Amanda & Willow!
Amanda & Willow!
I originally just got Willow as a pet from a store and at that time, I had no idea what sort of experiences I would have with him. He was an adorable little bun and made an excellent pet for a year before we discovered hopping. He was always energetic and loved running through the house, thumping and popcorning through the halls. You had to be careful not to ignore him, especially if you were on the couch because he would jump up next to you and find some way to get your attention. For a while he had a habit of getting in bed with me and night and laying on my pillow with me. He's definitely a one-of-a-kind bunny.
Willow and I started rabbit hopping in 2006 as part of our 4-H project. We wanted to do something other than the typical 4-H rabbit project, which is usually market (meat) rabbits or fur and wool rabbits. I would never be able to eat Willow and he was not the proper kind of rabbit for wool so that is where the alternative searching began, which for a while was just a pet rabbit project, learning about rabbit health and anatomy. When my friend Krysta joined the project as well with her rabbit Jeremiah, that spurred the enthusiasm even more to new heights in rabbit agility and we began building equipment and training our bunnies. Willow caught on to the jumping pretty quickly and grew to enjoy the sport.
He was a natural little performer and enjoys the attention immensely.
It offered him a chance that not too many rabbits got since he was able to travel around with me and perform in public. He has an amazingly mellow disposition and is gentle with people so he makes an ideal rabbit to bring out and meet people. When he's not too busy socialising, he can still hold his own with the newer hoppers in the club and comes to all the performances with us, showing all the new hoppers what even the older bunnies are capable of.