Author: Missi Goldblatt of Cedar River Chins
MCBA Annual Ohio Claim Show
Much like most of you who belong to the club I am also enamored with the little furry angel we call the chinchilla. I am like a sponge thirsting for knowledge of the animal. Over the years I have learned a ton and met great people who have taught me so much. But as always with anything there is always a chance to learn more. I was recently invited to attend a M.C.B.A Chinchilla claim show in Mansfield, Ohio which took place the end of October. Needless to say it was my first show and I was so excited. It was the one of the parts of the industry I was not familiar with. Unfortunately I did have opinions of what I thought it would be like. I thought it would be full of big ranchers who would be snooty to a new comer and a hobbyist. I could never have been so wrong. After a 13 hour drive to get there I helped set up the room they would use for the show. All of the ranchers (big and small) were so friendly. They explained to me everything that was going to go on. Some even taught me grooming tips and walked around looking at the animals with me explaining what the judges would be looking for the next day. I was amazed. In total there was 12 different ranches showing in this particular show for a total of 80 animals. That night the claiming of the animals began. This procedure was also explained to me in detail. The next morning I could hardly wait for the actual show to begin. The judge of this show was Ralph Shoots (who has been in the chinchilla business for a very long time) there was also a judge in training which was Anne Ingram. The animals were separated by color and then by 4 different classes within each color category. The judges actually explained how they came to their decision on each and every animal so you could actually see the difference between good quality and poor quality and even top show quality. To read about these things is nothing compared to being able to see it first hand. They gave ranchers advice on how their animal could have done better in some cases. I spoke with Mr. Shoots for a long time before the banquet that night and he offered some very good tips and answered a ton of my questions. After 2 days filled with such excitement I came out a better person for having attended the show. I realized all chinchilla breeders love the animals whether they pelt or show or even just sell them for pets. We all are the same. We are a family in a way and that adorable little heart stealer has a way of bringing us all together. I recommend to anyone to at least try to attend a show whether it be a big one or a small one. I guarantee you will walk away with more knowledge than before.
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