Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Hold On With Your Sense Of Humor
So, you've made good breeding decisions, made it through the newborn stage, didn't jump the gun when your bunnies went through the uglies, culled hard, conditioned a very promising junior, planned for a show, packed, drove six hours just to hear the judge's comment: "The tips of the ears are a bit pointy." Now you have two choices: blow your top or laugh. I submit that laughing is the better alternative.
When I first started showing rabbits, each show seemed monumental and important. I didn't have a context for interpreting what I heard on the table. I believed every judge. I took everything seriously. Dozens and dozens of shows later, I realize that in the grand scheme of things, no one show or even one weekend is all that important.
Back in college, lo these many moons ago, I made a C in Social Psychology the semester that I met Andrew. (Somehow, something else seemed to always be on my mind!) I was mortified. Psychology was my major and I just wasn't the kind of student that made C's. So I took the course over again to raise my grade to an A. When my advisor heard what I had done, she scoffed and asked me how many people during my lifetime would ever ask me what I made in Social Psychology in college. She helped me put that one course into perspective. I suspect she'd have the same philosophy about a rabbit show.
There are times when I feel that a judge doesn't have a handle on Hollands. After all, there are a lot of breeds and it is unrealistic to expect every judge to be equally skilled in all of them. When that happens, I tell myself to just go through the motions. Who knows, he or she may accidentally give the class to one of my rabbits that doesn't really deserve it! If I took it too seriously, then I would be tied up in knots every time the judge failed to pose the rabbit, put too much emphasis on condition over conformation, or picked the big brood bunnies over a much more ideal Holland.
I can't claim that I always manage to keep my sense of humor at a rabbit show. There are times when I expect a lot of judges, either because of past experience or because their reputations precedes them. Sometimes I just get my hopes up too high for a certain rabbit. I often put a lot of pressure on myself to get does granded quickly so I can put them to work with their credentials under their belts.
I admit, I almost always get annoyed if one of my best rabbits gets placed at the bottom of a class; that's just too far wrong to be funny. I just can't see rabbits that place at national-level shows should be the first off of the table. That's something I need to work on. Perhaps now that I've taken the time to think about humor, I'll be able to use it more often to get through those rough times at the show table.
Maybe if you see me at a show getting too uptight, you could come over and ask me what grade I made in Social Psychology!
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
¶ 9:37 AM
When I first started showing rabbits, each show seemed monumental and important. I didn't have a context for interpreting what I heard on the table. I believed every judge. I took everything seriously. Dozens and dozens of shows later, I realize that in the grand scheme of things, no one show or even one weekend is all that important.
Back in college, lo these many moons ago, I made a C in Social Psychology the semester that I met Andrew. (Somehow, something else seemed to always be on my mind!) I was mortified. Psychology was my major and I just wasn't the kind of student that made C's. So I took the course over again to raise my grade to an A. When my advisor heard what I had done, she scoffed and asked me how many people during my lifetime would ever ask me what I made in Social Psychology in college. She helped me put that one course into perspective. I suspect she'd have the same philosophy about a rabbit show.
There are times when I feel that a judge doesn't have a handle on Hollands. After all, there are a lot of breeds and it is unrealistic to expect every judge to be equally skilled in all of them. When that happens, I tell myself to just go through the motions. Who knows, he or she may accidentally give the class to one of my rabbits that doesn't really deserve it! If I took it too seriously, then I would be tied up in knots every time the judge failed to pose the rabbit, put too much emphasis on condition over conformation, or picked the big brood bunnies over a much more ideal Holland.
I can't claim that I always manage to keep my sense of humor at a rabbit show. There are times when I expect a lot of judges, either because of past experience or because their reputations precedes them. Sometimes I just get my hopes up too high for a certain rabbit. I often put a lot of pressure on myself to get does granded quickly so I can put them to work with their credentials under their belts.
I admit, I almost always get annoyed if one of my best rabbits gets placed at the bottom of a class; that's just too far wrong to be funny. I just can't see rabbits that place at national-level shows should be the first off of the table. That's something I need to work on. Perhaps now that I've taken the time to think about humor, I'll be able to use it more often to get through those rough times at the show table.
Maybe if you see me at a show getting too uptight, you could come over and ask me what grade I made in Social Psychology!
Laurie Stroupe
The Nature Trail Rabbitry “Home Of Grand Champions”
Precious Pet Rabbits
Affordable Web Site Design
¶ 9:37 AM
