ARBA Convention has come and gone. Everyone is now planning for their breed's Nationals in the spring. If they're lucky, they have litters in the box that will hopefully produce awesome jrs for it.
National conventions are rather elitist. Don't get me wrong. I'm not disparaging anyone who attends. I'm saying it's elitist in that it's not an "every man's" event. These big annual shows are the Super Bowl of the rabbit world. Some can be there in person, the rest have to watch from afar, and it's by the very nature of the event that this is so. Only an elite group can do it.
First, there's distance. The big national shows are held in different parts of the country each year, and the lucky ones are the ones who live nearby. The rest have to go to great lengths to get there. It could involve plane flights, or a great deal of miles and time in driving.
I have never been to Nationals or Convention, and I probably never will. The main reason is simple...I can't be away for that long. The rules for these shows prevent me from even considering entering rabbits unless it's very close to me, and I doubt that will ever happen. Unless it's in my region, I can't even visit it for a day.
There's the time. Dwarf Nationals runs for 3 days (check-in to check-out), not including travel time. Figure at least 4-5 days. ARBA convention is even longer. Like I said, I can't be away for that long. The best I can do is an over-nighter.
There's the rules. Entered/cooped rabbits have to stay for the duration, and even sale rabbits have to be cooped unless you can get around that by keeping them in your hotel room or vehicle. In my opinion, this is the most unfair rule. If my rabbits are done, as in they didn't go any further than variety or group (likely scenario), why can't I leave? If I could leave when I'm done like a local show, maybe I could figure out a way to swing it. But no. No rabbits are allowed to leave until check-out the morning after the last events of the show which is just the awards ceremonies and banquet. The rabbits were all judged the day before that so they don't need to be there any longer, but they can't leave until the designated check-out. I've never seen that, but I'm sure there's a lot of waiting in line and mix-ups and everything. I hear that this show or that one was pretty good for check-out, but that has to be relative. There's no way it goes very fast. I imagine how much easier and faster it would be if exhibitors could leave in their own time. The check-out people would have more time to avoid mistakes and deal with problems. So until that rule changes, I doubt I'll ever enter a national show. Unless it's so close, I can run back and forth from home as needed. Which isn't likely.
Then there's the expense. It's very expensive to attend a national show. The entry fees are at least 4 times higher than local shows, and local shows don't make you "enter" sale rabbits that you wouldn't enter any other time. There's the hotel, the gas, or the plane ticket which costs even more if it includes the animals. Breeders inflate sale prices to help cover these costs, so you will pay a lot more for a rabbit than you might normally. Again, it's an elite group that can afford all this. I'm certainly not one of those. Maybe I could if I could avoid some of the other costs, like an unnecessarily long hotel stay, which goes back to the rule that keeps my rabbits there longer than necessary.
I suppose I could enter and send a few with a trusted friend (many breeders do that), but I just can't justify it if I can't be there with my bunnies. I'll say it again. I'm not putting anyone down who lives and breathes for the big shows every year. I'm just telling you why you probably won't ever see me there.
tnt
