Cas-Cad-Nac Farm at the NAAS/NAE: Elixirs Are Wild
There are so many things we could talk about, having come home late last Saturday from the new double show that was the North American Alpaca Show & Northeast Alpaca Expo. Let me say right off the bat though, that while we heard some chatter from various friends and colleagues that not everyone in Springfield was in love with the new format of 2 shows with 4 rings in 2 days, for our part, we felt like it all ran pretty smoothly. Granted, some of that may have been down to the fact that terrified we were going to be totally overwhelmed, we had lined up no fewer than 7 handlers on our team to facilitate getting our 37 animals in and out of the show rings. Fear as a motivating factor: amazing how effective it can be! Regardless of what format the shows take though, I do think that between this event and the “Showtacular” event last fall (the Empire Extravaganza and NEAOBA Fall Show), we can safely say that at least in the Northeast, the two-show setup is probably here to stay. Our hats off to all of those who had the vision to bring both of these events to fruition. It’s breathed new and much-needed life back into the regional show circuit and made shows that would have otherwise probably have gone by the wayside (NEAOBA’s and the Northeast Expo), not just relevant again but most importantly, financially viable. Win-win.
Having been one of the organizing farms that ran the NAAS for it’s first 10 years, it’s always fun for us to go down to Springfield, MA and the Eastern States Exposition Center, which has hosted the show since its inception. In fact, 2016 marked the 15th year of the North American and being there the first weekend of April, has over the years come to feel like a rite of springtime. With our friends Scott Young and Kevin O’Leary now running both both the NAAS and the NAE (its previously smaller cousin which until this year had been held separately in Syracuse, NY), we have in recent years kept coming down to the venue a day early, so that we can be all set up ourselves by Thursday morning and then assist Scott and Kev with the color compliance checking on other animals as they arrive. We’ve always joked that our lingering connection with the NAAS is in some ways the most benign form of Stockholm Syndrome.
Back in CCNF land, I offer a gigantic tip of the hat to our Herd Manager, Kim Duprey, who spent all day Friday and Saturday running her tail off, playing the role of pit boss throughout the shows, and making sure that every member of our string had a human at the end of its lead line, and when necessary – pointing them in the right direction. If memory serves, there was only once that things got so backed up, that Kimmy was forced to walk into a class herself. All things considered, not too bad. I do wonder about next year’s NAAS/NAE and whether keeping the same basic format — with the two shows running concurrently — but expanding it to a 3rd day, might not give the entire event a less manic feel? We shall see.
While 37 animals was by no means a record sized show string for us in Springfield — in a truly brain-dead moment, we topped out at 44 a few years ago — it did still require two trailers to get everyone down there to the venue. Our larger rig (32′ on the floor) hauled all of the females and one smaller compartment of older males, while our old 16′ trailer handled the younger males. As with any breeding program, the goal is to have the average quality of both our show strings, as well as the herd from which they originate, improve with each passing generation. Though there have been times when that has felt a little hard to quantify, this spring with the maturation of the 2015 birth class, was not one of those. If we had to talk about one particular set of animals at the show though, it has to be the offspring of our beloved beige male, CCNF Elixir (whom we co own with our friends at A Paca Fun Farm in Maryland). From whites to browns with several stops in between, the Elixir kids almost seemed as if they had arrived at the shows having decided to make statement. How big of a statement? Between ourselves and our partners, the Elixirs at the two shows accounted for 1 6th place finish, 1 4th place finish, 1 3rd place finish, 6 2nd place finishes, 23 1st place finishes, 6 Reserve Color Championships, 10 Color Championships, and last but not least: 2 Judges’ Choice Awards! While most of our white/light half of those paternal siblings were generally older and from Elixir’s first crop of crias born in 2014, making their debuts with a conspicuous bang in Springfield was a trio of colored 2015 offspring from CCNF all of whom also shared one other thing in common: their dams were all daughters of Snowmass Matrix Majesty. Given that two of those kids, Leviathan and Nikita, accounted for the 2 Judges’ Choice awards, one can imagine that that is a cross we have been…let us say, considering carefully.
