Fall 2023

Youth Best of Breed - Cody Landis

www.njwclub.org

NationalJerseyWoolyRabbitClub

Meet the NJWRC Board

President Cheryl Loesch momdeplume@comcast.net

Vice President Douglas Brown doug.brown1982.db@gmail.com

Secretary Alex Williams zcharmed@msn.com

Treasurer Brenda Reilly NJRWCLUB@gmail.com

District One Bethany Roberston bethanyrobertsongm@gmail.com

District Two Lori Robascotti dogznkids@hotmail.com

District Three Izzy Bukovich izzybuk18@gmail.com

District Four Michael Wolfe 2002michaelwolfe@gmail.com

District Five Brenda Kneir mobunniesrabbitry@yahoo.com

District Six Kirsten Taylor flyinghooffarms@yahoo.com

District Seven Mae Swan maeswan@gmail.com

District Eight Julie Aversa jtaversa@gmail.com

District Nine Michelle Landis roughnecksm@verizon.net

President Cheryl Loesch

It is with some sadness, and with great gratitude, that we say goodbye to our editor, Jordan Hobbs, who is stepping down due to health issues. Jordan has edited the FLUFF for a bit over two years. She came into the job raring to go, and just continued to turn out nice FLUFF editions for us. I think we all agree she’s done a wonderful job. I’m most grateful to Jordan for all that she’s done for the club.

And on another note, I’m pleased to introduce our new editor, Pam Schmidt. Pam has been a long-time editor for the AMLRC. We will continue to be in capable hands! Please join me in welcoming Pam to our Wooly world. hank you, Pam for stepping right into the fray and taking on an issue immediately! We have been so fortunate to find people who love to work on publications and who are excellent at what they do.

Other than that, it’s been Convention, Convention, Convention! The planning continues, and we are now at a stage where you can see some of the work coming to fruition. We’ve already finished out the Award Sponsorships, and you’ve all come through on that in less than 24 hours! Many thanks to Izzy Bukovich for taking on the challenge, and completing it in record time! We’ve secured many donations toward booth hospitality, thanks to Julie Aversa for her cheery and tireless efforts toward that. Julie is also in charge of booth décor, and she’s been working on making many nice items for that, and for our banquet.

Speaking of the banquet, Alex has been busy planning a banquet that will have ample social opportunity in a very charming historic setting. The banquet will be held on Tuesday evening, October 10, starting at 5 pm. Please RSVP to Alex by September 10, and pay via Paypal atnjwrclubtreasuerer@gmail.com . The venue for our banquet gives us ample space to give out Convention show awards, have corn hole games set up in the garden, and have a silent auction. The silent action is in lieu of a raffle, and in keeping with our theme of celebrating 35 years of the club, it harkens back to early days when it was the norm to auction off baskets at Convention. Please consider donating- you can go together with other people to make a basket, make one yourself, or even donate a single nice item. And be sure to join the fun of bidding, too.

The Golden Fleece Auction (GFA) is also well along in planning. Many of our top breeders are donating very nice animals for you to bid on. The GFA is a great place to bring in some new genetics to your herd. Michelle Landis, our very capable solicitor, will have a catalog out before convention so you can see the lovely animals that will be on our auction. There will also be a Trio Raffle, as usual. We will have more information in the coming weeks, so watch our Facebook group, NJWRC Members, for that. And of course, there are myriad opportunities to volunteer at Convention. The club has so much going on, and we need your help to be successful. e will need people to staff our booth. Sign up with a friend, or go by yourself and meet a new one! It’s always a great place to talk Woolies with old friends and new afficionados, and, a big bonus at Convention, you get a place to sit down for a while. We will also need everyone to help out at the show tables by running rabbits from their coops up to the table to be judged. The more hands, the better! Join us at 7:30 a.m. on show day at the our assigned table for information and instructions on running rabbits.

Whatever you volunteer at, you can be sure that your help is very much appreciated!

