Amethyst Stud around the Shows; 2015
West Sussex; 20/12/2015
Just like last year, we finished off the year with a quiet and local show. Only Ammie and Lizzie accompanied us making it a very easy day, though we still had a good time. The girls got a CC each and Ammie took Best of Breed, coming 5th in the Fancy Challenge and 2nd in the Junior Fancy Challenge behind a lovely Nethie who was a very deserving Best Junior. A nice show to mark the close of a fantastic year.
Doncaster; 6/12/2015
Rhu was 3rd in her class, and Lizzie won her class in the stock show and took Best Junior too but it was Melza who beat her in the main show. Ammie took the CC over a large class, meaning that she's been best BEW at every stock show this year, and also went on to get Best Junior Fancy and 3rd overall in the main show. After the very long day at the show, it was back in the car for the equally long drive home.
Metz; 12/11/2015 - 15/11/2015 ; see this page for the show diary!
West Parley; 25/10/2015
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Having not been to this show for over a year and a half due to clashes, it was great to be back in this stunning little village. The welcome was very warm as a lot of our friends were here too, so we had many good catchups over cups of tea throughout the day. As for the showing side, Rhu finally got her first CC as she didn't manage to completely mess herself up for a change! Ammie beat Stella to get the last CC she needed for her Championship Certificate, but it was little Demelza who took top honours today with BOB, Best u/5 Fancy, Best Junior Fancy, and to our complete amazement Best Junior too! We also recieved some lovely comments about all four of our girls, making for a brilliant day out in all aspects.
London Championships; 10/10/2015 - 11/10/2015
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Our London-bound journey was a very easy drive through the early hours, and we arrived at the showground with plenty of time to get our team of Stella, Ammie, Rhu, Seren and Demelza brushed and ready. To our delight both Stella and Ammie were below the weight limit, so we started the judging feeling optimistic about the day ahead. In the main show Stella amazed us by taking the 5* CC over an incredibly high standard class, the last stars she needed for her Championship Diploma, and the other girls all took 2nds and 3rds. In the stock show Ammie got her 3* CC and everyone else was 2nd in their classes (though the judge said Rhu would have won if she hadn't been covered in hay!). Stella was Best Junior Lionhead in both the main show and stock show with Ammie 2nd and Melza 3rd, and matched Pippin's achievement in 2013 by coming 4th in the Junior Fancy Challenge behind three amazing rabbits. We ended up making the journey home on the Sunday with one extra passenger; I brought an orange long-haired Syrian from the hamster show who has now been named Aslan! Overall we had a fantastic weekend, and I already can't wait for next time!
Romsey; 12/9/2015
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A beautifully bright and sunny day, it felt very strange to not be camping at this agricultural show! Stella, Seren, Stanley and newcomer Rhubarb accompanied us to this show, and although our results weren't quite as high as previous shows we still had a lovely time. Rhu was the only rabbit in her class but the CC was withheld due to the absolute state she'd got herself in between being penned and brought out to the table. Seren beat Stanley in the u/5 class ad Stella won BOB overall. She went on to get 3rd Best Fancy in the main show and 2nd Junior Fancy, beaten both times by a stunning Belgian Hare. We also spent a lot of time looking around the show, and as with both the previous Romsey shows we've been to the day wouldn't have been complete without icecream and a go at the archery stand!
Edenbridge & Oxted Agricultral Show; 30/8/2015 - 31/8/2015
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Day 1: In comparison to the morning of last year's Edenbridge show, getting into the showground and penning our team was surprisingly easy! This year we had a much bigger team too; Stella, Stanley, Topaz, Ross and Seren were all there with us and they all did very well. The show got off to a great start with Stella getting the CC over 2 other adults and 4 u/5s. In the u/5 class Stan was the winner, followed by Seren 2nd and Topaz 4th. Ross was 1st in his class but missed out on the CC, and Stella was 2nd BOB. Stan was also 4th in the u/5 Fancy Challenge. In the Junior Show our luck still ran strong, with Stella easily climbing all the way to the very top to get Best Junior! The competition in the Grand Challenge was very high with stunning entrants in particularly the Fur and Rex sections, so I'm absolutely thrilled with the achievement. After the show was over and the team fed for the night, we went with some other exhibitors back to the campsite and pitched our (new and bigger!) tent before enjoying a lovely meal and a night full of talking and laughter.
