All Photographs copyrighted by Rachelle Black 2007
Here are some of my favorite shots from all the photos we took all week. Next time I will post all the ones my daughter took!
My favorite class- junior performance. Since our booth was behind ring 2, we got a good look at some of the classes. These kids worked so very hard, and did such a super job. They handled their alpacas better, in some cases, than the adults!
This little one worked so well with her alpaca!
Calm and sure, never rushed. She did great! This is a hard thing for some alpacas, all these weird obstacles and strange set ups.
Waiting their turn, these boy's alpacas looked like twins!
This silver suri had plenty of blue ribbons, isn't he handsome?
I'm a sucker for a cute face!
What a profile!
Sweet suri smile for me :))
Some of the classes were really tough, with 10 or more entries in each class. Here are some white suris checking out the competition.Hi all! Back from nationals, and what a trip! Held in Kentucky this year, they are three hours ahead of us, so when we got there Monday evening- after traveling 12 hours- we were beat! By Thursday we seemed to be adjusting to the time difference, and by Saturday we had it! Only to come home Sunday..... now we are finally back on CA time LOL. Being there was great, alpaca shows are big in the industry, and this is the biggest- being run by our national affiliate AOBA- Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association. There are now many shows nationwide, but the AOBA show is still on top.
I am in charge of the Super Stud Raffle, which is a big fundraiser for the Alpaca Research Foundation. ARF provides research monies and grants for medical studies in the camelid field. And I am on the development committee. This year was the 7th year of the raffle, and my first year in charge! Yikes!! Each year we find two of the top male herdsires in the country- one suri, one huacaya- and their owners graciously donate a breeding to each of them. Then we offer the tickets at $50 each and anyone can participate. This year was a great year, we had two stunning males that were each well received. The winners were both new breeders, both with small herds, both very glad to win! What fun!! This year we raised about $5,000- not the highest year, but still a great one.
Well, I'm off for now, see you next time!
Slainte~
Rachelle