One last thing that I want to touch on in this report is a way to memorialize those of our friends who have passed. This year, we have had quite a few breeders pass away who were well known in earlier years of the club. I’d like to start a short memorial column to remember those folks in Winter issue each year. We can’t all know each individual, but we all know people in our own area. IF you know of a breeder who has passed, please let me know so that we can mention them in the memorial.

I thank you all for reading this all the way through, and I am so looking forward to seeing you at Convention!

Alex Williams

Hello, fellow Wooly lovers! I hope this issue finds you well.

Are you as excited as I am that the 100th ARBA Convention is right around the corner? There is so much to do and plan that it often seems overwhelming!

If this is your first time at the Convention, things just seem to be so confusing. Breathe! It’s just another rabbit show and once you get into the swing of things, I promise it’s as easy as 1, 2, 3! Just be sure to pack extra goodies to snack on and a comfortable pair of walking shoes, because, I promise you, you’ll get those steps in! Be sure to stop by our breed booth to say hello and check out the Golden Fleece Auction. , If you have time, we are always looking for volunteers at the booth and help getting rabbits to and from the table on show day.

I look forward to seeing you all there!

Vice President

Doug Brown

doug.brown1982db@gmail.com

Hello members of the NJWRC! I hope this article finds you all well. ARBA convention is fast approaching as I sit here and write this article. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend due to some health issues in my family this past year. But I am sure that a good time had by all. With the extremely odd weather that we have, I had nothing would have been in coat for us to show anyway, but I will still miss my rabbit friends.

There is nothing like the close camaraderie that you find in this breed. I have had many different breeds over the years. Our wooly folks definitely stand out from the crowd in that regard, and it is something that we all need to take pride in.

I had the opportunity to talk with a youth in my area last night who is contemplating her first trip to Convention to show woolies. It warms my heart knowing that our future is still going strong. Thats all for me for today my abilities to type are kinda limited at this time.

Thanks for listening.

Doug

Bethany Robertson

bethanyrobertsongm@gmail.com

Representing: Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Washington, Wyoming, Saskatchewan, Alberta, BC, Yukon Territory, and Japan

Hello District 1 members! I hope everyone has had a safe, successful summer breeding and showing season.

As we all know, with summer comes more shows, such as county and state fairs, as well as heat waves and the stress of keeping our animals cool. Thankfully, we have many resources available to us to help us along with these events. These resources can be found online through web searches or Facebook groups, in our guide books, or simply by reaching out to other breeders within the hobby.

For some of our newer members, finding resources you can trust is not always an easy task. I believe it is an important aspect to remember, in order to keep our hobby alive and thriving, that everyone was a beginner at some point! I would like to encourage you to think of being a mentor to a youth or new breeder and, of course, invite them to join our breed club!

I have been in this hobby for most of my life and I still want to learn more. Even if you are not able to be a mentor, let me know if you have any tips or tricks that you would like to share.

As we move in to fall and gear up for National Convention, I would like to wish all NJWRC members good luck and safe travels!

Please send photos of your wins to be featured in the next Fluff to bethanyrobertsongm@gmail.com

Newsletter

Pam Schmidt

Website Standards Committee

Brittany Moorse

dpschmidt8@gmail.com blmoorse@gmail.com

Constitution and By Laws

Doug Brown - Chair

Awards

Alex Williams

Sweepstakes Scoring

Julie Aversa

Steven Buell

Tracey Freeman

Amber Henderson

Bethany Robertson njwrcsweeps@gmail.com

Nicole Schmitt

Historian

Bethany Robertson

Youth Coordinator bethanyrobertsongm@gmail.com

Lindsay Aversa

Cheryl Loesch - Chair

Lori Robasciotti

Representing: Arizona, California, Hawai’i, Nevada, Utah, and Mexico

Greetings from District 2! It has been a very quiet Summer here. I know of only one show where there were Woolies exhibited.

