Judging Order of Rabbit Show Classes

Here we go- it is finally time for the rabbit judge to inspect and place your breed!  here are the class orders for judging:

Judging Order Within Each Breed- Varieties and Groups

Unless your breed has only one color to it, there will usually be a few or more 'varieties' or 'groups' your rabbit breed is judged by. 

'Variety' is a term that describes more detail, such as individual color varieties, whereas a 'group' usually covers a broader class, oftentimes including many varieties. 

Hollands are shown in two 'groups'; broken and solid.  No matter what acceptable color your Holland Lop is, if it is a solid color, it is shown in the solid group, and if it is a broken, it is shown in the broken group - there is no distinction between the different colors during judging.  In breeds judged under solid or broken, usually the solid group goes first.

Polish are shown by 'varieties', the actual accepted colors for the breed; black, blue, broken (all the brokens no matter what acceptable color they are), chocolate, etc, etc..  Most color varieties are judged in alphabetical order such as black first, then blue, then chocolate, etc.

You should check your Standard of Perfection for the correct variety/color judging order for your breed - a few breeds don't follow the expected judging order!

Judging Order Within Each Variety or Group- Gender and Age Classes

In each variety or group class, the rabbit classes are further broken down according to sex and age, in the following order:

1. Senior Bucks
2. Senior Does
3. Intermediate Bucks (if the breed has this class)
4. Intermediate Does (again, if the breed has this class)
5. Junior Bucks
6. Junior Does

Again, check your Standard of Perfection for the sex/age judging order, there are a few breeds who are judged in a slightly different order than what is listed above.

Putting It Together At Judging Time....

So.... here is an example if you are showing Polish:  Polish are shown by each color 'variety' and varieties are shown alphabetically - all the black Polish would be shown first, starting with black senior bucks, then black senior does, black junior bucks and finally, black junior does.  The winning black Polish rabbit of each of these 4 classes is kept behind the judging table in individual coops and the rest are finished showing.

After all the black Polish are judged, the judge will choose the Best of Variety black and the Best Opposite Sex of Variety black from these four class winners.  The two winners (BOV and BOSV) will be put back in to coops behind the judging table.  The other black Polish are returned to their owners and are done showing. 

Now the next Polish variety, blue, is judged; first blue senior bucks, then blue senior does....until all the blue Polish are judged and again the judge picks the best two blue rabbits (Best of Variety blue and Best Opposite Sex of Variety blue) from all the class winners, keeping them behind the judging table.

All the Polish varieties are judged this way until the judge has the best two of each variety left (BOV and BOSV of each variety) - The judge will then choose the Best of Breed and the Best Opposite Sex of Breed from these all these variety winners! 

Best of Breed Winners

All Best of Breed winners can compete for Best In Show at the end of the show day, so if your rabbit won BOB don't leave the show just yet!  Only BOB winners can compete for this award, so if your rabbit won any other special award such as BOS or BOV, congratulations, but....your rabbit is not able to compete for Best In Show.

Best In Show competition begins after all the rabbit breeds are judged - the competition is broken down into a YOUTH Best In Show, and an OPEN Best In Show. 

Most regular rabbit shows break down the best of show competition into 'groups', usually 4-class and 6-class.  So, first, all the 4-class Best of Breed winners in Youth will compete against each other for the Best 4-Class honors.  Same with the youth 6-class Best of Breed winners.  Then the Best 4-class winner and the Best 6-class winner compete against each other for the top honors:  Best In Show.  Below is a chart to help you see what the Best In Show winners are picked from:

In the above example, the Best 4-class winner and the Best 6-class winner will compete against each other for Best In Show.  One will win Best in Show and the other wins Reserve in Show.

Open and Youth do not compete against each other.  There will be a Best In Show winner for youth and a Best In Show winner for open - and that's where it ends.

Different Groups.......

Sometimes, the show will group rabbits together differently from the usual 4-class and 6-class groups.  Perhaps there will be 3 or 4 groups labeled 'Group A, Group B, and such..., with each group comprised of several similar-size/type breeds.  The winners of each of these groups will compete for Best In Show awards.  This type of grouping is usually done at larger shows and allows more entrants to win recognition and awards.

How Is The Winner Picked?

You are probably wondering how the judges can compare different breeds against each other and select a winner.  The rabbit that BEST REPRESENTS HIS/HER BREED is the one that wins. 

At first, all this talk about varieties and class order is very confusing, but once you are actually showing your rabbit, you will quickly pick up the routine for your breed, so don't fret about it too much now! 

Be sure to check your Standard of Perfection though - several breeds are not shown in the common order I've listed above and you surely do not want to miss your class!