English Lop page updated again 12/8/18

The Hobby (and moreso) The Most Amazing 37 Years that has been - Breeding and Showing Rabbits

Over the years the name RUSKIN has become synonymous with top quality REW Miniature Lops. Right from the first white import - Ch. Thor, who was a ground breaking rabbit, being the first Miniature Lop to take a Best In Show win at any show in the UK, to the first BRC Supreme Champion Ruskin's Gucci, to the first Miniature Lop to take BIS at the UK's premiere show - Bradford Champ Show, right through to the present day young hopeful, Ruskin's Halcyon - 5 month old REW Buck

Ruskin is the only Lop Stud to have won the coveted group, BEST LOP at Bradford Championship Show (The Rabbit Fancy equivilent of CRUFTS)

Three Times - 2005 - 2010 - 2012

  in 2012 where we also Won

BEST IN SHOW.

Ruskin has also won more Best Lop & Best In Shows at UK General Championship shows than any other Miniature Lop Stud. A record we are very proud of!

Right from the very start of our association with this breed, the breeding line has been firmly based on European blood and it still plays a large part in our lines today, although the imports are less frequently sort to widen our gene pool, we still, from time to time find a little gem which will fit in with the breeding program and bring something to the family that might be lacking.  Striving to improve the breed and and nurture it forward, sympathetically within the standard has always been our aim, and always will. We have never been stud blind and always look for fault before good and with this in mind, find it easier to make progress and improve all the time, instead of standing still and in some cases, going backwards

The main colour at Ruskin is the Red Eyed White, but we now also work with Steels and occasionally Butterflies (in a few different colours) but all the non REW's do play their part in the REW breeding program and therefore are generally always split for white..  The Steels have bred consistently well, right from out first Champion Ruskin's Remington.right through to our current Steel Collecion - Headed by Ruskin's Strauss  

Remington was an Edam son and produced some outstanding stock. The most famous of course being

Supreme Champion Ruskin's OMG

There were a couple of new Steel imports in 2016 with a lovely young male arriving from Holland. We've called him 'Gladston' 

and another beautiful buck, only being used for Stud, called Kingston

We strive to maintain all round balance in our Miniature Lops and have worked for many years on improving the coat quality and the crown.  I wrote an article on slipped crowns a couple of years back which has been a guide to many lop breeders around the world after it was translated into numerous different languages and published in multiple magazines and news letters globally. To read the full article (with diagrams) click the 'crowns' link in the navigation panel to the left.

In 2009 we ended the year by winning Best In Show at the NMLRC Adult Stock Show and also won Best In Show in the Young Support Show. Doing the double was the highlight of the year, for sure. And on top of that, the young Butterfly which took BiS in the YSSS is the first Butterfly to take BIS at a NMLRC stock show in about 10 years, which pleased us greatly too.  It is a very difficult colour to get right and you breed soo many which are not quite there and when you do get one good enough, they often get overlooked. The 'double' also meant that the title of NMLRC TOP BREEDER/EXHIBITOR of the Year was in the bag, following on from our previous BIS win at the Young Stock Show in August and a runner up BIS win at the Summer Show.

AND THE STUDS HIGHEST AWARD TO DATE

Best In Show Bradford Championship Show 2012

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