Anyway, the bottom line is that it was an amazing weekend for us and our alpacas! It was of course lovely as always to catch up with old friends and make some new ones too. A special shout out and thank you to our dear friends Dave Serino, Sue Monat, Vinny Veratti, and Wayne Robinson without whom our best laid show plans would have been DOA. Some of the highlights of our results can be found below…
Cas-Cad-Nac Farm LLC – Championships, Specialty Awards, & 1st Place Finishes, NAAS/NAE, Springfield, MA
North American Alpaca Show
CCNF Skyhawk (AG Margarita x CCNF Marick) – 1st Place, Bay Black Juvenile Huacaya Male
CCNF Nikita (CCNF Margaux x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Medium Brown Juvenile Huacaya Female
CCNF Leviathan (CCNF Capuchin x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Light Brown Juvenile Huacaya Male
CCNF Majesty United (TGF Let Freedom Reign x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Dark Fawn Juvenile Huacaya Female
CCNF Sienna (Happy Hearts Gemma D’Oro x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Medium Fawn Juvenile Huacaya Female
CCNF Dreadnaught (CCNF Prima Majesty x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Medium Fawn Juvenile Huacaya Male
CCNF Nighthawk (TGF Morningdove x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Medium Fawn Juvenile Huacaya Male
CCNF Mirror Image (CCNF Consolation x Snowmass Conopa’s Kahuna) – 1st Place, Medium Fawn Yearling Huacaya Male
CCNF Precipice (CCNF Pristine x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Medium Fawn Mature Huacaya Male
MFI & KVR’s Fila My Fleece (KVR’s Prada My Fleece x MFI Peruvian Presumption) – 1st Place, Dark Fawn Yearling Huacaya Female
CCNF Marcello (CCNF Musette x CCNF Invictus) – 1st Place, Light Fawn Juvenile Huacaya Male
CCNF Delilah (CCNF Lilah x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Light Fawn Juvenile Huacaya Female
CCNF Caipirinha (CCNF Questra x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Beige Yearling Huacaya Female
CCNF Quadratic (CCNF Infinity x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Beige Yearling Huacaya Male
CCNF Marcelon (CCNF Melange x Snowmass Sub-Zero) – 1st Place, White Juvenile Huacaya Male
CCNF Infinite Amaryllis (CCNF Infinity x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, White Juvenile Huacaya Female
CCNF Khione (CCNF Prestige x Snowmass Sub-Zero) – 1st Place, White Yearling Huacaya Female
CCNF Sucrose (CCNF Sugar Drop x Snowmass Elite Legend) – 1st Place, White 2 Year Old Huacaya Male
CCNF Moonshine (CCNF Moonbeam x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Light Bred & Owned Juvenile Huacaya Male
CCNF Anna (CCNF Eliza x Snowmass Sub-Zero) – 1st Place, Light Bred & Owned Juvenile Huacaya Female
CCNF Spittfire (CCNF The Mighty Beast Alexandra x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Light Bred & Owned Yearling Huacaya Male
CCNF Gimlet (CCNF Amore x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Light Bred & Owned Yearling Huacaya Female
MFI & KVR’s Fila My Fleece – Judges’ Choice Huacaya Female
CCNF Skyhawk – Champion Black Huacaya Male
CCNF Leviathan – Champion Brown Huacaya Male
MFI & KVR’s Fila My Fleece – Champion Fawn Huacaya Female
CCNF Caipirinha – Champion Light Huacaya Female
CCNF Infinite Amaryllis – Champion White Huacaya Female
CCNF Gimlet – Best Bred & Owned Huacaya Female
CCNF Spittfite – Best Bred & Owned Huacaya Male
CCNF Nikita – Reserve Champion Brown Huacaya Female
CCNF Dreadnaught – Reserve Champion Fawn Huacaya Male
CCNF Delilah – Reserve Champion Light Huacaya Female
Northeast Alpaca Expo
CCNF Skyhawk (AG Margarita x CCNF Marick) – 1st Place, Bay Black Juvenile Huacaya Male
