Son entered his rabbit in the local county fair yesterday, since he does not belong to a 4-H club he entered the Open Show.
I had called the head of the rabbit event the night before to make sure there would be no problem. I was told that they just combined both shows together.
Went in and got registered. Show was scheduled for 3pm. Went over with the rest of the kids,(7 total, son included).
We waited as they went through all of the classes for 4-H.
Just before the end of the show the lady came over and asked what we had entered and how old the rabbit was. I told her he was maybe 5-6 months old and neutered because he was a biter. I was then informed that he could not enter the rabbit at all. What the nice??!!
After it was all over I went to find out what had happened. I was informed that he could have entered him in the Pet Rabbit, but that is a 4-H project not open. I mentioned that, by now I'm getting ticked off. Was informed that the show was over and that was it. Now I'm beyond ticked off.
I had to inform my son that he is not allowed to show his rabbit at which point he breaks down in tears. I then inform the judge and the other lady to come outside and see my son crying.
Went to the fair office to complain and the lady shows up. Almost ended up in a screaming match. Changed the entry and gave my son a lousy ribbon. To me that is beside the point. He was not allowed to compete against the 4-H kids.
This fair is notorious for doing this. It has gotten to the point people from out of the area no longer bring anything in to show.
Same day they were pulling the same stuff on a girl who brought in 12 chickens for show. Just before her show we warned her. Not a 4-H member.
I had nothing against them until yesterday. Now my son REALLY does not want to join.
Has this happened to anybody else?