On June 3rd, The Central Coast Rabbit and Cavy Club held a triple rabbit show in Santa Maria, California. Mic n one day for this show. That was at least 11 to 12 hours drive time for her true dedication! I also had rabbits entered and, just for fun, decided to show my dog at a venue 2 hours away as well. I dropped off rabbits the night before and did a quick fluff early the next morning before I left for the dog show. My enabler, Michaeline, put up my bunnies for me in show A. I showed my dog and drove back just in time to put the Woolies up for show B. No, I’m not crazy (wink, wink). I was lucky enough to win BOB and BOSB in show A with a Shaded Sr Doe and an Agouti Sr Buck. Show B and C, Michaeline took home BOB with a darling Broken Jr Doe and very handsome Agouti Jr Buck. I was awarded BOSB with an AOV Sr Buck and AOV Jr Doe. Long but fun day for both of us and I couldn t have done it without my fellow Wooly Cult member.

Now, let’s talk about quickly approaching Convention. There will be four of us driving out together from California to Kentucky. We are very fortunate to have the use of a very comfortable tow vehicle and a cargo trailer with a roof fan plus temperature monitoring in the trailer. We will be watching the temperature to determine the route we will take. Also, we plan to go through the high heat areas during the coolest times of the day.

Of course, we’ll take plenty of water and everything else that is necessary for the rabbits. Taking cheap Dollar Store plastic table cloths are great to use when cleaning carriers. Place the table cloth on the ground and put your carrier on it. This prevents your carrier from picking up any nasty stuff like RHD. When you’re done, just throw it away by folding /wadding it up with the ground side to the inside so you don’t touch any possible contaminates.

This trip will take us three days, driving approximately 800+ miles each day. With 4 drivers, this will be a breeze and fun too! I hope I will see you all in October. I’m looking forward to some great visits with some great people. Safe travels and see you soon.

Lori

Representing: Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin

I hope everyone has had a wonderful summer this year! With fall and Convention steadily approaching, I know I am personally starting to get ready to do my last deep clean of the year before it gets cold out. I'd like to share one of the easiest things I do to help keep things clean and keep rabbits healthy- cleaning crocks!

In the warmer months, I advise cleaning crocks out, at the very least, every month, more frequently if they're really gross! To clean them, I fill a bucket full of water, add a small splash of bleach, and then let the crocks soak for a few minutes before I start scrubbing. The bleach works wonders! It not only disinfects and prevents microbial growth for a little bit, but if allowed to soak, it makes scrubbing a breeze! Once they're clean, I rinse them and let them dry before putting them back in the cages. I hope this advice helps!

As a reminder, any D3 wins can be emailed to me at izzybuk18@gmail.com so they can be included in our next Fluff edition!

-Izzy Bukovich

September 11, 2023

September 25, 2023

October 7 - 11, 2023

October 15, 2023

November 15, 2023

February 15, 2024

February 17, 2024

March 1, 2024

April 1, 2024

ARBA convention entry deadline

ARBA convention changes deadline

ARBA Convention, Louisvlle KY - 100th Anniversary of ARBA, 35th Anniversary of the Jersey Wooly breed

Get photos of your BOG/BOSG, and other significant Convention rabbit wins for the FLUFF!

Fluff submissions deadline for Winter Issue

Fluff submissions deadline for Spring Issue

National JW Show

West Monroe LA

Deadline for 2026 Nationals bids

Scholarship applications due

I hope everyone reading this “Fluff of Fancy” is beating the heat. Here, in district four, we have had some record breaking heat, and, unfortunately, that has put a damper on things some.

I would like to point some things out for our members who do not have climate-controlled barns. The coats on our jersey woolies act as insulation for the animals and help them maintain a consistent body temperature. I would strongly recommend against shearing, or clipping coats down on animals this time of year unless they are felted. Another tidbit of information that may help you out is to make sure there is constant air movement for your animals. Air movement is very important in this heat as it helps circulate the cool air in and the warm air out (Please do not forget heat rises.).

We have had a wonderful turnout at the few shows we’ve had this summer, with lots of participation from our youth membership. I have also really enjoyed seeing everyone work on a variety of colors down here. We have both open and youth exhibitors working on various colors, but the one that has seemed to take everyone's interest is the oranges. I am excited to so see what ends up on the show tables here in Winter of 2024. I am super proud of the Snider family in achieving a“Best in Show” at the Wichita Falls show we had in June with a homegrown animal.