CCNF Nikita (CCNF Margaux x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Medium Brown Juvenile Huacaya Female
CCNF Leviathan (CCNF Capuchin x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Light Brown Juvenile Huacaya Male
CCNF Luna Majesty (CCNF Moonlight x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Light Brown Yearling Huacaya Female
CCNF Majesty United (TGF Let Freedom Reign x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Dark Fawn Juvenile Huacaya Female
CCNF Alia (Ulio Humbra Aletta x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Dark Fawn Juvenile Huacaya Female
CCNF Dreadnaught (CCNF Prima Majesty x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Medium Fawn Juvenile Huacaya Male
CCNF Nighthawk (TGF Morningdove x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Medium Fawn Juvenile Huacaya Male
CCNF Intervention (CCNF Confectious x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Medium Fawn Yearling Huacaya Male
CCNF Precipice (CCNF Pristine x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Medium Fawn Mature Huacaya Male
MFI & KVR’s Fila My Fleece (KVR’s Prada My Fleece x MFI Peruvian Presumption) – 1st Place, Dark Fawn Yearling Huacaya Female
CCNF Marcello (CCNF Musette x CCNF Invictus) – 1st Place, Light Fawn Juvenile Huacaya Male
CCNF Delilah (CCNF Lilah x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Light Fawn Juvenile Huacaya Female
CCNF Ilario (Chatham Lancaster’s La Boheme x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Beige Juvenile Huacaya Male
CCNF Caipirinha (CCNF Questra x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Beige Yearling Huacaya Female
CCNF Antares (CCNF Capella x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Beige Yearling Huacaya Male
CCNF Marcelon (CCNF Melange x Snowmass Sub-Zero) – 1st Place, White Juvenile Huacaya Male
CCNF True Adoration (Truly Scrumptious x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, White Yearling Huacaya Female
CCNF Sucrose (CCNF Sugar Drop x Snowmass Elite Legend) – 1st Place, White 2 Year Old Huacaya Male
CCNF Moonshine (CCNF Moonbeam x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Light Bred & Owned Juvenile Huacaya Male
CCNF Anna (CCNF Eliza x Snowmass Sub-Zero) – 1st Place, Light Bred & Owned Juvenile Huacaya Female
CCNF Spittfire (CCNF The Mighty Beast Alexandra x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Light Bred & Owned Yearling Huacaya Male
CCNF Gimlet (CCNF Amore x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Light Bred & Owned Yearling Huacaya Female
CCNF Nikita – Judges’ Choice Huacaya Female
CCNF Leviathan – Judges’ Choice Huacaya Male
CCNF Skyhawk – Champion Black Huacaya Male
CCNF Nikita – Champion Brown Huacaya Female
CCNF Leviathan – Champion Brown Huacaya Male
CCNF Majesty United – Champion Fawn Huacaya Female
CCNF Dreadnaught – Champion Fawn Huacaya Male
CCNF Caipirinha – Champion Light Huacaya Female
CCNF Antares – Champion Light Huacaya Male
CCNF Moonshine – Best Bred & Owned Huacaya Male
MFI & KVR’s Fila My Fleece – Reserve Champion Fawn Huacaya Female
CCNF Intervention – Reserve Champion Fawn Huacaya Male
CCNF Delilah – Reserve Champion Light Huacaya Female
CCNF Ilario – Reserve Champion Light Huacaya Male
CCNF Infinite Amaryllis – Reserve Champion White Huacaya Female
CCNF Sucrose – Reserve Champion White Huacaya Male
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Very impressive and it was a pleasure to be there watching this!!!!
Congrats on all those placings. I know it kept you hopping, as I never got a chance to say more than hi!
Glad to see your comment on stretching show to three days. Was my suggestion for next year also.
Thought show was great, but 2 very looong days!
Cal Coolidge