Animals front and center: Dairy cattle, rabbits vie for titles at Westmoreland Fair

Sara Forry had been training her rabbit, Lilly, for five or six years just to complete the lap at the end of her run in Westmoreland Fair’s Rabbit Agility Show on Wednesday night — training that earned her first place.

In the competition, six rabbits faced off in a 10-jump course, with some jumps higher than others. They were coaxed into hopping by their handlers, and the goal was to have the cleanest and fastest run.

“It’s not really that simple,” said Forry, 11, of Berlin. “It’s a lot more than just having your rabbit on a leash.”

Forry is the Pennsylvania State Rabbit Breeders Association Princess, which is an all-educational contest for 9- to 11-year-olds, and she has about 32 rabbits.

Lilly’s breed is English Spot, and Forry explained that last year, Lilly didn’t want to hop at all in the agility show.

“This year, she did, so it was very much of an improvement,” Forry said. “I was working extra hard this year because she didn’t want to hop.”

Forry was glad her work paid off.

Vance Reinstadtler was not so lucky.

“I was hopping my rabbit, and he was not cooperating,” said Reinstadtler, 11, of Ruffs Dale. “He did pretty good — he doesn’t like this stuff.”

Reinstadtler said he’s had his rabbit, Stetson, for almost a year, and he’s been participating in the Rabbit Agility Show for about four years.

Stetson took third place.

“It just love to do it,” Reinstadtler said. “It’s not really about competition. I just like to see how (Stetson) does it.”

Competitors had the opportunity to complete up to three runs on the course with their rabbit, and it’s up to the handler how many they decide to do. The catch: If you decide to run again, your previous run won’t count.

Forry explained that you “sort of have to know your animal” when deciding whether to run again. On the first run, “every animal gets used to the course,” she said, but the second run “can make or break your animal,” depending on its reaction to the course.

“Some animals might get it on the second time or some might still need warmed up to it, like my rabbit,” Forry said. “But the third time — when they realize it’s over — that’s when they just go for it.”

Lilly’s third run is what secured Forry the “champion hopper” title.

Forry’s mom, Michelle Forry, one of the rabbit superintendents at the Westmoreland Fair, was the announcer for the Rabbit Agility Show.

The competition was started in 2014 or 2015, Michelle Forry said, and she explained that if handlers’ rabbits turn around and hop the other direction during the course, that rabbit is disqualified.

Faults that didn’t disqualify a rabbit included stepping on the mat and knocking over a jump, which some of the competitors did.

“One of the reasons that we love this competition is you don’t have to have necessarily the prized show rabbit — these can be pet rabbits,” Michelle Forry said. “One that doesn’t maybe do as well on the show table can come out here, you can teach it to hop, and you can do this competition.”