Reba And Ferrets

Once the travel crate was strapped into the back seat, I followed my boyfriend out of the village, and onto the A55.

We appeared to be the first ones to arrive!

The hour long drive included a minor mishap where we had to pull over in order to return the ferrets to the crate which I'd apparently not closed properly. There's nothing quite as hilarious as glancing at your gear stick and seeing Tarryn staring back at you when she's supposed to be in a travel crate on the back seat. Eventually, I drove onto the showground of Llanrwst Agricultural Show. 

I set up the ferrets in the ferret section of the showing tent, giving them some water and food to tide them over. As we'd arrived early, we were first to arrive - or so we thought, until we discovered two ferrets in a crate under a table at the end of the tent. Over the next two hours, Siôn and I alternated between checking out the stalls around the ground, and watching as others passed by with their animals - chickens, geese, rabbits, guinea pigs, and many more. Every so often, someone would join us at the ferret tent, and unload a multitude of boxes.

It became clear very swiftly that my two ferrets were vastly outnumbered. Around North Wales, ferrets are predominantly used for working - hunting rats or rabbits, and as a result, the vast majority of ferrets being placed on the tables were used as working animals. As a result, the average number of ferrets per person was around 10. The couple next to me had "only" bought twenty of their thirty-two ferrets.

Luna was just tired and unfazed by the events unfolding around her.

I'd attended mostly to socialise my ferrets (and myself), as well as to see what the whole ferret showing business was all about. As the competition stacked up, my confidence of winning against the number of ferrets around me slowly packed up and left. I can't say that this bothered me much - for once, my competitive side was laying low, and I was more interested in all the other ferrets around me. 

At half eleven, the judging began.

One by one, the categories were called out, and the ferrets in the category would be carried over to the judge, who'd handle them, look them over and declare the winner.

My heart was thumping the entire time; not so much from the competition, but because the tent was loud, and my hearing isn't so great. You see, I was convinced I wouldn't hear the call for the category in which Tarryn and Luna resided, and I'd render the entire trip pointless (well, kind of).

It was really really loud. There was a large number of chickens in the tent next to us, squawking and clucking, people called out to partners and children to prepare ferrets, take them out of their cages or put them back. A few extended family members and other spectators stood at the side and watched and talked.

The '1st place' cards and the rosettes for "Best in Class" I received.

Eventually the call for 'Light Polecat Jill' was called, and I was prepared: I'd arrived prematurely at the judges table clutching Tarryn. Thankfully, Tarryn seemed surprisingly calm and content. Tarryn was the first ferret to be handled by the judge, and then around six others were checked over.

The judge looked at Tarryn again, and gestured to see her again. I handed her over. After a quick glance over, the judge handed her back, and turned to her assistant, and said, "First."

She was pointing at me.

I returned the cage to deposit Tarryn, holding between my fingers a red card, flashing it at my boyfriend as I passed. He looked as shocked as I felt - we'd chalked this event as a competition trial-run, and weren't really focusing too much on winning.

Once I noticed the 'kit' section of the competition beginning, I took Luna out of the cage, and tried to listen out for the call for 'Albino Jill Kit'. After getting overexcited and almost entering her into the hob section, Luna was judged. The number of ferrets in her class was smaller than Tarryn's (ha!).

Post-show napping is a must.

Again, I walked away with another first. I was beside myself. Luna fell asleep, and I took Tarryn outside of the tent for some attention. I was handed a form for ferret racing, but after an extremely unsuccessful few trial runs with Tarryn, and with Luna being out cold, I decided to forgo the ferret race, but ultimately, I was extremely pleased with the outcome.

The prize money wasn't massive (in fact, the prize for first place was the same amount as the entry fee), but that's not what I came for. I came to meet other people, to socialise my two ferrets, and to fawn over people's ferrets. And that is exactly what I did. The whole winning thing was just an added bonus, and awakened my competitive streak.

I have definitely caught the ferret showing buzz. I'm definitely going to be going to any shows I can! Unfortunately, that's all for now. I have a few other things to post about, but I think I've talked enough.