This upcoming show season is going to be starting strong with us kicking it off with ARBA Convention, and it is the 100th anniversary. I would like to encourage all exhibitors to attend this event if possible and meet some of the other wooly folk from across the country. Please do not forget to remain courteous to all the other exhibitors when you are at a show. These rabbit shows arejust that, rabbit shows, and they are here for all of us to enjoy and take part in. If anyone has any questions, or issues with anything please feel free to reach out to me.

CONTENT&AD SUBMISSIONDEADLINE

Winter: November 5-12

Spring: February 5-12

Summer: May 8-15

Fall: August 8-15

Hurry! Ad rates might go up, so contact the Newsletter Editor or your District Director to place your ad now!

Brenda Kneir

mobunniesrabbitry@yahoo.com

Representing: Illinois, Kansas, and Missouri

Hello District 5!

It’s been a long, hot summer for most of us! We have not made it out to any shows since Nationals. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at Convention! If this is your first convention, don’t be afraid to reach out to your fellow breeders for advice on what you need to bring. It can be overwhelming! Put a smile on and have a good time! I know several from District 5 are planning to be there. So, that being said, see you all in Louisville!

Brenda

BOSGOpenShaded-Nationals

GayleBeriau-RH’sHappyDance

BestinShow! SharonMoore

IroquoisRBA,MelvinIL

EleanorLefevre -YouthBOB

PleasantHill MO

Ournewestyouthmember, JordanTucker, BOB&BOSOzark

EmpireFair, SpringfieldMO

Mae Swan

Representing: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont

Hi all!

I usually only breed from late winter to early summer but extended my season a bit this year. My litters were smaller than what is typical, usually only 2 or 3 per litter, versus the 5 to 6 my girls usually have, but the pairings are very compatible, so I'm hopeful about these offspring.

I've been putting extra focus on hindquarters. Most of my herd was solid in this regard a few years ago. I compromised a bit when struggling to shorten midsections. I've noticed definite improvements in the kits from this year's spring litters, in both length and in the HQs that I previously let slip; this is exciting. Hindquarter is one of those features that is so easy to lose and hard to regain. I would not recommend letting attention to hindquarters lessen in favor of other attributes unless you're willing to sacrifice several future seasons regaining lost ground.

This will be my last D7 report. I've been honored to have this position. Wooly people are an amazing bunch, and I appreciated meeting and talking to everyone over the past few years. Best wishes to the future D7 director and all D7 members. May your nest boxes be full of Grand Champions! Sweepstakes:

NJWRC Events and Happenings at the 100th ARBA Convention

NJWRC Club Events at Convention

*Subject to change. Keep checking the NJWRC Members group on Facebook, and the NJWRC Booth at Convention for up-to-date Info.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2023

6:00 PM - SHOWROOM OPEN to accept animals until Midnight. NO ANIMALS ACCEPTED BEFORE

6:00 PM

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2023

7:00 AM - SHOWROOM OPEN to accept animals until Midnight

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2023

6:00 AM - SHOWROOM OPEN to accept animals until 3 PM.

11:30 AM Board meeting (executive session)

3:00 PM - Entries close Check-in closes. All packets must be picked up and all substitutions made.

9:00 PM - Animals must be cooped. SHOWROOM CLOSES.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2023

6:00 AM - Showrooms open

7:30 AM exhibitors gather at show tables for instructions. Clerks and Ramrods, please be in position.

