Among the reasons for this is that the rabbits might pose differently at different times of the day; the judges might be more tired later in the day, and so on. It is not uncommon for the same judge to render very different opinions of the same animals on different days.
I went to my first rabbit show of 2014 on Saturday, in Abilene, Kansas. If I had closed my eyes while the first judge gave comments about the two does I took to the show, I would not have recognized them. The way that judge described my rabbits, it sounded as though they had lousy wool and lousy bodies. 😉
The judge of the second show praised the junior doe’s “round, full rear,” and said of the senior doe, “She is beautiful.” I think this is a very good example of how opinions can vary, and I will happily show under either judge again.
A friend of mine who has been breeding show rabbits for at least 30 years said experiences such as mine on Saturday, are the reason she encourages people to learn their breed’s ARBA Standard, and to breed what they like. She said, “Do not ever cull according to judges’ opinions.”
The junior doe I took to the show is a three month old Lutece daughter. Something that amuses me about her is that her body is very round. She is short and deep, with a lot of spring of rib, so she looks and feels like a white, woolly little ball.