From the tiny Netherlands dwarf to the massive Flemish giant, more than 350 rabbits hopped and competed Saturday at the Columbia Expo Center in the annual Magnolia State Rabbit Breeders Association show.
Participants came from throughout Mississippi and Louisiana.
“They can be from all walks of life but have rabbits in common. It’s a family thing,” said Tracey Freeman, who serves as secretary/treasurer of the association while her husband, Tyrone, is president.
Roger Carr of Columbia is a director, and Freeman said this is their fourth year to come here after previously having an event in Poplarville. She said they were looking for a place and thought the Expo Center would be out of their budget but were surprised at the price they were able to get the facility at.
The association merged this year with the South Mississippi group, which had lost many of its rabbitries during Hurricane Katrina, Freeman said.
Freeman, who lives in Bogalusa, La., was showing her Jersey woolies, a small breed with lots of hair.
“I love fluffballs,” she said.
Entry fees help cover the costs of putting on the event, including bringing in three credentialed judges. And Show Superintendent Silas Drake comes from Tennessee to run the event here.
He said there are 45 breeds recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association with four categories or more within each breed. About 20 to 25 breeds were present at Saturday’s show. That makes for a lot of judging and awards to be handed out, and Drake and his wife were keeping up with the results at a table inside the Expo Center as the judges pulled rabbits from cages and looked them over.
Freeman said the show is held every year on the last Saturday in February, and there is no cost for the public to come out, which she encouraged people to do next year.
Pictured Above: From left, Anne Claire Adams and Amyra Secord of Hattiesburg and Megan Motichek of Louisiana hold their rabbits Saturday during the Magnolia State Rabbit Breeders Association annual show held at the Columbia Expo Center. | Photo by Charlie Smith
