CCNF at the 2021 Showtacular: (Finally) Back in the Saddle
The global Covid pandemic that first roared to life in the winter of 2020, canceling that year’s Futurity in Kansas City, kept us from running out a show team that, at that time, we considered far and away the deepest our breeding program had ever produced. It would have been a combination of 2018-born animals coming back as yearlings for their final go-round (at least where the females were concerned), at least one exceptional 2-year-old male, in Dark Storm, with the heart of the team made up of a particularly tasty group of juveniles, that included the first generation of white/light crias sired by Bataclan (CCNF Daliance x CCNF Elixir). But the fates deemed that it was not to be, and as luck would have it, our attendance the fall before at the 2019 Showtacular would end up being our farm’s final appearance in a halter show ring for almost 24 months.
That was until about twelve days ago when we finally poked our heads above the parapet at the 2021 Showtacular. It’s a 2-show event held at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, NY, made up of the NEAOBA Alpaca Fall Spectacular and the Empire Alpaca Extravaganza (say them both ten times fast, and they’re yours). Though we were sorry that the shows couldn’t have attracted more entries (there were just over 200 animals in total), it was nice to again get to dip our toes back into the halter show waters.
With things here at home still a bit unsettled with the imminent arrival of our new Farm Manager, Jen stayed back at the farm to hold the fort. She instead sent yours truly along with our son Sam (brought out of show retirement and taking a break from his day job as a Flight Instructor), as well as our old friends and favorite recurring show victims Dave Serino, Sue Monat, and Vinny Veratti. The 4-legged show team for Syracuse was a decidedly sedate 18 animals (compared to the 40+ that make up the Futurity crews). The curious bit of trivia about this fall’s string was that the human dope allegedly in charge of the whole road crew had also been the team’s primary animal trainer for the first time in 24+ years. Long story short: it seems that there might be a tiny bit of hope for me yet! The eventual double female JC winner (Amadea) had come a long way to stand there calmly in the ring, looking every part the Champion through and through, after having started her first halter training session outside of our round pen in September by shrieking at me as we stuttered our way up the road to the Main Barn. Garnering her trust and the subsequent turnaround was undeniably gratifying.
The female Bataclan kids of the much-ballyhooed birth class of 2019 (and to be clear, we are referring to Electra, Prescience, Kalani, and Bellinda: chances are their kids will be in contention come April 2023) never made it into a show ring themselves, instead being absorbed into our breeding program earlier this year. However, their paternal 2-year-old brother, Veracity, and their younger, yearling siblings Solaria, Diadema, Miss Americanna, and Elyan were crucial members of this fall’s team. Together they garnered four banners (3 Championships, 1 Reserve), four 1st place finishes, four 2nd place finishes, and two 3rds. We’ve been around the block enough and carry enough emotional scar tissue, proving that while it guarantees nothing, it does nonetheless bode well.
Last but nowhere near least was the coming-out party in Syracuse of one CCNF Triumvirate. The younger full brother of both Futurity Champion/JC winner, CCNF Sovereign-Legacy, and AOA National Supreme Champion Female, CCNF Nymeria, we already knew that Luna x Elixir 3.0 was exceptional. There was frankly nothing that could have happened in the show rings in Syracuse that would have dampened that internal assessment. That said, sweeping the Male JC in both shows spoke volumes about why we are so excited to have already brought this young Herdsire online earlier this past summer. That that family group’s youngest full sibling, CCNF Lunar Quartet, is headed to Braveheart Alpacas in Germany is all kinds of exciting too. Of course, because we as alpaca breeders sometimes get bored, Luna’s very nice little 2021 female was sired by CCNF Reignmaker (though spoiler: she will be bred to an Elixir-line male when she comes of age). However, we sprinted back to safety and are now expecting version 5.0 of the Sov-Leg/Nymeria/Triumvirate/Quartet match sometime next summer. We shall see.
Above all, it was nice in Syracuse to get out to a show again for the first time in almost two years, see some folks we wouldn’t see otherwise, and garner a bit of exposure for our breeding program again. Marketing our farm and our animals with just our social media streams and our results from the past two National Fleece Shows has admittedly required a bit of retooling. While those ideas will undoubtedly be added to the tactical and strategic mix going forward, winning nylon (as an old colleague once famously quipped) in a halter ring is just an easier way to promote one’s alpaca business and a vital part of our preferred marketing cocktail.
