Disqualifications-(I) Lopped or fallen ear or ears; (2) white front feet or white bar or bars on same ; (3) decidedly wry feet; (4) wry tail.  A specimen should have the benefit of any doubt.

POINTS OF EXCELLENCE

Colour:  Rich rufus red, not dark smudgy colour, carried well down sides and hind quarters, and as little white under jaws as possible. ( 20 Points)

Ticking: Rather wavy appearance  and plentiful. (15 Points)

Shape: Body thin, well tucked up flank, and well ribbed up;  back slightly arched, loins well rounded, not choppy; head rather lengthy, muscular  chest, tail  straight, not screwed, and altogether of a racy appearance. (20 Points)

Ears: About five inches, thin, well laced on tips, and as far down outside edges as possible, good colour inside and outside, and well set on. (10 Points)

Eyes: Hazel colour, large, round, bright and bold. (10 Points)

Legs and feet: Forefeet and legs, long, straight, slender, well coloured and free from white bars; hind feet as well coloured as possible. (10 Points)

Size: About 8 pounds. (5 Points)

Condition: Not fat, but flesh firm like a race horse, and good quality of fur. (5 Points)

 Dewlap: Without dewlap.(5 Points)

Disqualifications.-( I) Lopped or fallen ears ; (2) white front feet, or white bar or bars on same; (3) decidedly wry front feet; (4) wry tail ; (5) mature specimens weighing less than ten pounds.  A specimen should have the benefit of any doubt.

  Points of Excellence

Colour: Ticking should be moderately plentiful and quite wavy, ranging in importance as to quantity in the order in which the sections are here named:--viz., hips, back, upper sides; it should not extend to lower sides, over shoulders, nor on breast and front legs. Special sections, a deep cream colour under jaws, a bright cream colour under belly, and white under tail.  Lacing, dense black, extensive in length, and confined closely to edge of ear.   Colour proper, rich rufus red, not smudgy, and free from dense blue under colour.

Size: The animal should be long in vertebra, between couplings, long in limb, have ears five and a half inches, and possess large eyes.

Weight:  Eleven pounds.

Shape:  The head should be long and moderately coarse, the ears not too thick, the eyes round and bold, breast full wide, evenly carried dewlap; front legs and feet coarse, heavy boned, straight and firm in bone and joint; body round and massive, a continuous arch carried from back to tail, with no tendency to squareness on rump.

Condition:  The flesh should be firm, the fur in good healthy condition, the animal moderately close coated and tight skinned, thus giving it an active alert appearance.

 Schedule of Points to be awarded:
 

Color	Points	Size	Points
Ticking quantity	5	Length of vertebra	3
Ticking qualituy	5	Length of fore legs	4
Back	4	Length of hind legs	4
Sides	4	Length of ears	2
Hind quarters	4	Size of eye	2
Jaws	2	Weight of specimen	4
Lacing	2
Ears	2	Shape
Belly	2	Head	4
Eyes	2	Breast	4
Shoulders	2	Front legs and feet	4
Front legs and feet	4	Ears	4
Hind legs and feet	4	Eyes	3
		Body	3
Condition		Rump	3
Flesh	4	Quality
Fur	4	Fur	3
		Skin	3

TOTAL POINTS     100

Official weight at maturity, eleven pounds; official age at maturity, eleven months; official cut for lacking weight at maturity, half a point to the quarter pound, or fraction thereof, and in immature specimens, half as heavy a cut, calculating them to weigh a pound for every month of age.

SCALE FOR RATING FAT HARES

 Dressed Capons
 

Best Portion of carcass, ham and loins	20 points
Quality of flesh, size of bone considered	20 points
Colour of flesh and fat	20 points
Degree of fatness	10 points
Weight	20 points
Manner of dressing & preparing for shipment	10 points
TOTAL POINTS	100points

(Note: It was noted by Mr. Lane that the Heavyweight Standard of Excellence was an adaptation of the one in force in Great Britain at that time.)

One innovation introduced by the National Belgian Hare Club was the use of a score card.  The  points called for in the Standard were listed, and individually evaluated,  To quote Mr. Crabtree (from the 1976 ABHC Guidebook):  "By the score card system, the judge cannot depart from the standard without subjecting himself to criticism.  To test a judge, give him the same Belgian two or three hours or days apart, after he has scored others.  If he arrives at the same decision, (or figures), you will know he is competent.  It is quite common for ‘sharpers' to have a competent judge score a good animal, then keep the animal and send the score card with a cheap Belgian to the customer.  There is no way to prevent it.  I have known of $10 hares being sold for $250 by substitution of score cards, and know of cases where my own score card was destroyed and the Belgian sold at a fancy price on the strength of a high score card made by a judge of notorious incompetency, clear across the continent.  Some score cards and pedigrees carry great seals, but the Belgians are usually poor.    Properly used,  the Score Card indicates tbe animal's good points and failings, through the eyes of the judge, and gives a better description than a lengthy letter would convey to a customer."  His quarrel with comparison judging was that no judge in his opinion, however adept, could retain in mind the evaluation of all 29 points judged, with a large class on the table.