Rabbit Hopping NZ
About Rabbit Hopping
What is it?
Rabbit Hopping is a growing sport that has become increasingly popular all over Europe, and is spreading all across the world. The goal is to jump cleanly over a set course within an allotted time. Rabbit Hopping is perfect for if you want to spend more time with your rabbit and do something fun together! There are four different types of rabbit Hopping; Straight Course, Crooked Course, High Jump and Long Jump. A Crooked Course is a lot like a show jumping course for horses with turns and loops while on a Straight Course the jumps are placed on a straight line, about 2m and 50cm apart.
Faults...
The goal is, as said before, to jump cleanly through the course. For every jump knocked down you will receive one fault. There is always one person counting the faults and one person taking the time of the race from start to finish. If the rabbit doesn’t jump straight over the jump, you receive one fault. The same happens if you lift the rabbit over a jump that isn’t already knocked down. If the rabbit jumps the course in the wrong order or exceeds the time limit it will be excluded and will not receive a placing. It is important that the rabbit jumps out of free will and isn’t forced. The rabbit has to be in front of the owner/handler.
How it is judged:
The winning rabbit is the one with fewest number of faults. If two or more rabbits have tied for the same placing the one with the shortest time will be the winner. When winning or earning a placing (the number of placings depend on the number of participants) the rabbit will gain one promotion point with which the rabbit climb in the levels. In Sweden they call it a “promotion stick”. If the rabbit doesn’t receive any faults at all it will automatically receive a promotion stick.
In the Straight and Crooked Course there are four official levels; Easy, Medium, Difficult and Elite. Older rabbits can compete in the Veteran level and beginners can choose to compete in the inofficial Mini level. Also, only in New Zealand there is a 25cm and below class for rabbits under 1kg and rabbits over 5kg, who may not compete otherwise. The levels differ in height and length of the jumps but also in number and technical difficulties of jumps. The height and length of the different levels are:
Level - Maximum height - Maximum length - Number of jumps
Mini - 20 cm - 30cm - 6
Under 1kg & Over 5kg - 25cm - 20cm - 6
Easy - 30 cm - 45 cm - 8
Medium - 38 cm - 65 cm - 10
Difficult - 45 cm - 80 cm - 10
Elite - 50 cm - 80 cm - 12
Veteran - 30 cm - 45 cm - 8
High Jump and Long Jump have different rules. Here the winner is the rabbit who jumps the highest or the longest. There is only one jump in High- and Long Jump but it is higher or longer than in Straight- and Crooked Course. The rabbit can have three tries at one height/length. If two rabbits have tied for the same placing the one with the fewest amount of tries wins the competition. There are only two levels in High- and Long Jump; Non-elite and Elite. To gain a promotion stick the rabbit has to jump either 60 cm high or 160 cm long.
In the Elite level the rabbits compete about certificates, when the rabbit has gained three certificates in a specific course it will be a Champion.
One important rule in all courses is that the jumps must be constructed so that they can be knocked down in any direction without hurting the rabbit. You are not allowed to hit or kick the rabbit or to lift the rabbit using only the leash! The rabbit must be held on an approved harness with a leash, collars are not allowed as they can hurt the rabbit’s neck. And remember, only the rabbit is to jump, the handler/owner must walk beside the jumps and not over them.
To be allowed to participate in a competition the handler/owner must have turned 7 years old(Unless an exception has been made) and the rabbit must be at least 4 months old. In High- and Long Jump the rabbit must be at least 12 months old. All breeds and crossbreeds are allowed to participate, the only important thing is that the rabbit is healthy!