CCNF at the 2016 Mapaca Jubilee and some early POC stuff!
We have come to love Harrisburg, PA and the Pennsylvania Farm Show complex that has been the home of the Mapaca Jubilee show for the past 15 years. That venue has hosted both some of our biggest initial show victories (CCNF Archangel’s first Championship in 2004, and his younger sister Magdalena’s 2 years later, after a most infamous night out on the town) as well as some of our more soul-crushing defeats over the years. There’s history there for us, the vast majority of it good. But as luck, scheduling, and the realities of having school-aged children would have it, it had been at least 6 years since we had last been able to attend the Jubilee in person, as virtually every year the show there has had its check-in day less than 72 hours after the conclusion of the Futurity show, which is nowadays held in Missouri. While we are unquestionably gluttons for punishment, the idea of putting our kids and our show animals through a a two-show road trip just never really had that much appeal. Though Jen has been mailing in fleeces to the Jubilee’s fleece show — which happens simultaneously with the halter show — so that we were represented in at least some form in recent years, we ultimately had to choose one show over the other to make an appearance at and there are few if any alpaca shows in this world that have the same cachet as the Futurity. As luck would have it in 2016 though, we took our kids’ April vacation week to make college visits with our soon to be high school senior and skipped the Futurity on the occasion of Sammy’s 18th birthday. Though we of course missed seeing several friends out in Kansas City that we don’t get to see otherwise, I can’t say that I missed the 40 hours of driving nor the stress that that show generates. It’s all good though and the happy byproduct was that we got to attend the 2016 Jubilee in Harrisburg instead – on the occasion of that show’s 20th Anniversary no less!
So what happened in Harrisburg this time around? The short version is that we left on Sunday to head home, rather knackered but very happy! The weekend was not without it’s quirks mind you: we survived a political rally for The Donald on the Thursday night before the show, held on the other side of the Farm Show itself. Hey, ti’s the season! That the only real complaint we had about the weekend was the seeming decline of our favorite old Indian restaurant, Aangan out on Walnut St., really tells you all you need to know. Yeah, yeah: I know there was an alpaca show and all but as anyone that has hung around our fire over the years can tell you, as soon as the showing is completed, it often comes back to Ian’s stomach. I am all about embracing my inner Hobbit. That said, this is not deteriorating into a food blog.
We showed up at the Jubilee this year with a show string that had been trimmed down considerably from the crew we had with us at NAAS/NAE at the start of the month: 24 animals vs. 37. Of course the contrast between the Jubilee, a single show run over 3 days, as opposed to the NAAS/NAE, which was two shows run concurrently over 48 hours, was huge. Dare we say, we were even a little bored at times by comparison? We also lacked the small army of handlers we had with us in Springfield, not the least of which were our boys who skipped this show in favor of school. As such, the string was intentionally picked so as to not stretch us too thin at any given point. To wit: we had only two classes the entire show with more than 1 animal in them, the result of careful planning by my better half. The CCNF Elixir kids were still present and accounted for though, and in spite of the their ever growing (maybe by now, over-growing) fleeces combined with the onset of warm weather, and a lack of rain back home, they still more than held their own. In fact, it was a trio of colored Elixir kids (Delilah, Dreadnaught, and Leviathan) who not only won the Get of Sire class for their dad at the Jubilee, but also came right back around as our winning trio in Breeder’s Best Three. In the fleece show our (read: Jennifer’s) 12 entries this year also generated their fair share of big wins, leading to sweeps of the Championships and Reserve Championships in both the fawn and white color groups (males and females were combined) as well as the Judges’ Choice Huacaya award for CCNF Prima Majesty!
It is also worth noting how several of our show results at the Jubilee relate to our upcoming consignments at the Parade of Champions auction in June. First and foremost there is young CCNF Leviathan, who left Harrisburg with his 3rd Color Championship in as many shows (to go along with 1 Judges’ Choice award at the Northeast Alpaca Expo) at the ripe old age of 8 months. Not bad, little man. We are stoked to have Leviathan as our headliner at the POC, representing us at lot #16! Snowmass Matrix Majesty daughter, CCNF Antebellum, who is both the paternal half sister of Prima Majesty (she of the fleece show JC award and the dam of CCNF Dreadnaught) as well as her neice (Prima Majesty and Antebellum’s dam, CCNF Bellisima, are maternal sisters), will be lot #4 at the POC. Unless Antebellum’s future buyers are brain dead, they will breed her to Elixir (Dreadnaught’s sire!) after the sale. Last but certainly not least, is CCNF Adelia, who will be lot #52 at the POC. Adelia’s aforementioned younger maternal sister is CCNF Delilah (CCNF Lilah x CCNF Elixir), who in addition to her contributions in our wins in the production classes, was also both the Champion Light Female Huacaya and the Judges’ Choice Huacaya Female last weekend! Delilah is the latest — but I highly doubt the last — member of the Jesusa/Magdalena/Golden Sovereign family to make a big splash on our show strings. Adelia should likewise be bred to Elixir by her new owners: the genetic math on that one is likewise fairly unequivocal!
