LET'S GO TO THE HOP

Linda Hoover of Oregon gave new meaning to the 50's dance tune, "Let's Go to the Hop", when she introduced the newest thing to American animal sport last year. Growing by leaps and bounds, literally, rabbit hopping began in Sweden around 1980, spread to Denmark in 1993 and came to America in 2001. Bunnies all over the world are now jumping for joy as more and more owners thrill to this new sport. Linda, president of the Rabbit Hopping Organization of America, hops two bunnies at present. Her favorite is a purebred mini rex named Roger, although all breeds and mixes participate. Far from boring, each rabbit has its own unique personality and jumping style, providing a fascinating show. Roger adds his flair to the high jump by giving an extra kick into the air as he flies over the lower heights. Embellishing his performance further on the higher hurdles, this flying ball of fluff pops into the air and does a complete 180 in mid-air before landing safely on the other side. Clearly enjoying himself, little Roger flies at anything in front of him, laughing all the while in his sweet bunny way. Linda reports that he is a mild mannered bunny and loves children and attention. He lets everyone know when he is excited by thumping the ground. On the other hand, Mike, a little Dutch rabbit, doesn't care for attention and takes a business-like approach to hopping. He stops at each jump, perks up his ears, sizes up the situation, and then hops over with ease. Both bunnies like to doze in her lap after they're happily tuckered out from hopping. Intrigued with the sport for several years, Linda researched via the Internet and translated into English the approximately 150 rules and guidelines. Mrs. Aase Bjerner, a rabbit hopping judge from Denmark, traveled to Oregon in July to help Linda finalize the translations for publication. She showed and explained four hours of actual hopping footage as it is done in Denmark. Now Linda teaches rabbit hopping and gives demonstrations with Roger to rabbit groups and 4-H groups throughout Oregon. Children and adults alike are finding rabbit hopping to be an exciting new sport. Comparable to dog agility, various courses include the straight, the crooked, the high jump and the long jump, which are divided into different classes. In the straight course, classes are divided into easy, medium, difficult, and elite. The easy class has 8 to 12 jumps, increasing to 9.8 inches, with a distance of about 2 yards between.

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