We had been very active for many year in showing our Britannia Petites, Holland Lops and
Lionheads, until a house fire on March 19, 2004 forever changed or lives. All of the rabbits we
owned perished that night. We have been slowly rebuilt our herd, taking care to maintain the quality we always have taken great pride in. Hopefully this space will allow you to get to
know us a little better.

That fire caused us a horrible lose, but it also was a great lose to the Lionhead breed. That
night we lost our beloved Wooly Bear. This Lionhead doe impacted our herd and so much
of the Lionhead breed throughout the United States. She and the other lovely Lionheads we
lost will be missed very much.

In April 2005 we won Best in Show at the Lionhead National Show in a showing of over 300 Lionheads! Finally we felt the Lionhead section of our herd was back. In addition
to the Best In Show win in 2005 at Lionhead Nationals, we won Best Opposite Sex to
Breed that year at the ARBA Convention in a huge Lionhead entry.

We enjoy showing rabbits, our Lionheads and our Lops, and it is true family project! Our show record pretty much speaks for itself and includes many many BOB and BOS wins. Here is a link so you can see pictures and show records of some of our Lionheads.

Cimmaron Pewter Doll
Best In Show,
2007 Lionhead Nationals

When Sara Berks first moved in she continued to breed her
Lionheads and Mini Satins under her Kirin Rabbitry name but as
the two herds became more and more intertwined she and Sarrah Gibbons decided to simply make it easier and just work on the
dilute colors and Pointed White Lionheads they both enjoyed
together.

Sara Berks is now breeding with us
under the Cimmaron banner.

This has proved a VERY successful undertaking as Sara Berks
and Sarrah Gibbons won Best Opposite Sex to Breed at 2008 Lionhead Nationals with the Blue Tort buck Cimmaron Hinto!

Since in the past we have produced Best In Show Winners in many of the breeds
we have shown over the years, including Satins, Jersey Woolys, Holland Lops,
Polish and in our beloved Britannia Petites, this win was exciting for Sarrah Gibbons
but not nearly as exciting as it was for Sara Berks!

Sarah Gibbons may take these big wins in stride but Gail and Abby and Sara Berks think
winning big at huge national event with hundreds of Lionheads is still a breathing stopping
and wonderful experience!

As all our friends know, Sarrah Gibbons has always loved the "fallen ear" look. She just
needs to have those lop ears around! Since she is not found of Tortoise she has rebuilt
her Holland herd in the lovely colors she favors. We were lucky to secure some of our old
Chocolate bloodline and she has been working hard on that color. She has had a great
deal of success in the dilute colors and has taken great pride in the fact she finished a
Grand Champion in BLUE OTTER. Her most recent BOSV win was with Cimmaron Refrigerator who is a Broken Blue Tort and a chocolate carrier.

In addition to the Holland Lops, Sarrah had decided that our collection
needed to be expanded to include the new breed - Velveteen Lops. She
and Arden Wetzel decided to bring this breed to Minnesota and she
worked hard for a number of years with him. When presentation for the
Lionhead breed fell to Gail it was necessary for us to make hard choices
to provide the space and support a presentation effort requires. When it
came time to leave Minnesota for Kansas it was decided to leave most
of the Velveteens behind with Sarrah's good friends and old partners at
DragonBreath Rabbitry.

In all the breeds we raise, we believe in loads of human contact. We try and spend a great deal
of time with our rabbits, so we are very aware of temperament. Our rabbits have exposed to
dogs, cats, small children as well as TV and radio noise. We select for calm temperaments,
does that are relaxed and friendly and who foster easily. We feel temperament is often overlooked in everyone's desire to produce show animals. A beautiful rabbit is wonderful but if you can not handle it without taking care not to be bite, for us there is little joy in having it around. We breed strongly for temperament and we cull for temperament just as strongly as we cull for type.
We take pride in the quality of ALL rabbits we raise and show.