Many, many thanks to all of the NEAOBA and Empire folks for putting on such a well-run event. Kudos as well to all of the local 4H kids who came to volunteer at the show all weekend long, from setup to takedown. We look forward to being back at the Showtacular in the fall of ’22! CCNF 1sts and Championships from both the NEAOBA and Empire shows are listed below. See you out there, stay safe and be well!
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CCNF Championships & 1st Place Finishes at the 2021 Showtacular, Syracuse, NY
Empire Alpaca Extravaganza
CCNF Triumvirate (CCNF Luna Majesty x CCNF Elixir) – Judge’s Choice Huacaya Male
CCNF Amadea (CCNF Amalthea x Irish Meadow’s Elite Max) – Judge’s Choice Huacaya Female
CCNF Dreadnought’s Alexis (CCNF Alia x CCNF Dreadnought) – Champion Brown Huacaya Female
CCNF Triumvirate (CCNF Luna Majesty x CCNF Elixir) – Champion Fawn Huacaya Male
CCNF Amadea (CCNF Amalthea x Irish Meadow’s Elite Max) – Champion Light Huacaya Female
CCNF Solaria (CCNF Marisol x CCNF Bataclan) – Champion White Huacaya Female
CCNF Elyan (CCNF Eliza x CCNF Bataclan) – Reserve Champion White Huacaya Male
CCNF Dreadnought’s Alexis (CCNF Alia x CCNF Dreadnought) – 1st Place, Brown Yearling Huacaya Females
CCNF Cosette (CCNF Nakia x CCNF Reignmaker) – 1st Place, Light Brown Yearling Huacaya Females
CCNF Triumvirate (CCNF Luna Majesty x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, 2-Year-Old Fawn Huacaya Males
CCNF Amadea (CCNF Amalthea x Irish Meadow’s Elite Max) – 1st Place, Yearling Light Huacaya Females
CCNF Miss Americcana (CCNF Pashmina x CCNF Bataclan) – 1st Place, Yearling Light Huacaya Females
CCNF Maximum Ascent (CCNF Ascension x Irish Meadow’s Elite Max) – 1st Place, Yearling Beige Huacaya Males
CCNF Veracity (CCNF Reina x CCNF Bataclan) – 1st Place, 2 Year Old Light Huacaya Males
CCNF Solaria (CCNF Marisol x CCNF Bataclan) – 1st Place, Yearling White Huacaya Females
NEAOBA Alpaca Fall Spectacular
CCNF Triumvirate (CCNF Luna Majesty x CCNF Elixir) – Judge’s Choice Huacaya Male
CCNF Amadea (CCNF Amalthea x Irish Meadow’s Elite Max) – Judge’s Choice Huacaya Female
CCNF Dreadnought’s Alexis (CCNF Alia x CCNF Dreadnought) – Champion Brown Huacaya Female
CCNF Triumvirate (CCNF Luna Majesty x CCNF Elixir) – Champion Fawn Huacaya Male
CCNF Amadea (CCNF Amalthea x Irish Meadow’s Elite Max) – Champion Light Huacaya Female
CCNF Veracity (CCNF Reina x CCNF Bataclan) – Champion Light Huacaya Male
CCNF Solaria (CCNF Marisol x CCNF Bataclan) – Champion White Huacaya Female
CCNF Marielle (CCNF Marguerite x CCNF Privateer) – Reserve Champion Fawn Huacaya Female
CCNF Dreadnought’s Alexis (CCNF Alia x CCNF Dreadnought) – 1st Place, Medium Brown Yearling Huacaya Females
CCNF Cosette (CCNF Nakia x CCNF Reignmaker) – 1st Place, Light Brown Yearling Huacaya Females
CCNF Lennox (CCNF Delilah x CCNF Dreadnought) – 1st Place, Yearling Dark Fawn Huacaya Males
CCNF Triumvirate (CCNF Luna Majesty x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, 2 Year Old Fawn Huacaya Males
CCNF Marielle (CCNF Marguerite x CCNF Privateer) – 1st Place, Yearling Dark Fawn Huacaya Females
CCNF Amadea (CCNF Amalthea x Irish Meadow’s Elite Max) – 1st Place, Yearling Light Huacaya Females
CCNF Miss Americcana (CCNF Pashmina x CCNF Bataclan) – 1st Place, Yearling Light Huacaya Females
CCNF Metropolitan (Chatham Lancaster’s La Boheme x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Yearling Beige Huacaya Males
CCNF Veracity (CCNF Reina x CCNF Bataclan) – 1st Place, 2 Year Old Light Huacaya Males
CCNF Solaria (CCNF Marisol x CCNF Bataclan) – 1st Place, Yearling White Huacaya Females
