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Monday, May 28, 2001 Competition will have rabbits jumping all overBy MICHAEL HAUN DELTONA — This is a "tail" of athletic prowess, determination and skill. BriAnna Burtchell serves as both coach and trainer as she puts her young, untested athlete through a rigorous set of paces almost daily outside their Deltona home.
And with any luck, by next weekend some fur will really fly. Well, make that hop. Meet Dust Bunny, a fuzzy Himalayan rabbit with a fondness for jumping. She will be Burtchell's entry in a rabbit hopping competition scheduled for next weekend. The formally judged event will be the first of its kind in Florida, organizers say, and one of the first ever in the nation. "She took to it really well," Burtchell, 14, said of Dust Bunny. "I just let her run around. She kind of figured it out for herself." With roots in Scandinavia, rabbit hopping has become a fairly popular competitive event in parts of Europe. The rules are similar to an equestrian competition. A rabbit -- leashed to its owner by a harness -- is run through a series of jump stations. The rabbits are judged on both the grace of their jumps as well as how quickly they can complete the course. Organizers of the June 2 competition at the Volusia County Fairgrounds believe bouncing bunnies are now ready for their stateside debut. But it took seeing a cottontail catapult itself over a two-foot high jump before everyone could hop on board such an event. "It wouldn't have even crossed my mind," said Thelma Thompson, youth director for the Florida State Rabbit Breeders Association. Several months ago, Thompson said she asked the youth group -- which participates in rabbit breeding shows -- to come up with some new ideas to jump-start interest in rabbits. Some of the teen-agers discovered a Swedish Web site outlining the rules and regulations of rabbit hopping. They said they wanted to give it a shot and planned a demonstration, Thompson said. "I said, Oh my goodness, they really do this,' " she said after watching bunnies hop their way over handmade jump stations. "I was just as excited as the kids were." Thompson said since that at the May demonstration, about 30 members of the youth organization have been training their rabbits. And it's an equal opportunity sporting event, she said, pointing out that no particular breed seems to have a natural advantage. "You have to work with them all," she said. "But some of them are natural hoppers." Burtchell said her rabbit, Dust Bunny, has proved quite adept at jumping. She said some of the jump stations are around 2 feet high. And for a creature that stands only a few inches off the ground, 2 feet is a pretty tall order. Burtchell said members of the youth group are excited about importing this European competition to the area. "We thought it would be a cool thing to bring to Florida," she said. The rabbit-hopping competition is part of an all-day breeding show at the fairgrounds livestock arena. The show and competition are open to the public. The event starts at 8:30 a.m. Thompson said this show and others held throughout the year help the youth organization to raise money to attend national shows. |
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