Our rabbitry is a true "family project", now that Abby
has joined her Mom - Sarrah and her Grandma - Gail
in showing rabbits, she has show Lionheads and her
Min Satins. She was 16th in the Nation in Mini Satin
Youth in 2007. She plans to start showing Holland Lops
and won BOB over 100 Hollands at the 2008 MN State
Fair in an open ARBA show. Beating her mom who only
managed BOS.

In May 2005 Abby and her Lionhead Cindy brought home
Abby's first Lionhead trophy to begin filling Abby's trophy
shelf. Abby has also begun showing in Showmanship
at both Lionhead and local club shows and done very well.

But nothing seems to measure up to the thrill she felt
when she won Best In Show in 2007 with Cimmaron Pewter Doll. The look on her face just says it all.

We all enjoy showing rabbits and though we have had
to take some time off since moving to Kansas to work
on the house we plan to begin traveling to shows in and
around our new home state, just as we traveled around
Minnesota and Wisconsin. As always we attend ARBA
Convention and Lionhead Nationals whenever we can.

Abby & Cimmaron Pewter Doll
win Best in Show

Our home just seems to overflow with animal friends. We are never without the companionship of at
least one dog. Gail just simply cannot bare the emptiness she feels without a cold nose and a warm
heart following her and filling her days.

In February of 2006 our family at Cimmaron suffered a great lost in when our Red Doberman, named
Uriel, passed from tragic sickness related to liver issues. Uriel had came to live with us when she
was ten weeks old to take on the mantel of guardian to the family and property, a job that was left
vacant when Gail's beloved Dalmatian companion Michael passed on. Uriel was a wonderful
replacement as a guardian she was also a dear friend and will be solely missed. Abby said the
first night after Uriel's passing "Grandma, I know she was only half my dog but it hurts like she was
all mine" . Our sadness is summed up in that sentence.

Even in times of deepest darkness God is good and opens a door.

Since Gail and Abby knew that they could not bear to live without a large dog a casual
glance at the paper led us to a breeders of Dobermans who use a human immersion method
of raising puppies, that we have used in the past here when we raised dogs. So we added a
new Doberman to the family. This was great fun for Abby who has never had a puppy in
the house. Grandma Gail is not as sure about the "fun" aspect.

The new puppy was a Blue Doberman and is also called Uriel, but this girl is Uriel Too or
U2 for short. U2 has some big paw prints to fill but she is off in the right direction.

Uriel and Abby went off to "puppy school" learning all about
how to be good friends to each other and graduated getting
to wear a cap and all. Abby was very proud!

Uriel Too seemed to grow like a weed and become a lovely
lady with a shimmering coat and more energy then Gail
knew what to do with some days! She loves balls and empty
plastic drink bottles. (Her favorite toy. She will even take
gallon milk jugs if she can) She also loves to steal the plastic
play balls out an open bunny cage. She is very careful and
will play with them for hours till her powerful Doberman teeth
finally crack it in half.

Uriel has started to take seriously her task of Guardian
making us all feel more secure. She is gentle with the
bunnies and is turning into a wonderful family dog.

Since our move to Kansas, Uriel has really grown up. She has become a wonderful companion and watchdog. No creature that is not a member of
the family can enter the property with her alarm. She has decided that having
the master's bedroom right off the front of the house and the living room is a perfect plan. She can lie on the bed and see everything that goes on both in
the yard and the living room.

She has taken over watching the chicken flock and loves to go out and "pick
eggs" with whoever has the task on any given day. She helps with daily "rabbit
chores" as well, and rides to school with Abby whenever she can talk the driver
into the outing.

She love to watch the activity of the town out the window and is beginning to understand when to bark and when it is OK for them to be on the road.

In general she really approvers of life in Kansas.

watching out the front window

Our family also includes a little black Pekinese, named Tia, who is one of the joy
of Sarrah's life. Tia joined us after the lost of our other older Dalmatian friend Ralph,
who passed in 2004 at 12 years old. Tia is best friends with RosePetal, the cat, and
was a constant chum for our Red Dobe, Uriel. Uriel at 95 pounds could have Tia as lunch
but was a gentle and tolerate friend. This led Tia to believe she is also 95 pounds! and
able to do anything a much larger dog can do. Tia has established her position as
"queen of the house" (or at least Sarrah's room).

