Henry Rifle Forums

My 7-year-old daughter joined 4-H last fall and almost immediately, she and her mother went out and bought a juvenile rabbit. She participated in her first show this weekend and it was a great experience for all of us.

It was in a town named Gridley, about half an hour down the road from where we live. Gridley is basically the hub of the Pacific Flyway – the number of ducks and geese within a 10-mile radius at the moment would likely exceed 1 million. The town is home to about 6,500 residents and would be called "Hicksville" by people who thought they had even the slightest amount of sophistication.

I'd never been to a rabbit show before, but I enjoyed the heck out of it. Lots of good country folks there. Dozens upon dozens of kids, none of whom were trying to draw attention to themselves with brigtly colored hair, wild clothing, piercings, etc. I didn't see a single one playing games on a cell phone – all were diligently going about the business of getting their rabbits prepared for their time in front of the judges.

I had no clue that there were so many different breeds of rabbits. There were all shapes and sizes sitting in cages around the hall. Some of the lop-eared ones were nearly the size of small sheep.

My daughter came home with three ribbons, none of which were the "participation" type. She won best of group (junior Netherland dwarf), best of variety (Himalayan color) and best informational poster. Obviously, she was thrilled to clean up like that on her first time out.

For me, the event reinforced the stance that I'll never (not willingly, anyway) live anywhere that's not a rural, agricultural-based area. I've experienced other lifestyles for short periods of time and none of them work for me.

I can't wait for the next show. I just hope it's not scheduled on the same day as one of the registered trapshoots I plan to attend this year. If so, I'll be missing the shoot.

Don't know why the photo loaded sideways, but it straightens out if you click on it.

A wonderful experience for everyone. That was a really nice report and a really cute photo. Congratulations to your daughter!

That was an excellent report, dp. Your daughter should be feeling very proud of herself for all her effort, and her rabbit looks amazing.

As far as "Hicksville" goes, I too prefer it to city life, even though my own experience of Hicksville is now 6000 miles away.

Thanks for the heartwarming story and the cute photo of your two prize winners.

We live in a town with a population of under 3000. Most of the land in town is a state forest, so there's lots of areas to swim and hike that can be very private. It's just one reason we like living here. Another is that each summer we have a week long, town sponsored Fair featuring several large barns filled with lots of animals ranging from the common to the rare, including dozens of breeds of rabbits and chickens. Prizes are awarded to "the best" of them. We've always enjoyed it for the very reasons you do.

we have friends whose children are 4H and participate in goat competitions .... they have been involved with it for several years and it has been a wonderful experience for the whole family .... congrats to your daughter and to you for supporting her

DP, thank you for an excellent report and wonderful picture. It is awesome to see young people still enjoying and learning from the experience of handling animals. I, like many of you, enjoy and defend the rural life. My numerous grandchildren are all beneficiaries of this type of life. God bless America!

I really enjoyed reading that, I was in the livestock feed business for 25 years and always supported the local 4H. The county fair and resulting livestock auction were my favorite time of year. I know exactly what you mean when describing your daughters excitement winning her ribbons, which is exactly what she did. She won them! I saw it many times .In 4H hard work pays off. My father always said the problem with todays kids " they didn't have a cow to milk before they went to school" Your daughter is learning not just about rabbits but responsibility and that is what is great about 4H.

That is an adorable photo of your daughter. So cute, wish they could stay that age forever.