A rabbit should not be called a “Grand Champion” unless all of the necessary requirements have been filled. To call a rabbit a Grand Champion when the steps have not been completed is to cheapen the award. Here are the requirements:

• The owner must be a member of the American Rabbit Breeders Association.
• The rabbit must be ARBA registered. An ARBA licensed registrar examines the rabbit to look for disqualifying faults such as mismatched claws. A registrar can do a more thorough examination of a rabbit than a judge can, because judges must work quickly. A registrar can take the time to be thorough. For example, judges may overlook an unpigmented claw on a light colored English Angora, due to the wool on its paws.
• The rabbit must receive a minimum of three “leg” papers from wins received from at least 3 different judges. At least one of those “legs” must have been earned after the rabbit is senior age.
• After the rabbit has been registered, and after it has received three leg papers, then the owner can send the leg papers with the required fee, to ARBA. ARBA processes the paperwork and sends the owner a beautiful certificate of Grand Championship for the rabbit.

No rabbit is a “Grand Champion” unless each of those steps has been completed.

Now — having said that, I must caution that possession of a Grand Championship does not necessarily mean that the rabbit is a top quality animal. If the rabbit did not face quality competition, then its championship is little more than a token of attendance.