8:00 AM Judging Begins – Open (West Wing)

9:00 AM - Judging Begins - Youth (West Wing)

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM - Booth Contest Judging

10:00 PM - Showrooms close

MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2023

6:00 AM - Showrooms open

7:00 AM - Judging begins (West Wing)

8:00 AM NJWRC Membership meeting in room W1

12:30 PM - Cavy BEST IN SHOW JUDGING Youth & Open

11:00 GFA animals lined up for DQ inspection. DQ inspection closed to public

11:30 GFA inspection opens

12:00- GFA starts

2:00 PM - Rabbit BEST IN SHOW JUDGING - Youth & Open

6:00 PM - Showrooms close

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2023

7:00 AM - Showrooms open

5:00-9:00 PM - NJWRC BANQUET at the Country Cottage

6:00 PM - Showrooms close

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2023

6:00AM - Showrooms open

7:00 AM - Release of animals

2:00 PM - Showrooms close. ALL RABBITS AND CAVIES MUST BE OUT OF COOPS.

Here’s the fluff on the 2024 National Jersey Wooly Rabbit Club National Show!

WHERE: Ike Hamilton Expo

501 Mane Street

West Monroe, Louisiana

WHEN: Saturday, February 17, 2024 at 8:00 a.m.

JUDGES: Dakota Manning - Josh Humphries

Joey Martin - Stacy Martin

SHOW SECRETARY: Kirsten Taylor - flyinghooffarms@yahoo.com

TENTATIVE ENTRY FEE: $7.00 per Wooly

HOTEL: Hilton Garden Inn

400 Mane Street

West Monroe LA 71291

Phone: 318-398-0653

Price: $119 per night

Pet friendly with a charge

Right across from the Expo Center

BANQUET: Catfish Charlies (tentative)

2329 Louisville Avenue

Monroe LA

Saturday, February 17 at 6:30 p.m.

Located approximately 7.5 miles from the Expo Center

This show is in conjunction with the Fluffy Butt Rabbit Club that is hosting a Friday night all-breed show and a double all-breed show on Saturday.

National Jersey Wooly Rabbit Club Youth Best of Breed National Breed SHow

When my mom sent me the Snapchat that Panda won Youth Best of Breed, I was so surprised and proud of Panda! I was also very sad that I couldn’t be there to see him win and celebrate. I was planning to go to JW Nationals, but at the last moment my migraines decided otherwise. I wish that I could have been there to see all of my friends. I missed seeing everyone. I am really looking forward to seeing all of you at convention!!

AFB’s Panda Bear has been my dream rabbit from the moment that he was born. He lives to be snuggled, cuddled, to chew holes in my clothes, and to show off on the show table. He also is a very prolific breeder and has passed on quite a bit of himself to his offspring. It seems like he is in almost all of the rabbits in our barn. At 4 years old, he still has great type, head, ear, wool, and bone. He currently has 58 legs and is still looking great. I jokingly told him that I wasn’t going to take him to convention in Louisville this year unless his coat was perfect. Well, I guess he took that personally and is on track to hopefully have a perfect coat in Lousiville, if he doesn’t decide to molt again before then.

I wanted to say a HUGE Thank you to Jocelyn Byers for putting my rabbits up on the show table at JW Nationals since I couldn’t be there. It was really nice of you! And congratulations on winning Youth BOSB at Nationals!

I want to congratulate all of the other winners at Nationals. Everyone always has such great Jersey Woolies and it is a huge honor to have had my rabbit picked as Youth Best of Breed.

Cody Landis

Cody Landis

Julie Aversa

Representing: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Manitoba, and Ontario

Well, I hope everyone survived the heat of this summer. I know, here in Michigan, we were hot and humid and had a lot of rain. And all of the above spells out no coats for Jersey Woolies. I hope that we can find a few that will be in coat for Convention. I am looking forward to the celebration of 35 years of Jersey Woolies and the 100th year of the ARBA convention. Fall is my favorite time of year. The crisp feel to the cool air, the beautiful colors the trees change to. I hope you take the time to enjoy the change of season this year.

So, the last group that we have left to discuss is the Tan group. Our SOP says the following: All varieties are to have “Tan Pattern Markings” in the following areas, nostril, eye circles, jowls, inside of the ears, belly, insides of legs, and underside of the tail. All other areas are to be as described in each variety. The belly and insides of the legs are to have a complementary under color. Lap marks are permissible. Faults are ticking on the face and ears. Disqualification if lack of eye circles or nostril markings. Our acceptable colors are: Black otter, blue otter, chocolate otter, lilac otter, sable martin, silver martin, smoke pearl martin.

