Pete, Lori and Chloe

Betty has a pleasant surprise this morning. Pete and Lori along with their new little girl Chloe came to visit. They are in the San Jose area on business and visiting relatives, decide to stop by to visit.

As our long time members probably remember, Lori was the treasurer of our guild for several terms. Pete and Lori were very successful in breeding and showing English Angora in the 1990s. Their rabbits won the Best of Breed in the ARBA conventions three times in 1996, 1997 and 1998, twice went on to win the Group in 1996 and 1997. They stopped breeding and showing after the 1998 convention to concentrate in developing their architecture design business. And they have been very successful in doing so.

In 2003, they decided to adopt a child. After almost two years of applying and working through hurdles, they traveled to China and adopted Chloe in April 2005. Their journey is detailed in http://www.chloechavez.blogspot.com/ Chloe is now the center of their world.

In the top two photos, Pete, Lori, Chloe and Betty enjoy company. In the third photo, Pete is horsing around with Chloe at Betty's yard. Chloe is adorable and active, a very curious child.

Though Pete and Lori are no longer in rabbits, they remain to be members of NCAG and friends to Betty. Betty feels very fortunate to have them as good friends and that they would come by to visit when they are in the area.

Reanelle From Texas

We met a new judge in Red Bluff. She is Reanelle from Texas, a very nice young lady. Reanelle indicated that there were not very many Angora in Texas, she very seldom saw them on the table. Well, she certainly could've fooled us, she did a great job in judging English Angora. Her ranking and picking were the same as our judges who are familiar with English Angora, and her comments were to the point. We are very impressed. We hope to see her more often in our shows in California.

In the top two photos, Reanelle is shown with English Angora Chu's Mercedes that she picked as the Best Of Breed. In the third photo, Reanelle evaluates a black English Angora and Kim records her comments. Reanelle and Manuel together picked Mercedes as the Best In Show in show B on Saturday.

Manuel, A Top Judge

Manuel is one of our most prestigious judges. He gives a regal presence when he is around. It is not a surprise as he is a long time breeder of New Zealand at the top of his game. His New Zealand are well known for winning the BOB and BOS and Group in the national conventions. For two years in 2001 and 2002, his New Zealand won the Group. The Group is one of the four finalists for the Best In Show in a national convention. In 2003 and 2004, the New Zealand breeders voted him to judge in the national convention. In 2005 he went back to competition and won both the BOB and BOS.

In the two photos today, Manuel is shown examining and making decision on the BOB. Two does are on the table, Manuel gives very careful visual examination and feel examination. It is important for the judges to do both, and Manuel certainly does it right. After careful consideration, Manuel gives Kim who writes the signal that the white doe is the winner of the BOB. As the readers also learned two days ago that the white doe Chu's Mercedes went on to win 2 Best In Show and 1 Reserve In Show. Manuel was one of the judges who picked Mercedes as the Best In Show.

Manuel is a professor at Sonoma State University in his "real" life, married to his best friend of over 30 years, Linda.

The First Major Win for Cathy and Kim

Cathy and Kim, mother and daughter, have been showing English Angora for a short time. They had three bunnies born about 10 months ago and they started showing them about 6 months ago. They have moderate success, make a lot of friends and have loads of fun.

In Red Bluff, their buck Ting scored a major win of Best Opposite Sex of the Breed in one of the four shows. Kim is the grooming master of Ting, she is in the photo with Manuel, our wonderful judge. Ting is a very nice buck with nice body type and wool. He is also very "manly" in the breeding department. He has had two beautiful doe-friends and is expecting to be a father in the very near future. We are looking forward to seeing the little ones on the table in 2006.

On the top, Ting is all dressed up ready for Christmas.

More Best In Show Winnings for Mercedes

Red Bluff shows were the last show weekend of 2005 in Northern California. Instead of one day double shows, there were four shows during the weekend. Two shows on Saturday sponsored by the Tehama-Butte club and two shows on Sunday sponsored by the California Rabbit and Cavy Shows club. We got the rabbit show fix taken care of before settling for the holiday season.

Chu's Mercedes is a hit in the shows. Out of the four shows, she won two Best In Shows and one Reserve In Show. On Saturday in show A, she won Reserve In Show and in show B, she won the Best In Show. On Sunday she won the Best In Show in show B.

During the 5-month period from the end of July to the end of December 2005, Mercedes won 9 all breed Best In Shows and 2 all breed Reserve In Show. She is yet to be one year old. What a record!

Betty is happy with the performance of her rabbits. Chu's Ashka started 2005 with 3 all breed Best In Show on January 8 and Chu's Mercedes ended 2005 with 2 all breed Best In Show and 1 all breed Reserve In Show on December 10-11. Many Best In Show and Reserve In Show in between. What a year.