Kristy and her dressage horse, Toby, during show season 2007.

My family had been involved with raising and showing them when I was much younger, but as my interest in horses grew, it diminished for my rabbits. But here I was, ready to jump right back into the pool.

My younger years! We used to raise chocolates!

The Foundation Stock

Tom, one of the top breeders in Michigan, showed us several animals to choose from. We brought home three wonderful animals: a black buck (Buster), a blue doe (Tess), and a young, black doe (Panda).

We then visited the Stump's rabbitry and brought home a black buck (Chip) and a black doe (Oreo). I got some lovely beginning animals out of these two, but I no longer own them. Their lines are still strong in my herd though!

I can't thank Tom and Steven enough for providing me with such excellent beginning stock!

The "Super Litter"

Every Dutch breeder loves finding a new litter containing all showable babies. On May 9, 2004, I experienced such luck when Tess had an exceptional litter of six excellent marked, show quality animals, sired by Buster.

Three of the rabbits were sold at a young age. Digger, a black buck, was marked well, but gangly in his build and was therefore sold. I have since come to realize that my animals, bucks in particular, tend to take some time in developement, and I probably should have held onto him. Spaz, a black doe with excellent type, was psychotic as a baby and became difficult, and even scary, to handle as she became older and therefore, was sold. Then there was Lorelle, a blue doe who has a story of her own, who ended up being sold, then finding her way back into my barn as a show rabbit, but was then sold again to Eric and Sharon Mixdorf of Iowa.

Then there were the three animals I kept until they were seniors: Blue, Daisy and Priss. Blue has always been spectacular on the show table, and has the awards to prove it. He has been retired as a breeding buck, and while he still occasionally finds his way to the show table, I mostly focus on his babies. Daisy, a black doe, has been winning since she was a mere 3 months old and has numerous legs and significant wins, just like her brother. At nearly two years old, Daisy finally got her chance to settle into motherhood and is producing great babies. Priss, another black doe, was a beautiful animal, but could never beat her sister. Priss is another one who was sold, found her way back to my barn as a brood doe, but has since moved on to a new home.

Needless to say, it was a litter to say "wow"about and these rabbits really helped to get my rabbitry established in the Dutch community.

And Then Came the Grays... 

The original intent was to become involved in only two varieties of Dutch, and I chose blacks and blues. Of course, that didn't last long! At the National Dutch Show in 2005, I got my first gray, Glory (with her brother, Tag-A-Long, in tow) from Al Peeler of Illinois. After much pursuit, and over a year later, I purchased two more gray does to establish my lines with. Rita, an overweight but wonderfully typed doe from Steve Blythe and Rita Stelzer of South Dakota. I also bought Ginger, a well-typed, well-marked and beautifully colored doe from Theresa Kortbein (now Schwandt) of Wisconsin. Ginger has since passed away unexpectedly, but I have bought another gray doe of similar lines, Kortney, to replace her.

I then got an excellent gray buck to use as foundation gray sire, Smokey (from breeder Mike Smith). Smokey has since been replaced by his son, Broer. I also was very lucky to snatch up an absolutely lovely gray buck (Laddy) from Erik Ladd of Ohio. His first litters are being born, and I hope he passes on his excellent gray color.

Grays have proven to be an exciting addition to the barn, as I always seem to be learning something new!

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