My First Show .....

Venue = Hook community center, Hook road, Chessington, Surrey     Date = 14th July 2001   Club = NFRS. 

Ok On this page I'm going to try and tell you about my first showing experience in a way which will help you if you have never been to a show before. I will split it into sections so that it is more relevant.

Note = Your usually have to be a member of a society to attend there shows, unless it an open show and you can find out show date on the society web sites.

The preparation ...

I took my two Huskies to the show so really I gave myself quite a lot of hard work as they have quite a lot of white on them and so need bathing. I did this the week before the show so that it gave their coats time to settle. I used a tooth brush to clean there tails and soft sponge to clean there ears. I used a dog shampoo that is especially for white breeds. I also trimmed their nails I did this the week before as it gave them time to wear of the sharpness that sometimes comes with cutting.

I made sure there cage was cleaned out before they went back in after their bath and I didn't put any newspaper at the bottom incase it stained them. I also did an extra clean out half way through the week so that they did get stained by any dirty bedding. I don't know whether any off this helped but it certainly reassured me. 

The night before the show I cleaned there tails again as they picked up quite a few stains that week and I filled there nails and on the way to the show I took some tissues and cotton buds just incase they needed last minuet fixing up.

Entering into the show ...

To do this you have to phone the show secretary, this usually has to be done before the Wednesday/Thursday before the show. When you phone you have to tell him/her the sex of your rats and the variety and what class you want to enter them into. At this point you can also rent show tanks, if they are available. In my case I had two does, who where Striped Roans and I had to rent 2 show tanks, This is because they are off the same variety and it would be unfair to expect a judge to tell them apart especially as mine look quite similar. So if one got placed and they where in the same tank the judge may not be able to say which one was placed.

I also got some good advice from the secretary about trimming their nails, so if you where like me and worried what to do you can always ask them.

Traveling ...

I took my two rats in a small cage I have for cleaning out. I put saw dust in there and a box for them to hide in case they got stressed. I had there water bottle on the cage and I put a couple of dog biscuits in there to avoid having a bowl of food to tip over. I mainly put the saw dust in there to cover the newspaper because the last thing I wanted now was for them to get stains on them, but I now know that it was a silly idea because I had to clean the car after!!!!  Next time I plan to uses some plain paper at the bottom of the cage with no sawdust.

It took us an hour and a half to get there and for the first part of the journey they where very excited! and wouldn't keep still but they did eventually settle down.

The show...

When you arrive at the show you go to the show secretary to check in and get your show tanks if necessary. They also give you a receipt which I paid at the end because she was quite busy at the beginning. My receipt was just under £4, which I think was great for a nice day out.

She gave me the show tank and I put one of my girls in each I then gave them each some apple which they started eating straight away, so I needed more then I realized (about a quarter of an apple). I then had to put a label on each tank saying a number, their class and their variety- this is because there can be many varieties in the unstandardised class.

I then took them and found a place for them on the show benches which where set up in a kind of U shape around the three judging tables. 

Before the judging started I could see a lot of preparation going on and felt quite worried that I wasn't doing anything so got mine out for a cuddle. I found that you can learn a lot form watching the other people who have been many times, I will now buy some spray on coat shine and a soft cloth for rubbing down my girls before they are judged at my next show and I will get two small water bottles as I only had one and had to keep changing it form one tank to the other. Although you are not allow to leave it on once the judging starts. 

Everyone seemed really friendly at the show although I never thought anyone would come and talk to me because none of them had ever met me before, but I was wrong ! While I was cuddling Luna a lady came up to me and commented on her being a cutely. I then showed her Spring and she introduced me to her rat who was a Husky too and I also said hello to a lovely platinum buck on her shoulder who belonged to her friend who I was introduced  too and she also has a Husky but this one was a buck. I also got to carry around the platinum, which pleased me quite a lot as he was SO cuddly !  I can't remember the names of these two ladies but I'll recognize them again if I met them.

When the judging started at 11 I went down the shops near by to get something to eat. When I came back they where in the processes of moving the tanks around in to class and number order. I could see mine where already on the judging table and Spring was being held by one of the two women judges. I watched closely as they judged my two, I then took the chance to have a walk around and look at all the different varieties. I particularly liked and American blue Dumbo doe! 

After the Unstardised class was judged the placed rats where put on top of the show benches, with colored stickers on there tank labels to represent 1st, 2nd and 3rd and the other where put underneath. Unfortunately mine didn't win anything.

The show was due to finish at 5 but I was allowed to go early as mine had already been judged. I paid the money I owed and received a sheet for each rat with their comments on colour and type, which I found very interesting. I also returned the show tanks.

Before leaving I purchased some treats for my rats and then left, I had really quite enjoyed myself although I was a little bit disappointed. The part I enjoyed most was seeing all the different varieties in the flesh rather then on my computer screen.

I hope that wasn't too long winded and was helpful to you. So go on take your ratty to a show !!!! Imagine how pleased you will be if they win something!!!!

Em.

 

                                                                                                              Last updated 25th July 2001.

All photo's and some art work are produced by me, unless stated otherwise. When taking any of my own work for your  web site then please acknowledge me by either including me as a link or adding my banner (which is on the links page) :o)  

Disclaimer = I do not claim to be an authority on rodents or rats and any information on this page is just opinions and advice and is by no means a substitute for good books or veterinary advice.  All the toys on the toys page are just ideas and may not have been tried out so it is up to you to implement them and judge there safety.