If you go to the US, you may have a chance to see an unusual "sport" that is becoming more and more popular. It's called rabbit show jumping.
Rabbit show jumping began in Sweden, a northern European country in the 1970s. Members of a small rabbit club started to hold jumping competitions for their pets at that time. By 1987, the sport had become very popular and a national competition was held. Then it spread to other European countries. Its rules were firstly based on horse show jumping, which is an Olympic event. Soon the rules were changed to work better for rabbits.
Here's how the competition works. Each rabbit is led around a course* by its owner. In a straight course, rabbits jump over several bars*, which will fall if the jump is too low. Another course is set up for rabbit agility*. Rabbits not only jump but also need to go across or through special obstacles*. Each rabbit has two minutes to complete the course. The goal is for the rabbit to make itself through without knocking down bars or failing on any obstacles. The "wabbit" winner is the one with the fewest mistakes.
The rabbits are usually trained with food rewards and a few gentle pushes in the right direction. But often they don't need a lot of training, because rabbits like to run and jump naturally.
Rabbits are cute and so fun to watch. Show jumping also gives pets and owners healthy activities to lo together, because people think rabbits are exercising their bodies and minds by running, jumping and thinking. And the competitions are a lot more interesting than simply judging the rabbits on their looks. Maybe some day soon, you're going to watch the "Rabbit World Cup."
