CCNF fall show results: finishing what we started.
Yeah, yeah…I know that the fall shows already ended for us more than two and a half weeks ago. What can I tell you? Things have been a little busy of late around these parts. This off-season business seems to have been a trumped-up bunch of hooey so far! 😉
In any case, as those of you that are kind enough to be regular readers of this wee online rag already know, we tend to keep to a pretty limited fall show schedule. In fact there are only two show events that we go to between 10/1 and the end of the calendar year: the Green Mountain Alpaca Fall Spectacular held in nearby Essex Junction, VT just a short 90 minute drive north, and the long-running Empire Extravaganza, the weekend after (10/25 & 26) in Syracuse, NY. We really think of both shows as being quite local, even if that is somewhat colored by past experiences of hauling animals to show venues as far away as Salt Lake City, UT. Suffice it to say though, that the fall shows tend to feel more relaxed, or certainly less stressful than their spring counterparts which often draw in competition from across the country. So while we obviously show up in Essex and Syracuse hoping to compete and do well as we do at any other show, the stakes feel like they are a bit less, and the general vibe is consequently much more chill.
This fall we had a substantially different show string from the one that had last traveled with us to the Futurity in Kansas City in mid April. A changing of the guard if you will. Not only were our numbers down  — 23 vs. 30 or even 23 vs. 40 if you want to talk about the craziness we took with us to the North American show the first weekend in April: that’s just s.t.u.p.i.d. — but there was also a large core from last spring’s show string that has since been retired from the show circuit. Amongst others, gone were the likes of Centurion, Marick, Magistrate, Maestro, Prima, and Moonbeam who had along with any number of Championship banners, also won 4 different Judges’ Choice awards between them in March and April of this year. Quite honestly, after campaigning an animal like Centurion over much of the past year and the expectations that inevitably come with that, we (the Lutz family) were all looking forward to having a show roster made up of virtual unknowns, with little or no expectations put onto them. Yes, of course we have some expectations for any animal we’re bothering to take out with us to a show but you get my point.
Drafted into this show string for the first time were several sons of our old and beloved friend Snowmass Elite Legend. EL left us for good (we traded our interest in him back to his birth farm in exchange for their half of Matrix Majesty) in January of 2013 but not before blessing our herd with a final group of young sons, including CCNF Elixir’s full sibling, Nativity (that’s him at right), and another curious little fart we named Sucrose (that’s him above). They were likewise joined by their slightly more experienced siblings Eldunari, Minuet (who is the full sibling of our Herdsire, CCNF Defiance), Elizabeth, and Mechlin. The wily “old” veterans of this show string were our Majesty son, CCNF Kona, our Kahuna son, CCNF Reign Maker, and our dark brown Cameron son, CCNF Burnt Umber. A few people who had been familiar with our show string from this past April — which was admittedly pound for pound the deepest one we had ever shown in our 18 years of breeding alpacas — took a look in our pens at the VT show and in Syracuse and mused as to whether or not we had brought a “B” string (as in a group of show animals of intentionally lesser quality) out with us this fall? For starters, let’s be clear about the fact that we are definitely not cool enough, to even have a B-string. Secondly, we’re philosophically opposed to ever leaving our best animals at home unless it’s because they’ve already shown and are now part of our production herd. The strategy is a pretty simple one: show the best animals you have available and let those speak for your breeding program. Though there are always ups and downs of course, particularly as one waits for the next generation to mature sometimes, for the most part that plan has worked out for us over the years. As the results below demonstrate, it all played out just fine this fall too, even if I could here my friend Dave Serino’s voice in the back of my mind at the VT show saying, “always the bridesmaid, never the bride!” as we ran a virtual special on Reserve Championships that weekend. Let the record show, by the way, that that is a problem that is not really a problem at all!
Cas-Cad-Nac Farm LLC – Championships & 1st Place Halter Finishes, Fall 2014
Green Mountain Alpaca Fall Spectacular
CCNF Swahili – 1st Place Bay Black Yearling Female Huacaya
CCNF Burnt Umber – 1st Place Dark/Medium Brown Yearling Male Huacaya
CCNF Zegna – 1st Place B&O Dark Yearling Male Huacaya
CCNF Couture – 1st Place Dark Fawn Yearling Female Huacaya
CCNF Kona – 1st Place Dark Fawn Yearling Male Huacaya
CCNF Precipice – 1st Place Fawn 2 Year+ Male Huacaya
CCNF Sucrose – 1st Place Light Juvenile Male Huacaya
CCNF Minuet – 1st Place White Yearling Female Huacaya
CCNF Cangalli Legend – 1st Place B&O 2 Year+ Light Male Huacaya
CCNF Nativity – 1st Place White Juvenile Male Huacaya
CCNF Sigil – 1st Place White 2 Year+ Male Huacaya
CCNF Kona – Champion Fawn Male
CCNF Zegna – Best Bred & Owned Male
CCNF Compass Rose – Reserve Champion Grey Female
CCNF Swahili – Reserve Champion Black Female
CCNF Burnt Umber – Reserve Champion Brown Male
CCNF Couture – Reserve Champion Fawn Female
CCNF Sucrose – Reserve Champion Light Male
CCNF Sigil – Reserve Champion White Male
CCNF Gabbana – 1st Place Produce of Dam (CCNF Couture & CCNF Zegna)
Snowmass Matrix Majesty – 1st Place Get of Sire (CCNF Kona, CCNF Precipice, CCNF Zegna)
Empire Alpaca Extravaganza
CCNF Swahili – 1st Place Bay Black Yearling Female Huacaya
CCNF Burnt Umber – 1st Place Medium Brown Yearling Male Huacaya
CCNF Darkside – 1st Place Light Brown Yearling Male Huacaya
CCNF Reign Maker – 1st Place Dark Fawn Yearling Male Huacaya
CCNF Kona – 1st Place Medium Fawn 2 Year Old Male Huacaya
CCNF Vanguard Legend – 1st Place Medium Fawn Yearling Male Huacaya
CCNF Sucrose – 1st Place Beige Yearling Male Huacaya
CCNF Cangalli Legend – 1st Place 2 Year+ B&O Male Huacaya
CCNF Minuet – 1st Place White Yearling Female Huacaya
CCNF Nativity – 1st Place White Juvenile Male Huacaya
CCNF Sigil – 1st Place White 2 Year Male Huacaya
CCNF Ellisar – 1st Place White Mature Male Huacaya
CCNF Sucrose – Judges’ Choice Huacaya Male
CCNF Burnt Umber – Champion Brown Male
CCNF Reign Maker – Champion Fawn Male
CCNF Sucrose – Champion Light Male
CCNF Minuet – Champion White Female
CCNF Nativity – Champion White Male
CCNF Swahili – Reserve Champion Black Female
CCNF Gabbana – 1st Place Produce of Dam (CCNF Couture & CCNF Zegna)
Snowmass Matrix Majesty – 1st Place Get of Sire (CCNF Kona, CCNF Precipice, CCNF Zegna)
Cas-Cad-Nac Farm LLC – 1st Place Breeder’s Best 3 (CCNF Eldunari, CCNF Minuet, CCNF Sucrose)
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Always enjoy the CCNF Chronicles! Congratulations on an amazing Fall!