Welcome to the wonderfully cute world of Rabbit Show Jumping

Rabbit Show Jumping (or Kaninhop in Swedish) began in Sweden in the late 1980s and is now an international sport with tournaments being held around the world.

The sport began from a rabbits enthusiasts club in Sweden who decided to hold a tournament to see whose rabbit could jump the highest/furthest. The first national championship was held in Stockholm in 1987.

The sport became more and more popular and by 1994 the Swedish Federation of Rabbit Jumping (SKHRF) was established. Norway, Finland, Denmark and Sweden all took up the craze, setting up their own rabbit-jumping clubs. And by 2001 the sport reached America when the Rabbit Hopping Organization of America was founded.

How high can a rabbit jump?

The winner of the 2019 highest rabbit jump was Misspinkys Great Champion Harajuku “Dobby,” who managed to jump an amazing 106cm (42 in) Swedish owner Julia Samson’s rabbit also claimed the world record for longest rabbit jump, (301 centimetres or 9.88 feet), in August 2017.

Highest rabbit jump: 1 metre

Longest rabbit jump: 3 metres

What events are included in the Rabbit Show Jumping Championships?

The championships consist of four events:

High jump
Long jump
Straight-line obstacle course
Crooked obstacle course

The obstacle courses contain multiple jumps at a range of heights including: Mini: 20 cm Easy: 28 cm Medium: 35 cm Difficult: 45 cm Elite: 50 cm

Criticism of Rabbit Show Jumping

Some animal rights groups have criticised Rabbit Show Jumping because it involves keeping rabbits on leads and could cause undue stress to the animal. It is advised that very small rabbits under 2kg don’t take part (e.g. the Dutch Dwarf Rabbit) because they are not physically capable of the challenges. Equally very large or overweight rabbits (such as the Flemish Giant) shouldn’t take part because they can be injured when they land.