With all the viral drama playing out in the world, It's nice to relish the view in the bunny barn. Eton surprised us with Quarry Ridge's first chocolate kit, and it is shaping up to be a very nice little kit indeed! With straight back legs, nice incoming type and fur, could color varieties be in the future for the barn? We shall see!
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The last of the spring shows for the Quarry Ridge crew involved a small showing at the South Mountain RC just outside of Gettysburg, PA and a larger gathering of bunny people at the Penn State livestock arena in State College, PA. I traveled up from North Carolina to see how my little wee's would do for their first shows, and considering that they were only ten weeks old, I happen to think they did pretty well! Blackfyre turns out to be a doe (who really knows sexes at that age!) and she won BOS under Judge Everett Hopper at State College. Aegon also did really well, placing first in his Junior Buck class under several judges. Though I was really hoping to sell one of the four youngsters to help clear out the barn for my mother (having a kit explosion during the hot summer months = more frozen water bottles), we both decided that at 10 weeks, we couldn't properly assess their quality quite yet. All four--Aegon, Black Dread, Rhaenys, and Blackfyre will show again in the Fall (and hopefully in the correct classes this time! The sex change fairy needs to stay in her lane).
Overall, Jameson and his sister Madiera did really well, passing back BOB and BOS throughout the weekend. We had just enough exhibitors to get them a few more legs, which is always a good thing! Jameson is a pretty underrated buck at this point for us--prior to these shows, he was always up against old man Ray and never finished on top. Next Fall it will definitely be his time to shine. We also said goodbye to Funck's Wessex. After really taking stock of how many bucks Ma has in her barn, and how many are inter-related anyway, she decided that as much as she loves the little guy, Wessex could be sent to a new home. The second place Jr. Buck at the 2019 Silver Fox Nationals now resides with Sam Cheshier in her growing barn. We both hope to see his babies on the tables next year! The Game of Thrones litter is finally ready for pictures! They're shaping up fabulously and I can not WAIT to have them shown as Juniors. Depending on how fast they silver up, I may convince Ma to let me bring them along to the Gettysburg and State College shows that are being held the first weekend in June. I can't make up my mind which one I like the best! I'll have to let the judges do it for me :) The current plan is to keep only one and offer the rest for sale--we'll keep you posted! Aegon the Conqueror, First of His Name, and as headstrong as his namesake. Aegon is a well mannered chap, but is too proud to hold his head properly when being photographed. I like his depth and hindquarter, but it's too soon to see what that shoulder will do. Still, I'm very excited for this guy! Blackfyre, the Sword of Aegon the Conqueror. Will he cut down his competition? It's hard to say. The wee beast has his backlegs a bit too far front, but overall I like the way he is shaping up. Plus, he is currently the biggest in the litter and in Silver Fox, the bigger the better! The Black Dread, Balerion. Aegon's Dragon. If you can't tell, I've given my favorite of the litter the best name ;) Here's to hoping his presence will strike fear into the heart of his competition! The Black Dread is absolutely SOLID, not a bone to be felt anywhere on his body when you run your hand down his back--not in the loin, no pin bones, nada. I love his type, and if he grows into his abnormally large ears I do believe he'll be a heavyweight. Rhaenys, Sister Dragon Queen to Aegon the Conqueror. I told myself before evaluating this litter that I wouldn't give away the name "Visenya" unless I found a heart stopper of a doe, and while I really like little Rhaenys, she's not my Visenya. She's pushing my hand in this picture, which obscures her shoulder, but I like her depth and hindquarter so far.
19 hours. 7 contenders. 2 titles. The journey was long. So long, that I did my best to convince my mother not to make the arduous trek halfway across the United States to the little town of Hutchinson, Kansas for the Silver Fox National Show. But, despite my misgivings, she was determined to defend her Best of Breed and Fur titles. More importantly, being that this show was in the middle of the country, she felt that it was important to go head to head with new blood--competition outside the usual realm of East Coast breeders that she normally met on the show tables. You are who you beat, and travelling to Kansas opened up a whole new ball game, one that she was excited to play. Given the expense of travel and length of the trip, only seven Quarry Ridge rabbits were loaded into the back of the Mladjenovich caravan: Senior Buck -- Ray Senior Doe -- Babe 6/8 Buck -- Jameson 6/8 Doe -- Madeira Jr Buck -- Crusader & Wessex Jr Doe -- Abbey There was no room for error. Other than the junior buck class, the rabbitry only had one shot at winning each respective class, thus making it that much harder to win the top titles for the show. Ray made short work of the 13 field Senior Buck class, and Babe followed suit shortly after, winning the Senior Doe class. Then, things started to go awry. Jameson, the buck most resembling his super grand-sire, Idan, failed to take his class, ending up in second place. Madeira, despite her consistent success at the NCRBA show only weeks prior, finished a disappointing 5th. The junior classes were the most dense, with roughly 20 rabbits entered in each. Although Crusader did better than his sibling in Greensboro, Wessex placed 2nd on Nationals day. Abbey finished out the Junior Doe class in 5th, on account of a blown coat. With only two rabbits out of six eligible to score Best titles, nerves were on edge. To have traveled so far only to fail to meet the challenge of holding on to the Nationals BOB title would have been upsetting, but the competition was just that good. Luckily, old man Ray got the job done for us! His conditioning, type, fur and undeniable show presence impressed Judge Garza enough to secure back to back Best of Breed titles for Quarry Ridge. And, that's not all! Babe, though she didn't get the honor of Best Opposite of Sex, she did go on to win the Best Fur title. With her win, that makes it FOUR consecutive years for a Quarry Ridge Silver Fox to take home that honor. All around, the rabbitry secured "Best Display" despite only showing seven rabbits, another feat that Quarry Ridge has never achieved. All in all, it was a fantastic showing for Ma and the buns. Thankfully, she didn't listen to my reluctance and steamrolled ahead to victory anyway! For the rest of the spring season, we'll be headed to more local shows in Maryland and Pennsylvania. See you there! It was a beautiful weekend for a state convention in Greensboro, North Carolina, and the show squad didn't disappoint! This was easily the most rabbits exhibited from the Quarry Ridge rabbitry in some time. 14 rabbits made the trek down from West Virginia in search of legs and glory. In addition to established champions, Mom brought some newbies along for their first show, some to sell and some to start their show careers. Several months ago, Mom played matchmaker with Cromwell, one of her typey, but smaller bucks and Alexandria, a brute of a doe who never seems to keep her coat in order. Little was expected of the pairing, so it was quite the surprise when three little superstars emerged from the nestbox. Funck's Abbey, Wessex, and Crusader all did well throughout the weekend, each gaining legs throughout the shows, and Abbey even took a BOB and BOS title. It will be exciting to see how they fair out in Kansas at Nationals.
