Rabbit show fun for kids at fair

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Jonathan Newgent is an old hand at showing rabbits. This is his fourth year of showing them at the Putnam County 4-H Fair.

The 13 year-old Greencastle Middle Schooler is the son of Bill and Tammy Newgent.

Jonathan along with his eight year-old sister Nicole have been raising rabbits for some time.

They call themselves JN Rabbits and wear the name proudly on the back of their white rabbit jackets.

Nicole is not quite old enough to show yet, but will enter her rabbits next year. She attends TZ.

According to dad, Bill Newgent, the meat pens are shown in groups of three and are graded for uniformity in size, color and breed.

In this type of contest the judges balance these characteristics in deciding which is the best entry. Many judges place emphasis on the uniformity of the three rabbits.

A meat pen is three rabbits, any gender, more than three pounds and less than five. They are generally no older than 70 days.

This category is popular among the rabbit showmen and women at the Fair.

Jonathan took third place in the meat pen contest Wednesday.

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