Black Otter: The main color is to be that described for the corresponding variety. Dividing line between the body color and the belly color is to be orange. Tan pattern markings are to be silver, and shall be accentuated with orange to tan coloration. The triangle is to be orange. Orange tipped guard hairs are to be interspersed on the chest, forward of the shoulders. Orange ticking is to extend well up into the body color along the sides, flanks, and rump. The belly under color shall be slate. Eyes are brown.

Blue Otter: The main color is to be that described for the blue variety. Dividing line between the body color and belly color is to be fawn. Tan pattern markings are to be silver, and shall be accentuated with fawn coloration. The triangle is to be fawn. Fawn tipped guard hairs are to be interspersed on the chest, forward of the shoulders. Fawn ticking is to extend well up into the body color along the sides, flanks, and rump. The belly under color shall be slate. Eyes are blue gray.

Chocolate otter and Lilac otter will be included in the next sop once ARBA has supplied them to us.

Sable Marten: The main color is to be that described for the Siamese Sable. Tan pattern markings are to be silver white. The triangle is to be silver. Silver tipped guard hairs are to extend well up into the body color along the sides, flanks, and rump. The belly under color shall be light sepia. Eyes are brown, ruby cast is permissible.

Silver Marten (Black, Blue, Chocolate, Lilac}: The main color is to be that described for the self variety. Tan pattern markings are to be silver white. The triangle is to be silver. Silver tipped guard hairs are to be interspersed on the chest, forward of the shoulders. Silver ticking is to extend will up into the body color along the sides, flanks and rump. The belly under color of black or blue should be slate or white. The belly under color of chocolate should be dove gray or white. The belly under color of the lilac should be light dove gray or white. Eyes are to be as described in the self-variety.

Smoke Pearl Marten: The main color is to be that described for the Smoke Pearl. Tan pattern markings are to be silver white. The triangle is to be silver. Silver tipped guard hairs are to be interspersed on the chest, forward of the shoulders. Silver ticking is to extend well up into the body color along the sides, flanks and rump. The belly under color shall be light smoke. Eyes are blue gray with a ruby cast permissible.

District 8 - Aversa continued. . .

Some of the faults I have seen over the years I have seen in Otters and Martens are: stray white hairs, no belly undercolor, white nails, blue eyes on Black Silver Martens, high rufus ticking on face giving a mealy appearance on face, and faded color on Tan Pattern Markings. Most of these faults need to be culled out if we want to eradicate these faults from our breed. White hairs, white spots, or white nails cannot be bred out. No belly under color is usually from the wide band gene and needs to be culled out if we do not want to see it everywhere. High rufus ticking is a fault and can be used to raise the rufus on your tans. Faded color on the tan pattern markings are usually shaded carriers, and will eventually need to be bred to a higher rufus tan to keep the markings correct color.

I hope to see you at convention. I would love to see some discussions on Facebook, and in person, about our SOP and breeding. I hope your nest boxes are full.

Julie Aversa

District 8 Representative

BestinShow

HigherExpectationsDollyParton

KylieEstrella

BestofBreedatLima - B&BMimosa

GailMoreandGraceAnderson

ReserveinShow

ExpectationsBlueBelle- KylieEstrella

Tioga CountyFairARBAAll-breedShow

I hope that this all finds you enjoying a beautiful fall day.

As summer winds to a close, I am enjoying looking back on all of our members’ pictures of their 4H, FFA and local fairs. Fair time is such a magical experience full of fun, friends, laughs, and lots of memories. Kids learn so much throughout the year while working on their projects. The projects not only teach them about their chosen topic, but also teach them responsibility, time management, scheduling, bookkeeping, working well with others, and often public speaking/educating the public. Plus, the kids have the opportunity to educate the public about rabbits and their proper care. So many wonderful life skills are learned throughout each year.

