TOPSHAM

Sarah Buckley, 16, of Brunswick introduced the rabbit show that took place Thursday afternoon at the 161st annual Topsham Fair. The 4H rabbit show had both a showing and agility component. Several of the pedigreed rabbits on deck for the show belong to her.

These aren’t the rabbits you find at your local pet store. The rabbits are wellbred and have their own paperwork. Buckley explained the showmanship consists of looking at the rabbits ear for any infection; eyes for blindness; at the nose for a cold and at the teeth to make sure they overlap and aren’t broken, split or malformed, Buckley said.

“Then you look down their chest to see if there are sores, dewlap or an infection,” Buckley said. “And then you look at the front legs to make sure they’re not bowed or have issues. They look at the bottom of the pads to see there’s no sores from the cage. Then they look at the toenails to make sure they’re all the same color and clipped,” and continue the inspection down to the tail.

“Then you flip the rabbit over and look at the fur condition,” she said.

For judging Thursday there would be two sets of red satins, judged are based on their color and sheen. They are also judged based on ear carriage, head, face, eyes, nose, mouth, body type, general color, meat “and everything — because they’re a commercial breed.”

“They have to sparkle,” Buckley said.

The event included breed identification and the hopping contest. The rabbits have to be agile enough to go over two rails and up to the full eight.

Buckley lives on a farm and said she has been in 4H for nine years and has had rabbits since she was 5. She shows in the American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) and is already breeding her own rabbits. She also shows horses and cows.

“I love the rabbits that have personality, like the English Spots. They have a ton of personality,” which also makes the agile bunnies extremely hard to raise along with their energy, she said.

Getting ready for a show means grooming, “and tons and tons of training.” Some rabbits are trained to go over jumps and others to do ground poles. They have to be trained with a harness, leash, obedience and voice commands “and everything that goes along with that. They’re like an obedient dog. They do everything you ask. You have to train them to voice.”

Buckley is working towards judges license for ARBA. She plans to be a judge, which is a career that can take her all over the country and even the world.

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