Valeri Sprouse shows off two of the 100 rabbits she brought to the West Virginia State Fair in Fairlea. Sprouse is also serving as superintendent of the rabbit building. She and her staff of six, along with some volunteers, change the bedding for each of the 410 rabbits and also feed and water them throughout each day.
FAIRLEA, W.Va. — Trailers for hauling horses, cattle, sheep, hogs and other livestock are a necessity for those showing large farm animals at the West Virginia State Fair.
The animals spending the fair week in a building just down from the big barns don’t require such large traveling accommodations, however.
Encouraged by her father, who had shown rabbits before she was born, Sprouse, a senior accounting major at Glenville State College, began showing rabbits at age 10.
“Originally, I wanted to show cattle, but Dad wasn’t too familiar with it and there’s a lot of cost that goes into it, so he said, ‘Let’s get you some show stock and let me show you my world,’” she said of her beginnings in the rabbit world.
Sprouse, whose younger sister Hillary also shows, started with two does and a buck, which she raised as pets.
Later, her dad purchased two Broken Mini Rex rabbits at the state fair and then had a friend purchase six more rabbits at a national convention in Indiana.
“That’s what we started from,” she said. “We’ve expanded off of that.”
In addition to the 100 rabbits she entered at the fair, Sprouse says she has another 140 at home…
