What is a Grand Champion
Certificate?
A Grand Champion
Certificate is issued by the American Rabbit Breeders Association to
any rabbit or cavy that has won at least three Legs (see the
previous page for info on Legs). You may see the initials " GC"
or a GC number listed on pedigrees, websites, and other places - "GC" is an abbreviation
of 'Grand Champion' and means the rabbit or cavy has earned a Grand
Champion Certificate.
A few rules apply here:
-
At
least one of the wins (Legs) must be obtained when the rabbit or cavy is an
intermediate or senior.
-
Between all three of the legs that you are putting towards the Grand
Champion Certificate, the Legs must have been won under at least 2
different judges.
-
You
must first register the animal that you want to apply for Grand Champion
status.
-
Only
one Grand Champion Certificate will be awarded to the same rabbit or
cavy.
So, now that the rules are out
of the way, what do you do first? If your rabbit or cavy is already
registered with ARBA, all you need to do is gather your three Legs,
make sure they are completely filled out with the animal's birthdate and
registration number, and forward them to the ARBA office with a fee of $4.
 If
your rabbit or cavy is not yet registered, you must do so before you apply
for your Grand Champion Certificate. Read how to register your
rabbit here (this article coming soon).
We like to make copies of the
Legs before we send them, just in case they end up at the North Pole or
somewhere else......
ARBA will process your Legs
and soon you will receive your Grand Champion Certificate.
After a rabbit or cavy receives a Grand Champion Certificate, many
breeders put the initials 'GC' on the rabbit or cavy's pedigree and also
display it wherever their new grand champion is pictured; on websites,
business cards, etc. You may also see the GC number listed on
pedigrees or by the rabbit or cavy name also.
It used to be that ARBA
encouraged Grand Champion rabbits and cavies to be retired from the
showtable, to make way for others to obtain Grand Champion status, but I
no longer see this statement in the current 2005-2006 Yearbook, unless I
overlooked it. Regardless, many exhibitors who are heavy into points
sweepstakes continue to show their Grand Champions anyways.
We used to get frustrated by
those who continuously show their Grand Champions, because oftentimes this
does shut out others from winning, but over the years we've discovered
that this only makes us strive harder to produce better animals and forces us to
better plan our breeding and culling. |
