And In the Beginning......
There has been a lot of speculation on how the Lionhead rabbit began. Bob Whitman, (click here for the Bob Whitman Memorial Page )who was a very knowledgable rabbit history buff and enthusiast, spent many hours researching the beginnings of this breed. He believed that the precursor of the Lionhead dated back decades earlier than first thought. Another widely held belief holds that they originated in Belgium in a litter of bunnies that was the result of the crossbreeding of the Swiss Fox and a Belgian Dwarf in which a genetic mutation produced an early version of the mane we have come to recognize on todays' Lionhead. Other crosses to a smaller wool type breed may have also been included in the crossbreeding. Some sources list the Jersey Wooly, although more accurately it would be the european Dwarf Angora (in the USA we have no Dwarf Angora so the name Jersey Wooly was added here). Later, the breed was imported into England where continued crossbreeding of small breed rabbits and additional wool breeds were done. These crossbreedings made in Europe and in England created the current EUROPEAN LIONHEAD RABBIT. The one thing that we know for sure is that the result of the Lionhead, however they came about, was the first true gene mutation since the 1930's.

Coming to America.......
The first Lionheads that were used as a basis for any concentrated breeding programs in the United States were imported in 2000 by the late JoAnne Statler of Minnesota. In the next couple years, other breeders brought additional stock into this country. Tom Coats of Maryland, Theresa Mueller and Cheryl Rafoth of Washington State, Toni Tubbs, also of Washington and the late Bob Whitman of Rare Bits & Pieces in Texas. These imports, along with hybridization made throughout the United States have produced the American version of the Lionhead Rabbit as we know it today.

Born in the USA........
The five Lionheads that were first brought into Northern Minnesota included, a Silver Tipped Steel doe, a dark Siamese Sable buck(carrier of the Harlequin and Steel) a Harlequin (Black/Orange) doe, a Broken Chestnut Agouti buck and a Black sport buck (with a Dutch blaze, a carrier of the Vienna/BEW gene). In an attempt to broaden the gene pool, several Minnesota breeders began crossing the Lionheads to various other small breeds such as Netherland Dwarf, Britannia Petite, Polish, and Florida White. Holland Lops have also been used by some in the Lionhead breeding program.

There have been 11 ARBA Certificate of Development holders for the erect eared Lionhead, past and present.

Click here to read about the COD holders

First......Arden Wetzel.......MN (Unsuccessful in Presentation Attempt)
Second...Gail Gibbons.....KS (Unsuccessful in Presentation Attempt)
Third.......Bob Whitman....TX (Dropped his COD in 2007)
Fourth....Theresa Mueller...WA (Current Presenter - eligible for 2nd Presentation in 3 varieties in 2011) ACTIVE
Fifth.......Dawn Guth.........OH current
Sixth.....Lynne Schultz......NE current
Seventh....Lee Nevills.....IN current
Eighth.....Regina Mayhugh....OH current
Ninth.....Anita Moore....IN (Dropped COD in 2011)
Tenth....Kim Croak.....PA (deceased 7/10)
Eleventh....Marilyn Stevens.....PA current
Twelth....Joe Horacek & Nita Shannon.....CA/WA current

Current COD Varieties (17):Black, Blue, Chestnut Agouti, Chocolate, Orange, Otter (all 4 colors), Red, Ruby-eyed White, Sable Marten, Sable Point, Seal, Siamese Sable, Smoke Pearl, Pointed White(all 4 Colors), and Tortoise(each variety to be shown separately): Black, Blue, and Chocolate.

The North American Lionhead Rabbit Club
The North American Lionhead Rabbit Club (NALRC) was founded on September 29th, 2001 at the Minnesota State Rabbit Breeders Association State Show held in Elk River, Minnesota. Since then, we have grown to a club of over 300 members. The NALRC hosts a National Lionhead Rabbit show the first weekend in May in Columbus, Ohio each year. The club publishes an information packed quarterly Newsletter called the Mane Musings, and all new members receive a Guidebook and membership card. Each calendar year, the NALRC sponsors a Lionhead Sweepstakes contest. To join, fill out a membership application.

We are the Champions
The first NALRC Exhibition National Lionhead Show was held in May of 2003 in Columbus Ohio. The show was judged by Eric Bengtson. The show had an overwhelming entry of 204 Lionheads. At that first show, Lionheads were shown the same way as the Netherland Dwarf breed with varieties judged first, followed by selection of best in each group.

This type of judging was used in hopes of persuading the ARBA to revisit the question of allowing the Lionhead Breed to enter the ARBA Standard Book as a breed shown in groups and not varieties. When the ARBA Standards Committee met during the 2003 ARBA Convention, a formal request made by Bob Whitman to make that change was denied.

Best of Breed - 2003 Blue Junior doe owned by Cathy Denman

Best of Opposite Sex - 2003 Chestnut Agouti Junior buck owned by Dawn Guth

We’ve Only Just Begun
Three successful presentations are required within five years in order to make the Lionhead breed an official ARBA recognized breed, at which point the variety/varieties that it has passed successfully will be the only officially recognized varieties until others pass the same recognition process. Realistically, it could take many years for all of the varieties currently held by other COD holders to be added to the breed standard.

Unfortunately, in 2009, at the ARBA Convention in San Diego, the Lionhead breed failed presentation in all varieties. The ARBA made the executive decision to pass presentation rights to the next COD holder in line, Theresa Mueller, WA. Like her predecessors Arden Wetzel and Gail Gibbons, Theresa has embarked on the quest for ARBA Lionhead breed recognition. She has made a successful first presentation of the breed in the varieties of Black, REW and Tortoise at the 2010 ARBA Convention in Minneapolis, MN. In Indianapolis, IN in 2011, she will present those three varieties for her first attempt at second presentation to the Standards Committee. If she's successful, she'll need to successfully pass her third presentation for Lionheads to become a breed.

FIRST PRESENTATION SUCCESS!!
Therefore, with Theresa's successful 1st presentation attempt, the breed once again has an approved working standard on file with the ARBA which became official upon publication in the Domestic Rabbits in February 2011. Lionheads, however, continue to be ineligible to compete for Best In Show, legs toward Grand Champion status, and they will not be allowed to be registered until the breed has become officially recognized by ARBA, which will take two more successful presentations at annual ARBA Conventions.

Currently, ARBA show secretaries are only obligated to accept entries in Black, REW and Tortoise-Black. Therefore, we recommend that you contact the show secretary prior to each show to determine if Lionheads in varieties other than Black, REW and Tortoise-Black will be accepted for exhibition. In any case, the exhibitor must bring a copy of the ARBA approved proposed working standard to the show for the judge, since the breed standard will not be included in the ARBA Standard of Perfection until the breed is officially recognized. As a Lionhead exhibitor, we sincerely hope that you do your very best to be an ambassador to our lovely breed, and be courteous and gracious at all times at ARBA events. The Lionhead breed truly needs the support of each and every exhibitor to do their part to promote and portray our breed in the best light possible.

Until the Lionhead Breed has passed the scrutiny of the ARBA Standards Committee three times, it will continue to be shown as an exhibition breed at ARBA shows. This has not slowed down interest in the breed! The Lionhead Rabbit has a tremendous following in the USA and abroad!

JOIN US, THE FUN IS JUST BEGINNING!

9-20-11 TM