As for the rest of our results from the Jubilee? We could really find no fault with how we did. Though we certainly did not win every class we entered — our worst placing was a 5th — at one crazy point from Friday through Saturday morning, the first 14 CCNF animals to go into their respective classes came out of them with blue ribbons, which was a new personal best for the farm, eclipsing by one a mark we had set at the Big E show over 10 years ago. I was of course the handler of the animal that broke that winning streak. Somebody had to be the goat. 😉 Many thanks to our dear friend Dave Serino for showing up as always to help out. With our truck and trailer parked at the Farm Show for the duration, the good Mr. Serino was even stuck having to chauffeur us all around greater Harrisburg for 4 days. Now we just need to find time to see him away from the wild and crazy glare of the alpaca show circuit! Show highlights below…
Cas-Cad-Nac Farm LLC – Championships, Specialty Awards, & 1st Place Finishes at the 2016 Mapaca Jubilee, Harriburg, PA
Jubilee Fleece Show
CCNF Magistrate (SHRA Virtual’s Reality x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, 2 Year Old Brown Huacaya
CCNF Intervention (CCNF Confectious x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Juvenile Fawn Huacaya
CCNF Prima Majesty (CCNF Bellarina x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, 2 Year Old Fawn Huacaya
CCNF Antares (CCNF Capella x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Juvenile White Huacaya
CCNF Sucrose (CCNF Sugar Drop x Snowmass Elite Legend) – 1st Place, Yearling White Huacaya
CCNF Centurion (CCNF Ascension x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, 2 Year Old White Huacaya
CCNF Defiance (Xanadu P. Cadenza x Snowmass Elite Legend) – 1st Place, Adult White Huacaya
CCNF Antares – Best Prepared Huacaya Fleece
CCNF Prima Majesty – Judges’ Choice Huacaya Fleece
CCNF Intervention – Champion Fawn Huacaya
CCNF Antares – Champion White Huacaya
CCNF Prima Majesty – Reserve Champion Fawn Huacaya
CCNF Defiance – Reserve Champion White Huacaya
Jubilee Halter Show
CCNF Reaper (CCNF Opal x Snowmass Conopa’s Kahuna) – 1st Place, True Black Juvenile Huacaya Male
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
MFI & KVR’s Fila My Fleece (KVR’s Prada My Fleece x MFI Peruvian Presumption) – 1st Place, Dark Fawn Yearling Huacaya Female
CCNF Alia (Ulio Humbra Aletta 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 Mirror Image (CCNF Consolation x Snowmass Conopa’s Kahuna) – 1st Place, Medium Fawn Yearling Huacaya Male
CCNF Delilah (CCNF Lilah x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Light Fawn Juvenile Huacaya Female
CCNF Marcello (CCNF Musette x CCNF Invictus) – 1st Place, Light Fawn Juvenile Huacaya Male
CCNF Constance (CCNF Consolation x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Beige Juvenile Huacaya Female
CCNF Caipirinha (CCNF Questra x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Beige Yearling Huacaya Female
CCNF Gimlet (CCNF Amore x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, White Yearling Huacaya Female
CCNF Khione (CCNF Prestige x Snowmass Sub-Zero) – 1st Place, Light Bred & Owned Yearling Huacaya Female
CCNF Spittfire (CCNF The Mighty Beast Alexandra x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Light Bred & Owned Yearling Huacaya Male
CCNF Elixir (CCNF Ascension x Snowmass Elite Legend) – 1st Place, Get of Sire (CCNF Delilah, CCNF Dreadnaught, & CCNF Leviathan)
Cas-Cad-Nac Farm LLC – 1st Place, Breeder’s Best 3 (CCNF Delilah, CCNF Dreadnaught, & CCNF Leviathan)
CCNF Delilah – Judges’ Choice Huacaya Female
CCNF Nikita – Champion Brown Huacaya Female
CCNF Leviathan – Champion Brown Huacaya Male
MFI & KVR’s Fila My Fleece – Champion Fawn Huacaya Female
CCNF Delilah – Champion Light Huacaya Female
CCNF Gimlet – Champion White Huacaya Female
CCNF Spittfite – Best Bred & Owned Huacaya Male
CCNF Skyhawk – Reserve Champion Black Huacaya Male
CCNF Luna Majesty – Reserve Champion Brown Huacaya Female
CCNF Caipirinha – Reserve Champion Light Huacaya Female
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