Here in District 9 I was excited to see that we had an awesome highlight this summer among our D9 youth. Nikolai Mock won Best in Show at his 4H Rabbit Club Show at the Montgomery County MD Ag Fair in August. He won with his Jersey Wooly Junior Buck named Raven’s Woods Rabbitry Spice Cake. Congratulations, Nikolai and Spice Cake!

NikolaiMockwinningBestinShowwith Spice Cakeat his4HshowinMontgomeryCounty,

FrostedMoon,CodyLandis'Jersey

Woolydoe,decidedthathisshoulder wasthebestvantagepointtoviewthe crowdsofpeoplestoppingbyatthe pettingtableattheMiddletown GrangeFair.

NikolaiMockwinning1stReservein ShowwithMysterioattheOpen NCRBAshow.

National Jersey Wooly Rabbit Club Youth Best Opposite Sex National Breed SHow

I had a fun weekend at Nationals this year, and I want to thank the Ohio Jersey Wooly Rabbit Club for putting on a great show. I got to see and feel a lot of great Jersey Woolies in one place. While putting my rabbits on the table, I also helped put Cody Ladis’s rabbits up as, unfortunately, he was sick. What a wonderful broken buck he has.

Our self doe, Cotton, is homegrown, out of Byers’s Frosty, a REW buck, and Charolette, a Smoke Pearl doe. Cotton has never let us down on the show table. At home, loves to self-pose, but we can never get her to be like that at shows. Case in point, last year’s Nationals in Minnesota, she lost out to Makayla Wallock’s AOV doe for best in breed. Cotton makes up for that throughout her great type and has taught me what to look for in my woolies.

Thank you again and I hope everyone’s nest boxes are full. I can’t wait to see everyone at the next show.

Jocelyn Byers

Jocelyn Byers

Nicole Schmitt

Hello NJWRC Members!

Whew! Another season in the books! It was hard-fought to get to the finish line on this one, and a huge THANK YOU is owed to our NJWRC Secretary, Alex Williams, for stepping in & taking over completion of another club’s reports – they were the last 6 I needed!

And, a warm welcome to Pam Schmidt, our new Fluff Editor. Hi Pam!

Just some fun facts & I’m going to keep this short.

I issued the 1st NJWRC sanction on October 9th, 2014 & have been doing this for 107 months! I’ve made 261 bank deposits as I write this.

Seasonal Fun Facts! In open, NJWRC members won BOB/BOS with exactly 400 unique ear numbers, and in youth, with 212! There were 701 open shows that took place with a total of 16,732 Woolies shown. In youth, 5,447 Woolies were shown in 398 shows – totaling 22,179 Woolies shown in 1,099 shows! These numbers are up from the 21/22 season. Youth transfers from open took place in 224 shows total (wowza!), with BOB/BOS wins being transferred a total of 109 times (go kids!), 47 white wool & 50 colored wool transfers. And those are all my fun facts for now!

Regarding 2023/2024 points – the season just began on 7/1, and July isn’t a big show month, so points for the 23/24 season won’t be posted for a while.

Open Overall Sweepstakes 2022-2023

Open District Sweepstakes 2022-2023

Open District Sweepstakes 2022-2023 Final

Open District Sweepstakes 2022-2023 Final Report

Open Award of Excellence 2022-2023

Open Award of Excellence 2022-2023

Open Rabbit of the Year 2022-2023 Final Report

Open Rabbit of the Year 2022-2023

Youth Overall Sweepstakes 2022-2023

Youth Overall Sweepstakes 2022-2023

Youth District Sweepstakes 2022-2023 Final

Youth District Sweepstakes 2022-2023

Youth Award of Excellence 2022-2023

Final Report

Youth Rabbit of the Year 2022-2023

Youth Rabbit of the Year 2022-2023

Youth Herdsman 2022-2023 Final Report

Youth White Wool 2022-2023 Final Report

Youth Colored Wool 2022-2023

The Budget report submitted by our Treasurer, Brenda Reilly, is a projected budget for the coming year using estimates based on prior years’ income and spending. We use the Budget as a planning tool. The numbers for the checking and savings accounts are the club’s current holdings.