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Day 2: I'm very glad we didn't have our tiny New Forest tent for this show, as it poured with rain overnight! The campsite had turned into a giant mud bath, so it was hiking boots on for the walk back to the rabbit tent and then for the entire day! The results were much the same as the previous day, except both the adult and u/5 challenges were completely Lionhead dominated! The u/5 Challenge was where we triumphed with Stan 1st and Ross 2nd, and in the overall Fancy Challenge Stan was 3rd behind our friend's two adult Lions. While waiting for the Junior Show to be judged I was convinced that it would be too much to expect to repeat the previous day's successes, but Stella managed it alright! She received some lovely comments from the judge as she was placed first in the Grand Challenge for the 4th time this year, and this meant that we have beaten our 2013 record of 3 Best Junior wins in one year! Due to the mud we didn't look round this show as much as we usually do at Agricultural Shows, but after the presentations we returned to the campsite and said our farewells to our friends before starting out on the journey home.
The New Forest Show; 28/7/2015 - 30/7/2015
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Day 1: We were actually on time arriving on the showground, which is a miracle in itself! At 7:45 sharp we were in the rabbit tent alongside Stella, Stanley and Ross, which began a very long two hours of grooming. It was a huge disappointment to see Stella sent off the table for being over the weight limit after all the time we'd dedicated to her, but Stan and Ross still did a great job with firsts for both of them and a CC for Stan. In the Junior Show the two COMs went to Stella and Ross, with Stella going on to get Best Junior Fancy and 3rd Best Junior! The standard in the Junior show really was high and every rabbit in the Grand Challenge could have made top honours, so I was not disappointed to be beaten by a stunning argente and amazing mini black rex. After the show was over we joined some of the other exhibitors at the campsite and pitched our tent (much to the amusement of our fellow campers!), and enjoyed a lovely albeit cold evening around the fire pit with a delicious barbecued meal!
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Day 2: I was woken on the Wednesday by a shout of "I hate camping!" from my mum who had just got wet hair from touching the roof of the tent! We quickly discovered that getting dressed inside a tent not as tall as you are was quite a challenge, but regardless we made it to the rabbit tent with plenty of time to spare. To our absolute delight Stella was just below the weight limit (the sudden diet worked!) and claimed the 3* CC with ease. Other than that the main show results were the same as day 1, but in the Junior Show Stella just barely missed out on Best Junior with the judge taking a very long time to make up his mind! We spent much more time exploring the showground today, including purchasing a small cactus that I kept in the spare pen than an absent Topaz had left vacant much to everyone's amusement! As a result of all the walking I kept my feet up while gathered around the fire pit like the previous night, talking well into the night with friends new and old.
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Day 3: The decision that we need a bigger tent had definitely been made by the time Thursday rolled around, it's amazing how much difference the size makes! By this point the rabbits only needed a quick touch-up before they were ready for the table, so we were much more relaxed in the early morning. To our frustration Stella had crept back over the weight limit by the tiniest amount, which saw Stanley get the last CC in her absence. It was him who triumphed in the Junior Show too, claiming the self COM and placing third in the Junior Fancy Challenge behind an amazing angora and belgian hare, the latter which went on to get Best Junior. That brought an end to the showing part of the New Forest, so we were left to do some more shopping around the stalls and repack the car; this proved quite a challenge! At 6:15 we said our goodbyes and 'see you soon's and started out on the very traffic-filled journey home.
Puddletown; 28/6/2015
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A very little show but still a lovely day, and having not been to this venue before it was lovely to see everyone so welcoming. Newcomer to the team Stanley did very well, beating Topaz to come first in his class, and Ross and Sharley both won CCs as the only rabbits in their classes! Stella came tops out of our team, winning the CC over Stan, getting BOB and reaching 3rd in both the Fancy Challenge and the Junior Fancy Challenge. Since the judging was over so quickly we took a walk through the beautiful village, which would have been worth the journey by itself as it was so lovely!
South of England Agricultural Show; 13/6/2015
This show was one of those occasions we like to call a 'memorable moment'- and not for the right reasons! We started off badly as on the way to the showground we started following the wrong arrows, and didn't realise until about 40 minutes had passed that we were actually following a cycling route in the complete wrong direction! We eventually reached the showground and managed to brush and book our rabbits in just in time, and amongst the chaos I was given the job of taking photos for the NLRC. The actual show went really well, in addition to our good results I managed to work my way around the camera before too long! Ammie and Topaz started off the winning streak with firsts in each of their classes, and the CC went to Ammie. Stella brought home the second CC of the day after an extremely tense wait, as the class was large and of an extremely high standard. Ross also got a first in his class, beating two others but not quite winning the CC, and Sharley was in the same situation. In the main show the results were pretty similar, with Ammie getting her second CC of the day but Stella losing hers to the rabbit that went on to get Best Fancy! Despite the initial setback we still had a lovely time with the other Lionheaders and looking around the show.
