This is the last year that Tyler Arheit can compete in the Allen County junior fair competitions. He is a big proponent of the 4-H program, which he promotes as this year’s fair king and a future 4-H advisor for young students.
“It is very sad this is my last year,” says Tyler Arheit, Allen County Fair King. “It has been a great experience with all of the members of 4-H. Actually, that is why I want to become an advisor of my 4-H club to stay involved as much as I can with it. I am actually planning on moving to a bigger level and going to state shows and bigger shows like that. It definitely has been a fun experience and I wish I could do it longer at the fair.”
Rabbits are just one of the 4-H projects Arheit brought to the fair and even though they may be one of the smallest animal projects you can take, there is a whole lot of you need to know before you start to show.
“Many people don’t understand how much is in rabbits. Many people think it is just a small little project that you can easily get into. It is defiantly a project you have to think about and looking at what kind of rabbits you want to go into and looking at what you want to do with rabbits in general,” adds Arheit.
While some competitions are focused on the ways that students show their projects, others focus on the rabbit themselves and if they have the right characteristics for that specific breed.
“They are looking at the overall ARBA (American Rabbit Breeders Association) standard, which is the national standard for rabbits and each breed has their own different standard,” states Arheit. “Certain rabbits are supposed to have a certain type of fur, certain look to them. Certain ones are supposed to be compact or a small kind of breed, while some are supposed to be upright and arch. There is a lot of difference for every rabbit out there. There are little different things or a lot of different things for each rabbit."
Arheit has some advice for young kids looking at getting into 4-H.
“Get started as soon as you can, because this is a limited time that you can do 4H and rabbits in general and it’s the best experience that I have ever had,” exclaims Arheit. “I actually put off going to college this year due to the fact I want to be here showing my animals.”
