Showjumping rabbits will take center stage at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate, as part of Burgess Premier’s Small Animal Show on the 24th & 25th January.
Richard Rockett, marketing manager at Burgess Pet Care, said: “We are delighted to be bringing the rabbit jumpers to the show this year. Popularity has grown since they first arrived on British soil in 2011, and this year’s Grand National of the rabbit world promises to be better than ever.”
Karin Molin, winner at the National Pet Show in London and Birmingham, said: “My rabbit Micro loves the events and has had several high placements from championships in Sweden and won two gold medals in England this year.” The York Press quotes
Karin’s highest jumping rabbit record currently stands at 85cm, which she hopes to soon. Perhaps Dodson & Horrell will run rabbit classes along side their 85 cm BSJA National Amateur Championship!
However this years Championship didn’t have any rabbits!…. But it did have forty eight competitors battling it out for the National Amateur 0.85m Championship title and after two hours of closely fought competition, it was 17 year-old Toni Evans from Southend-On-Sea, Essex who was victorious on the 17 year-old dun mare Caramel Twist, owned by Kerry Evans.
The jump off was contested by twenty-nine of the starters and it proved to be competitive after sixteen double clears were achieved. Toni and Caramel Twist went into the class as one of the hot favourites after winning the two 0.85m Grand Prix qualifiers earlier on in the week and they continued their domination after crossing the finish line in 28.54 seconds with two clear rounds in the bag.
The highest jumping rabbit is recorded at a dot under 1meter but I don’t think he would have been in the jump off in this years hotly contested National Amateur 0.95m Championship which was taken by 33 year-old Gemma Dickens from Loughborough, Leicestershire on Oakley’s Ace, a 23 year-old bay gelding owned by Lesley Dickens. Gemma and Oakley’s Ace beat fifty other competitors to the spot and they produced one of only three double clears, delivering theirs in 30.39 seconds, I know rabbits run fast but I don’t think they could challenge this amazing little pony!
