What We Learned at the Gridley Show This Time

Judges don't always know their colors.  The reason why the "chestnut agouti" and "chocolate agouti" have "poor ring definition" is that they are steels, not agoutis.

Some judges have a certain thing they fixate on.  This time, it was ears.  Last time, it was sexing.  Like really intense.

One judge admitted that this was, in essence, a beauty pageant for rabbits.  And "snipey" heads are not good.  "Snippy" heads aren't good either, but they are not as bad as snipey heads.  FYI, that apparently means the face/nose is too pointy.

Sanctions.  I think I learned what they are, but I'm not entirely sure, and so I definitely am not going to try to explain.

If you are doing showmanship in California, you had better judge your rabbit at then end of your presentation.  Say what is good and bad, the faults, etc.  And never use the word "nice." 

If there are separate open and youth shows, and if the rules say that a youth can't enter the same rabbit in both, and if there are two different registrars, no one will know if you do enter the same rabbit in both.  Not that we would ever break the rules.

French angoras are increasing in popularity.

We already knew this, but the French angora ladies are very nice and helpful.  Apparently, this is not the case with other breeds, and some are insanely competitive.  We are very glad this is not the case with us. 

Some vendors charge a lot more for the exact same product than others do.  So it pays to shop around at the shows.

Vallejo is totally bankrupt.  Well, we knew this, but I didn't understand the extent of the bankruptcy.  Apparently, there are only two squad cars on patrol, and they are only on patrol at night.  Everybody in Vallejo knows this, so they don't necessarily feel the need to observe speed limits or stop at stop signs or traffic lights.  And you never, ever pull off the road there for any reason.  So it has been decided that we will never go to a show there.

Gridley puts on a well-organized show.  We will definitely go there again.