Photos by Deb Gau 4-H members including Violet Vlaminck, at far left, watched the rabbit show at the Lyon County Fairgrounds on Tuesday, while they waited for their turn in the show ring. Vlaminck said she was showing her mini-lop rabbit, Sparkle.

MARSHALL — A day before the gates opened at the Lyon County Fair, the competition was already on for area 4-H members.

On Tuesday afternoon, kids carried rabbits of all shapes and sizes into the show arena, to meet with a judge. Others sat in the stands, holding bunnies on their laps as they waited for their turn in the ring.

As she sat with her mini-lop rabbit Sparkle, Violet Vlaminck explained some of the things judges were looking for.

“They look at their breed, their color, and you have to show them in different ways,” Vlaminck said. “Each breed has a different pose.”

Animal events are a big part of 4-H at the Lyon County Fair, but not all of those events happen during the fair. The 4-H horse, dog and rabbit shows were all held ahead of time.

On Tuesday, 4-H were bustling back and forth from the livestock barns with rabbit cages. Getting ready for the show usually involves tasks like making sure your rabbit is well-groomed and looking good, Paige Christianson and Leah Christianson said.

Showing the rabbits took teamwork for some 4-H members, especially if they had more than one animal in the ring at the same time. Audra Swenhaugen said she was helping handle her sister’s rabbits when they weren’t being judged.

Some 4-H members said they got interested in showing rabbits through friends or family. Vlaminck said her sister and brother had rabbits, and she liked them better than bigger livestock.

“I just really like them, because they’re small and nice,” she said.

Paige Christianson said she got into showing rabbits partly because of a friend. Now, Christianson said she is on her second year of competing in the rabbit show. She and her rabbit Rio were waiting to compete in the large breed class.

“I like how cute they are,” she said of showing rabbits.