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The 49th ARBA Breed

Last year, I was very lucky to witness the Lionhead breed being officially recognized as the 48th ARBA Breed and during the same time, the Argente Brun passed one of its presentations.

This year, we saw that the Argente Brun being passed and recognized as the 49th ARBA Breed.

I have a liking for the rich chocolate color in rabbits and that is how the Argente Brun first caught my attention. The Argente Brun is a variation of the Champagne D’Argent and Creme D’Argent which have a very rich chocolate undercoat.

Another wonderful thing is that, I have known Charmaine a few years now and she is the COD (Certificate of Development) holder for the Argente Brun breed. Charmaine is the person responsible of presenting the breed and getting it passed. I had the privilege to meet her in person last year and to see, touch and feel one of her Argente Brun rabbits were breathtaking. They are phenomenal and you can see how much effort has been put into the breed.

One of Charmaine's beautiful Argente Brun at the presentation.

One of Charmaine’s beautiful Argente Brun rabbits at the presentation last year.

Congratulations to Charmaine for her success!

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Destiny

I really have to acknowledge the fact that it is no longer a coincidental that rabbits are a part of my life. In many occasions, I have written about how rabbits seemed to appear wherever I go and below are the links to these entries:

  1. Seoul Searching
  2. Rabbit & Life’s Directions
  3. Changing For The Better
  4. Bunnies, wherever I go
  5. Its A Sign!

It didn’t stop there and since then, there has been many surprise meetings with various bunnies.

Just last week, as I was strolling down between 51st and 52nd Streets in Manhattan, I bumped into The Hare On The Bell sculpture. This sculpture is part of the AXA Center building. Through some research, I found out that this sculpture was done by Barry Flanagan – a Welsh Sculptor in 1983. Though I have yet to find out what the sculpture symbolizes, its presence gave me a very profound feeling to a point that I was actually dumbfounded and tickled all at the same time.

I have not heard of this sculpture prior to this and I learned something after stumbling upon it.

Hare On Bell bronze sculpture by Barry Flanagan  (1983)

Hare On Bell bronze sculpture by Barry Flanagan (1983)

So life’s adventure continues for me and what a wonderful year it has been for me personally. Seemed like the illusive white rabbit is taking me places and deeper into the rabbit hole/burrow.

I sometimes wonder if Alice was a boy, what would Lewis Carroll call him instead. Not Tim, surely? I believe Neo might be the closest option.

Like the Matrix movie, perhaps one will be asked the question, “Blue or Red pill?”

Whatever it is, this rabbit hole has brought me through many amazing experiences…

Through Medieval times…

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A walk down the beautiful garden….

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to meeting the great dinosaurs….

 

 

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and be inspired by the beautiful lights!

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A Bunny Vacation

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

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 main entrance at 5.30 am.

At the entrance of the Show Room.

At the entrance of the Show Room.

Empty Holland Lop section at 5.30am on Friday.

Empty Holland Lop section at 5.30am on Friday.

Train track over the river.

Train track over the river.

A shop in Harrisburg.

A shop in Harrisburg.

A very busy and full Open section on Saturday.

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.

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.

The beautiful colors on the trees during Autumn/Fall.

Part of the pine tree.

Part of the pine tree.

From within the bridge looking out.

From within the bridge looking out.

Beautiful flowers blooming.

Beautiful flowers blooming.

A tree with senses.

A tree with senses.

Awesome landscape.

Awesome landscape.

The many farm houses.

The many beautiful farm houses.

My favorite white fences.

My favorite white fences.

Silhouette at dusk.

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.

The monument outside of the National Civil War Museum.

Self explanatory photo. :P

Self explanatory photo. 😛

Lots of chocolates!

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.

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!

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!

barn

The barn.

The beautiful corn field.

The beautiful corn field.

duskview

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 a picture with my favorite breed - The Holland Lop!

It will not be complete without taking a photo with my favorite breed – The Holland Lop!

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Hello from 90th ARBA Convention

This was before all the rabbits arrived…

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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.

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Its A Sign!

I cannot emphasize enough how strange it is that rabbits seemed to be appearing before my eyes somehow, somewhere and at the strangest of places.

I was in China, this entire week and on the very last day, came across this poor little bunny in this tiny little cage waiting to be sold on a pedestrian bridge. Felt a little helpless that I was unable to do anything to improve its living condition at that point of time.

Nonetheless, I took it as a sign that I am moving along the correct direction amd true enough found what I needed not long after the encounter.

“Follow the white rabbit” as it was once said….

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The Neighborhood Park Bunny

Meet Mohan.

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Mohan is the neighborhood park bunny. His owner brings him to the park every evening where park visitors get to meet and pet him.

Mohan is over a year old and is blind on his right eye.

