For dog lovers, the Westminster dog show offers the opportunity to see the top members of each breed, all vying for the coveted "Best in Show" award. And for rabbit lovers, the American Rabbit Breeders Association National Convention provides the opportunity to see 15,000 rabbits compete for the top prize.
For five days this week, the Rhode Island Convention Center in downtown Providence plays host to the rather unique guests. The rabbits and their breeders arrived in town Sunday for the 81st ARBANC, and Mary Blauss '06 has been involved in helping to bring the show to town.
Blauss and her family are members of the New England Rabbit and Cavy Club, which won the bid to host the convention in Providence for the first time this year. Blauss's mother, Susan, is in charge of publicity for the event. Mary Blauss spent much of the last week at the Convention Center helping to set up the cages, hay and shavings for the rabbits.
"My role in organizing this has been small, because I've been busy with school," Blauss said. "Mainly I'm involved in raising awareness of our club and setting up. There's been a lot of planning, a lot of time and effort involved."
The convention, which began on Sunday and runs until Thursday, has attracted more than 1,500 breeders from across America, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan, who collectively brought more than 15,000 rabbits and cavies - or guinea pigs - to be entered into the show. Forty-three different breeds of rabbits are represented at the convention, from the more common varieties such as Netherland dwarves and Holland Lops to the unusual types such as Flemish giants.
Judging for the show began Monday and continues today. Rabbits are judged according to the standards for their breed, and points are awarded for criteria such as thickness of wool and hindquarter size. Prizes are awarded to the highest-scoring rabbit of each breed, which then compete for the prize of "Best in Show."
Apart from the main show, there are many other events involved with the convention. Buying and selling of rabbits takes place on the convention floor, and there are booths devoted to each breed of rabbit represented. In addition, a number of booths sell merchandise ranging from "The Rabbit Medicine Chest" to hats and stuffed toys made from rabbit fur.
Blauss's love for rabbits is rooted in her family background. Susan Blauss explained that the family went to its first rabbit show when Mary was 8 years old, and returned with a Holland Lop. They have been breeding rabbits ever since. The Blausses currently have about 90 rabbits at their home in Carver, Mass., and entered four rabbits to be judged for the show.
Blauss said the club faced a number of difficulties in organizing an event of this scale, including tackling the logistical details.
"Every detail from fire codes and food arrangements and booth displays and donations from grain companies and so much more had to be considered even before the process of getting entries for the show could take place," Blauss said.
"It's manageable on a small-scale of maybe (100) or 200 rabbits. But when you're talking about 15,000 bunnies, there's just the craziness of organizing everything," she added.
Finding accommodations for the breeders was another problem. "A lot of the hotels were wary when they heard that we wanted to host a rabbit show. They didn't want to allow pets in the hotels," Blauss said.
Blauss said being involved in the organization of the convention has been a positive learning experience for her, even though it involved a lot of work.
"I loved getting to be behind the scenes at the convention. I have been to several in the past, and each time they were very enjoyable, but having the knowledge of how much work it took to arrange and run the convention has made me appreciate it so much more," she said. "For my family, it has been a wonderful experience of really being able to work together."
Her mother echoed her sentiments. "For us it was a great family experience, organizing the show. Dogs have the Westminster dog show, and this is like the Westminster of the rabbit world," Susan Blauss said.
While Mary Blauss said she hopes her entries perform well in the competition, ultimately how her rabbits fare is unimportant compared to the success of the show. "Whether our rabbits win or lose, it will certainly be an experience I will never forget," she said.