Hello to all of the National Jersey Wooly Rabbit Club Members!

I have recently accepted the club’s offer to step into the role of Editor for The Fluff. I have some big shoes to fill as Jordan steps down. All the best to you Jordan, and thank you for your assistance in getting me up and running with all things Fluff!

Here is a bit about me, just in case you are curious! I am currently the Editor of the American Mini Lop Rabbit Club Gazette. I have done so, on and off, since the club was chartered in 2011. I am certain my name was dropped to the NJWRC President via the club’s beloved Sweeps person, Nicole Schmitt. I have known Nik (and Ellis, too) for more than 20 years, meeting both of them when we started in Mini Lops many moons ago. These two are family for sure!

My husband, Dale, raises and shows Mini Lops. He is currently the Treasurer for the AMLRC. We started with rabbits when our daughter, Emily, was 9 and starting 4H; she is now 34, so it’s been a while!

Emily started showing Mini Lops in her annual 4H show. She liked it, and we liked it, so it was time to get better rabbits and check out the things called ARBA-sanctioned shows. Once we got better Mini Lops, purchased from reputable breeders, we were hooked! It wasn’t long before the rabbits took over two bays of our three car garage. We found rabbit showing a great family hobby. We all helped with chores, discussed breedings, and attended shows, lots and lots of shows!

We did a number of ARBA Conventions, starting with Peoria IL. Since we are from Illinois, we thought a convention in our back yard was fabulous! Through the years we have ventured to Providence RI, Indianapolis IN, Louisville KY, Dallas-Fort Worth TX, Wichita KS, Harrisburg PA, West Springfield MA, and San Diego CA. Our daughter stopped showing when she headed off to college. Dale and I started showing together, and for the last several years it’s been all Dale. Dale and I are both retired; him from the State of IL and me from banking. When we retired we always knew we wanted to move closer to our daughter, who now lives in Indianapolis. So we bought 1.5 acres outside of Marshall IL, a little town in southeastern IL just across the boarder from Terre Haute. The plan, to build a house there. First things first, in 2022 we built the new bunny barn on the property. In July of this year we sold our house in northern IL, put a 5th wheel next to the new bunny barn, stored all of our worldly possessions in the shop area of the barn, and took a leap of faith! The house is under construction and two months ahead of schedule. Can I get a WOO HOO!!? We are hoping to be in by spring.

We are enjoying the MUCH shorter drive to Indy to visit our daughter; 1hr 15min versus 4.5 hours! Can I get another WOO HOO!!? And we are surviving life in a 5th wheel with 2 large dogs and 2 house cats!

So, that’s me in a nutshell. I look forward to working with the NJWRC Officers and Directors to keep Jersey Wooly news available to the membership. You are welcome to email me with questions or ideas.

Enjoy the remainder of summer and that beautiful thing we call fall. . .ahhhhh! I love fall!

Pam Schmidt

National Jersey Wooly Club Membership Application

Name ARBA#

For Family membership

List names of all family members that wish to join and who currently live at the same address:

Name ARBA#(if available) Youth DOB required (month & year)

Name ARBA#(if available) Youth DOB required (month & year)

Name ARBA#(if available) Youth DOB required (month & year)

Name ARBA#(if available) Youth DOB required (month & year)

Address Number &Street City State Zip County

Phone #

Email:

Membership includes an email version of the newsletter and one FREE guidebook “Guide to the Jersey Wooly” to new members

year $12 or 3 years $25

Family Membership 1 year $25 or 3 years $60

2 adults and any children under the age of 19 legally residing at the same address

Life Membership $125 one-time payment

Any member in good standing who has held continuous membership for a minimum of 3 years and has reached the age of 45 years.

Total Due $___________

Send check or money order payable to NJWRC along with the application to: NJWRC Secretary, Alex Williams

932 Bentleyville Road, Charleroi PA 15022

NJWRCsecretary@gmail.com

Or: PayPal: (if paying by PayPal, make sure to type YOUR NAME and a list of ALL MEMBERS included on this application in the PayPal Notes section.)