I am in awe of the relationship between Mohan and his owner. Mohan will rest motionlessly on his owner’s shoulder as he is being brought to the park everyday and he will not run too far away from her.

The good thing is, it is not rare that we get to see rabbits being treated so well and it makes me very happy to see that even a rabbit is taken as a very good companion animal in a regular household.

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Hard work pays!

The 89th ARBA Convention at Wichita, Kansas has just concluded. Technology has made it possible for us living near and far to get almost instant updates on all that was happening which made it more bearable not being there in person.

I am sure the feeling of being present on location is very much different from looking at photos and watching videos. Certain things like the intensity, energy and massiveness of such an event can only be felt on the ground.

Though I have made a promise to myself to try and attend the ARBA Convention yearly with the sole intention of visiting my beloved bunny friends, God had a different plan for me this year. I was blessed with the opportunity to briefly visit 3 different states in the USA and one of which is one of the 7 wonders of the world. Until today, I am still awestruck by how massive it is and its energy is beyond the imagination. Photos are unable to describe how majestic this place is.

The size of the people on the edge only shows how huge this small section is.

This is but only a very small part of The Grand Canyon.

It really feels like I was at the top of the world and the feeling is impossible to describe, simply out of this world. And that was one of the things I was preoccupied with when most rabbit breeders were busy preparing for Convention.

Nice as it may seems, there were hard work involved in everything and in everything there is a price. That brings me to the next part of the intention of this post.

I have known the wonderful family over at the Three Little Ladies Rabbitry since the initial days of my rabbit raising journey. Though younger, the girls have been raising rabbits (seriously) for much longer than me and their collective years of experience surpasses me by many miles.

After such a long time, their hard work finally paid off at this year’s Convention when one of their Jersey Woolly rabbits was crowned Best Of Breed in Open. Their win inspires me as it is a good testimony of how hard work and perseverance can bring about sweet victory. I can always remember that tiny little girl holding one of her rabbits in that news article and I am sure that little girl has grown to be much taller than I am.

Congratulations to the Usakowski family especially Taylor & Jessica!

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Rabbit & Life’s Directions

You can always trust a rabbit to give you directions to safety and that is if you are small enough to fit into its burrow. In the movie The Matrix, a white rabbit is used as a reference for Neo to find Morpheus and to seek the answers to his questions about life. In the story Alice In Wonderland, a rabbit lead Alice into the world of uncertainties.

My life thus far has been filled with many interesting experiences and adventures. Not all evolve around rabbits but sometimes the signs can indicate otherwise. Rabbits have certainly brought many good friends into my life both abroad and locally.

The 89th ARBA Convention will be held at Wichita, Kansas next week and though I have no plans to attend, the ARBA Convention is something I really look forward to and if given the opportunity again, I will not miss the chance to visit all my friends in USA.

I am not sure about you but I do notice that the more you are interested in something, the more intuitive you will be to notice that particular thing that you are interested in. Similarly to myself as I will always look out for anything rabbit.

During one of my travels recently, I was greeted by a bunny at the airport though I was strictly on business. And this tickled my heart and made me realize how much my life evolves around rabbits.

Like Neo and Alice, I take that as a direction for me to continue on with life’s many uncertainties and wonderful experiences.

I am going down the rabbit burrow, what about you?

Another wonderful trip and another amazing experience!

Here wishing all traveling to the 89th ARBA Convention safe travels and all the best!

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Get Ready To Adopt!

If you are thinking of getting a pet rabbit, you may want to consider adoption instead of purchasing. A couple of days back, there was an article in The Star newspaper regarding the rabbit woes that our neighbor country Singapore is facing (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/1/17/asia/10273080&sec=asia). For such a small country, the number of abandoned pet rabbits is staggering. The HRSS must have their hands full trying to get new owners for all these abandoned bunnies. Here’s a link to their facebook page on the updates of their bunny rescues stories – https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.222141714492334.58816.171689892870850

In Malaysia, we are unable to obtain a statistics as we do not have the HRSS but there has been clear indication that there are rabbits being put up for adoption nonetheless. It is sad that rabbits has become a fad/passing phase as the Year of the Dragon gets closer.

For those of you thinking of giving up your rabbits, please do not release them to parks or jungles as your domesticated rabbits will not be able to fend themselves. But if you are reading this, I am sure you should be civilized and learned enough to know that already. I urge all readers who know of anyone contemplating giving up their pet rabbit(s) please talk some sense into them so that they will continue caring for their pets!

Pet rabbits released in the park/jungle/public places will cause a huge problem like what we once read about what happened to the University of Victoria (British Columbia) – http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/rabbits-gone-wild-on-canadian-campus/.

PLEASE DO NOT ABANDON YOUR RABBITS!!!

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