Farm show provides latest win for youth rabbit competitor from Acme

Krista Skovira is having a “hoppy” new year with her win at the state farm show rabbit competition.

The 14-year-old Acme girl topped the junior division this month in the rabbit skill-a-thon during the virtual show.

Skovira showed rabbits with success at past regional, state and national events, sometimes competing with a Westmoreland County team. When covid-19 pandemic concerns pushed this year’s farm show into a virtual format, Skovira and other young livestock enthusiasts were given a written test to assess their knowledge of raising farm animals.

“I had to study for it,” she said. “It’s hard because you don’t know what questions they will ask.”

Skovira, who is an eighth-grader at Geibel Catholic Junior-Senior High School in Connellsville, has been interested in rabbits since she was 9.

“I wanted a pet, but my mom and brother are allergic to most house pets,” she explained. “I did research and learned that rabbits can live outside in temperatures down to -20 degrees. They do need a sturdy home that protects them from predators, wind and snow.”

Skovira started with two baby rabbits, and her colony has since grown to 19 of the big-eared bunnies. Buttercup has drooping ears, orange fur and is a Holland Lop — one of the smallest breeds of domestic rabbits, weighing less than 4 pounds.

Most of her other rabbits belong to the larger, red-hued Thrianta breed, which tips the scales at up to 6 pounds. Skovira likes their “short, full heads with well-filled cheeks.

“I like that the Thriantas run up to me for head rubs. Others are a little hyper, but that’s OK because they usually make good hopping rabbits.”

Skovira can’t wait for the return of in-person shows — including her favorite event, a hopping competition. Skovira and other young handlers lead their trained rabbits on leashes through a series of hurdles of various heights in the timed event.

At a national competition in Massachusetts in 2018, she placed in hopping with two of her rabbits. Rak Attack finished in second place, with a time of 14 seconds, and Mr. Angel was in third, with just over 15 seconds.

“My hopping rabbits are athletes,” Skovira pointed out. “I have to practice with them so they are in good shape.”

One of the most fun rabbit activities at past state farm shows has been a celebrity hopping competition, where owners turned their rabbits over to local celebrities to run the hurdles. “Because it’s on live TV, I get to show people at home how fun rabbits are,” Skovira said.

A local 4-H member, Skovira also belongs to the Pennsylvania State Rabbit Breeders Association (PaSRBA) and its national counterpart. She’s taken part in other youth rabbit competitions, including breed identification, showmanship and judging of other competitors’ rabbits.

She was part of a Westmoreland quiz team that placed first in a 2019 Rabbit Bowl and she placed first with her T-shirt design for a state rabbit convention. With her range of rabbit knowledge, she captured the runner-up “Duchess” title in the 2020 Mid-Atlantic Rabbit and Cavy Shows Virtual National Royalty Contest.

She’s hoping this year’s American Rabbit Breeders Association national show, scheduled for October in Kentucky, will be held in-person. She plans to try for Best in Breed with one of her Thrianta rabbits, an honor she previously earned at a state convention.

“Next year, it would be nice to win Celebrity Hopping at the Pennsylvania Farm Show,” she said. “And, maybe one day, I will be PaSRBA Queen.”