Rabbit Agility Could Soon Be A Sanctioned 4-H Event At The State Fair

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) –  We know how versatile and agile dogs and horses can be, but how about rabbits? There's a push at the State Fair to get rabbit agility approved as a sanctioned 4-H event.

And as WCCO's John Lauritsen explains, if the crowds are any indication, that shouldn't be a problem.

They're fuzzy, little creatures with big ears and big ups. But did you know they're athletes too?

"The first one is a single jump. All you have to do is jump in. Next is the 'A' frame, they climb up, they climb down," Emma Ascheman explained.

Ascheman designed this particular obstacle course for her Black Havana rabbit Turmoil.

"At home he can do it in 17 seconds and you want to do it in 60 seconds," Ascheman said. "I'd say he's pretty good. Sometimes he gets a little naughty and he wants to run around."

And therein lies the challenge of this. Even the Lebron James of rabbit agility gets a little sidetracked, sometimes taking a quick timeout halfway through.

"They get a little bit confused at times," Ascheman said. "Small breeds like Havana, Polish, Dutch, they work really well. Large breeds get lazy."

But it doesn't seem to matter if they ace the course or stop in the middle of it, mad skills or not, the bunnies draw a crowd.

"A lot of people are laughing and smiling. Asking questions, which is great. It's awesome. It's really fun."

They actually have a variety of courses. Some counties already have this at their county fairs, including Kandiyohi.

They are hoping to have this sanctioned at the State Fair in the next couple of years.