The competition was stiff, so much so that each class was a bit of a nail-biter to be honest. There were several animals on the table throughout that I'd like to see residing in the Quarry Ridge barn! In the end, Funck's bunnies won three Best of Breed titles out of four showings and took three Best Opposite of Breed titles out of four showings as well. The two most consistent rabbits of the weekend were Jameson, the 6/8 buck, and Abbey, the new junior doe. All in all, it was a real smash of a Convention! Legs were earned, some breedings and swapping happened, Mexican food was consumed, and laughs were abundant. Next stop--Kansas! The results from PaSRBA are in! Show A: Best of Breed -- Funck's Somme Best Opposite of Breed -- Funck's Ray of Light MARCS Specialty Show: Best of Breed -- Funck's Legacy Best Opposite of Breed -- Funck's Ray of Light Show B: Best of Breed -- Funck's Somme Best Opposite of Breed -- Funck's Ray of Light Show C: Best Opposite of Breed -- Funck's Ray of Light My apologies for a lack of pictures. I, (Ilene), was contaminated by the Raleigh Type A Flu bug and had to remain down in North Carolina amongst my tissues and Nyquil, much to my rage and frustration. Thing is, travel and rabbit fur aren't the best thing for your lungs when you're trying to stem off a secondary infection, plus it doesn't do anyone any good meeting with a walking bio-hazard. Taking pictures is my wheelhouse, not necessarily Mom's, so we'll all see what we get once she returns back to WV... Side note: ALL FOR SALE RABBITS HAVE BEEN SOLD! Please keep in touch with us re: what will be available at the NCRBA in Greensboro and at Nationals in Kansas (attendance is still tentative at this point). Thank you! -Ilene Ray takes BOS in all 4 showings!
Randy Funck carves out a path to the barn while Badger assists... Before we all head off to PaSRBA and winter shows, let's all give a big shout out to the helpers of our rabbitry's, the unsung hero spouses, neighbors, friends, and other family members who help make our hobbies possible, especially on our snowy days. As the old farm saying goes, "Farmers don't work until the sun goes down, they work until the job is done." When the rabbits need fed, you can't skip going down to the barn, no matter how bad the weather is! And when you're away at a show all weekend, someone has to stay behind to feed and care for the breeding stock. So, let's all say our thank you's and count our blessings! See you at the shows!
-Ilene :) The 2019 show season is gearing up, and after a quick Christmas visit to Mom's barn, I'm happy to report that Quarry Ridge will have plenty of rabbits to fill the classes at our favorite shows. Though most of the does that attended the ARBA Convention in Massachusetts have been bred, some of the younger Foxes will continue on the show trail through the next big competition--PASRBA! The first major convention of the year, the Pennsylvania State Rabbit Breeders Association Convention in Mom's hometown of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, is the BIGGEST rabbit show on the east coast. It's held every February, and despite the inevitable snow and sleet, hundreds of breeders brave the elements, bringing their newest show entries to test the waters before tackling Spring Nationals. If there was an official rabbit Triple Crown for east coast breeders, PASRBA Convention would be the first jewel in that crown. Depending on her coat quality leading up to the big weekend, it looks like Somme will get another crack at winning a Fur title. I'm hoping that Legacy can make a repeat on the Best in Show front (Silver Fox have never been competitive on that front at PASRBA, maybe this year is the year?) The big honcho himself, Ray of Light, is also looking prime for a return to glory. I'm sure he would like to contest the other bucks for a Best in Breed award, so he'll likely make the trip up North. But, to me, it will be the debut of the four following summer babies that will be the most interesting QR entries. I have a feeling that they're going to do quite well! Funck's MakitoI'm not afraid to be biased--this boy is my favorite. He looks so much like a clone of Pierce, it's uncanny. The only difference is that this boy has Midori's super fur gene. Makito was shown once this past Fall before Convention at a local show, and was awarded a BOS leg as a very young junior. Now, he's even more filled out and is looking to make an impact at PASRBA. His type is my preference of style--rounded and full to the table with no sharp peaks over the hip. He still has a month to put on more muscling over his loin, so he'll start his morning exercise regimen just like our past champion bucks completed--play time hopping in the garden! |
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