We also share our home with RosePetal, Abby's cat. RosePetal is a boy, but five year old girls
choose names that are truly NOT gender based. RosePetal is the fulfillment of a promise Grandma
made to Abby that she could have a new kitten when we moved back home. Abby had lost her
beloved Bengal Cat in the fire. Since Abby is a great Harry Potter fan she had decided she had to
have a "ginger cat". Everyone knows Crookshanks in the Harry Potter books is a "ginger cat" - "
a most intelligent animal."

RosePetal has turned out to be a friendly, human loving soul who is most happy hanging out with
the family. He often behaves as a dog and was the first one of the three pets to learn to "sit up
pretty" and beg for treats on command. (This has caused some concern for Gail who thinks it is
embarrassing for her Doberman to be beaten out by a CAT!)

In the summer of 2007 Gail brought home a kitten from a local rescue (always
avoid your local dog food store when they have pet adoption days or this is what
happens!) Again God must have decided that this creature needed to be with us.
Abby named him Ron because of his bright orange coat but he was destined for
Sara Berks. Ron simply adores Sara. He comes when she calls like a dog. He
sleeps with her. He is her soulmate and she adores him. He was an indoor cat in
Minnesota but huge holes (well more lack of floor) in Kansas when we were
repairing pipes let him discover the great outdoors.

He is very funny and has taken to claiming the yard. NO other cats in town are
allowed to set foot here. He thinks he is a lion the way he attacks and chases them.
It is very funny to watch. He spends hours watching the chickens and even seems to
herd hem together but never hurts them. Maybe he was an Australian Shepherd in an
earlier life?

In addition to the boys we have added a little girl to the cat family since we arrived in
Kansas.

We now have Minutte, a starving, flea cover rescue kitty who has fast won over
Abby's heart. Minnie as she is known to her best buds sleeps with Abby and
spends her days on Sara Berks waterbed. We are sure she is part Bengal
(her body shape and love of water seem give aways) though she will never reach
the size the breed is known for. She was so stunted as a a baby she front legs
are deformed by rickets. But what she lacks in size she makes up for in energy
and heart!

Evenings are still our favorite time of all! The warmth of the house seems to settles about us all.

Some evenings Abby and Uriel snuggle close with Grandma and we watch a movie or a favorite show, sitting by grandpa
on the couch. On those nights Sarrah might join us and Tia is always on her lap or if Sarrah is on the computer Tia will be
curled by her feet. If Sara Berks is home she too likes to join the family in a board game, card game or a good move.

Then as the evening ends, there is great contentment. Abby and Minnie are snuggle and fast asleep up in Abby's bunkbed.
Sarrah reads hidden in a pile of pillows on her bed with Tia ever close by. Sara Berks asleep with Ron almost wrapped
about her head.

Uriel and Chuck have already "put away the chickens" who are now safe behind chain link in their henhouse.
Gail checks the rabbits one last time and turns off the rabbitry lights, Chuck and Uriel are waiting in bed. It is a good life.

In all things we have learned that life is fragile and so we try to enjoy every minute! There is so much joy to be found in the simple things
- watching Abby growing up. It seems like only last night I was reading her bedtime stories and now she loves to read to me.
- holding a new baby rabbit and wondering at how perfectly formed they are - tiny nails and teeth every detail so finely made.
- watching those new baby rabbits exploring the cage for the first time out of the nestbox seeing the wonder of the world for the first time.
- The satisfaction of hearing a baby born here has won a BOB for someone and how happy they are.
- now laughing at the antics of the kitten, or watching the hens race to see you sure you have bread to share
- wildflowers covering fields in masses of color on a summer day
- petting the soft ears of a dog and knowing that you have unconditional love
- lying in bed at night and listening to the sounds of the family sleeping, knowing you are all safe and loved

We enjoy our rabbits and this hobby very much.
Hopefully you will find us friendly and willing to help.