Competitors take showmanship awards

ROME TOWNSHIP — The experience of showing rabbits at the Lawrence County Fair is more important than winning, according to Abigail Patterson.

Of course, winning is pretty great, too.

The 14-year-old Getaway Go-Getters member has shown rabbits for six years and this was the first year she took the top junior rabbit showmanship award. She admitted the furry creatures aren’t any easier to show just because they are small.

“The most difficult part is properly learning how to go over the entire animal,” Patterson said. “What steps to go through and do it exactly right.”

To show a rabbit, students must learn how to properly handle the animal, groom it, pose it and how to examine each part of the rabbit for diseases and other imperfections, while communicating with the judge.

“You have to be able to work with your rabbit,” Patterson said. “It has to know you so it’s not freaking out. It takes being confident and calm.”

Patterson said she knows competing in shows at the fair isn’t all about winning.

“You have to understand that if you’re not going to win, you’re going to learn something.”

Katie Webb won the senior showmanship title in the rabbit competition.
 Webb,18, is a graduate of Dawson-Bryant High School.

“It feels good,” she said of her win. “I’ve been doing this for about seven years.”