It’s that time again. Registration paperwork went in the mail today for the two spring alpaca shows we’ll be doing this year, the North American Alpaca Show and the North East Alpaca Expo. Both will be held on the same weekend, April 7 & 8, 2018, at Eastern States Expo in West Springfield, MA.
We’re planning to show three young females this year, Snowshoe Lauren, Snowshoe Luminari and Jubellita’s Julep. Luminari is a yearling and the other two are juvies.
Snowshoe Farm has been showing alpacas for years and we never tire of going to the shows and having the opportunity to compare the progress of our breeding program to that of other farms. Our alpacas don’t always win first place or the championship (we’ve had our share of both!), but more often than not, our alpacas do win ribbons and, along with that, we receive comments from the judges that help us in evaluating the progress we’re making towards our breeding goals.
Our farm is working to produce healthy, vigorous alpacas who are easy keepers and dependable breeders with exceptional fiber. We want fiber that maintains its fineness as the alpaca matures. We want fiber that is uniform both throughout the staple and over the body. We want fiber that maintains a usable staple length as the alpaca matures. And we want alpacas that are dense and thus produce more fiber.
There’s no better way to judge our farm’s progress than going to shows and seeing what others are producing. If we see some truly amazing alpacas, you can bet we’ll be taking a closer look and keeping those alpacas and farms in mind when it comes to making breeding or purchasing decisions.
Shows are also a great place for other farms as well as future alpaca owners to see and feel our alpacas and to talk to us about breeding, fiber and the alpaca business. There’s no better venue for marketing and education than an alpaca show. And it’s a lot of fun to get together with our alpaca friends. We hope to see you there!