Southern Championships Show; 3/5/2015
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Our 3rd Anniversary Show- how strange does that sound! We were back at Wickham for the 4* show which saw the beginning of our wonderful hobby. Not only were we very successful but we saw a lot of old friends who we don't see a lot of, which made the day even more enjoyable. In the Main Show Stella beat both Ammie and Topaz to get the CC, and Fen claimed the other one even though she was the only rabbit in her class. In the Junior Show Ammie and Stella were reversed with Ammie winning the COM certificate, but Fen still picked up the other one. Ammie's success didn't stop there though; after a very tense wait with the 5 Fancy COM winners on the table it was announced she had won Best Junior Fancy! The Junior Grand Challenge was of a very high standard, so I'm thrilled with her 3rd place. Nova and Lyra both tagged along for the Pet Show, but neither were placed in the enormous Girls Pet Class. All in all an amazing way to mark my last Southern Champs showing as a Junior and our 3rd anniversary!
Grantham; 11/4/15
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It was an early start for the first Lionhead Stock Show of the year; we were out the door at 5 am with Stella, Ammie, Fen and Vee in tow! The long journey was well worth it though, as this was undoubtedly our most successful show to date! In the stock show Ammie repeated her Bradford success by getting the BEW CC as well as Best Junior. She also claimed the CC in the main show, but Fen was the most successful of our team in the Junior show, getting the COM as well as 3rd in the Junior Fancy Challenge. But it was Stella who really shone; she was second in the u/5 black class in the stock show but won it in the main show, then was awarded the CC over the adults, claimed Best u/5 and then to my utter amazement, Best of Breed! This was out of 53 other Lionheads, so I am absolutely thrilled! She was also Best u/5 Fancy and 3rd in the overall Fancy Challenge. After the show was over we joined the other Lionheaders in a local pub for a lovely meal, then it was back to a nearby travelodge for some well-earned rest!
New Surrey; 22/3/2015
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2 Best Juniors in 2 weeks- this has got to be a record! Today it was Stella who claimed top honours, followed by Ammie and then Fennel. It was switched round slightly in the Main Show though, with Ammie getting the BOB and one CC, and the other CC going to Stella. In the Pet Show Lyra overtook her half-sister and took Best Pet, with Vee coming a close second.
Fareham & Southampton; 8/3/15
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A very successful day for Fennel; she achieved the COM, CC, BOB, Best Junior Fancy, Best u/5 Fancy in the main show and overall Best Junior! In the Junior show it was Amethyst second, and in the main show it was Stella second. Stella also got the first in her class and the other CC. On a lower note it was a break in Venus' winning streak as she was 4th in the Pet Show.
Reading; 15/2/15
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A show of many second places; Amethyst was 2nd Junior Fancy and Fennel was 2nd u/5 Fancy! The only exception to this was Venus, who came home with her second Best Pet Award! The whole team did very well, the COM went to Ammie, Orion claimed one of the CCs and the other went to Fen who took BOB overall.
Bradford Premier Small Animal Show; 24-25/1/15
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We were up at 1:30 am for the 5 hour trek up to Harrogate, and thankfully we didn't have to battle through any snow! The show got off to a quick start with Laurel and Amethyst in the Adult show and Fennel and Orion for the u/5s. Ammie brought us a big success very early on by winning her class and a 5* CC over 4 others! As it was her first show as an adult I was thrilled, and it made the extensive plucking time well worth it! Laurel was 4th in a class of 6, and Ammie beat her to gain Best Junior Adult Lionhead. On the u/5 side Fen and Orion were both 4th in their classes, and Fen achieved 2nd Best Junior AOV Fancy. The NLRC's AGM also took place at this show and it was annouced that I'd won the Junior Members Points for 2014! I'm so proud of all my rabbits and hope we can continue this success throughout the rest of 2015!
All photos in this update taken by Claire Shipman for the NLRC
All photos in this update taken by Claire Shipman for the NLRC