This past weekend brought to a close what was unquestionably one of our best years ever on the alpaca show circuit. Some of that is of course down to 20 years of experience breeding these amazing animals though undeniably, in order for 2017 to have gone as well as it did, the genetic stars also had to have lined up correctly on more than one occasion. Of course you also have to have accumulated the genetics capable of lining those stars up on any kind of consistent basis in the first place. Anyway, the balance one attempts to strike here is is between enjoying the ride and the many moments that make it up, while at the same time not taking anything for granted.

The fall shows for us – the Empire Alpaca Extravaganza and the NEAOBA Alpaca Fall Spectacular – have in recent times run together at the same venue over the course of 3 days as the “Showtacular,” which for the third year running now has meant one less weekend away from home as they are the only fall shows we’ve ever really gone to with much enthusiasm. Yes, there was a brief dalliance with Ohio and November once upon a time years ago but honestly, one or two 20+ hour road trips in the spring is plenty. November is time to light the fireplace, read bad fiction, and drink dark beer. Woe be upon he or she that suggests otherwise.

Our fall show string was missing some key members from the behemoth team that featured last spring at both the NAAS/NAE as well as the Futurity show in KC, where they helped us win Large Breeder of Year for the first time ever. Retired from the team were the likes of Majesty United, Delilah, Dreadnought, Sienna, and Eden: all Champions in their own right. Instead we had a relatively trimmed down team (24 vs. 40) made up of returnees from the spring string along with some new and exciting rookies who had been too young make the cut back in April.

One never knows how animals that looked magnificent at shearing will really look come the fall in just 2 to 3 inches of regrowth. Fleeces that we (and sometimes the judges too, if we make the mistake of bringing them out) dismiss in October, do not uncommonly look very different come March and April, and vice-versa. That being said, we couldn’t be completely sure how the animals would look at these two fall shows until the judges were doing their fleece parts, particularly given that the show weekend for us was preceded by 2+ weeks of dry, relatively mild weather, with the show animals so magnetically drawn to the the roll spots in their paddocks, that we ended up locking them off of pasture for the 5 or 6 days before we hit the road. In the end, it didn’t eliminate the dust from all of the fleeces — and it should be said that the vast majority of exhibitors all faced the same environmental challenges coming in — though it was undeniable that the fleeces in Syracuse seemed to look better the more days the animals spent bedded on just straw, under fans, and away from the roll spots and sand-filled corals of CCNF. Obviously it all worked out well enough in the end though!

The human team gathered at the Showtacular this year to help us weather the 2-show storm were our usual cast of helpers who are simply to sweet to say no, choosing instead to hose an otherwise perfectly good weekend walking alpacas in circles with us: our friends Sue Monat, Vinny Veratti, and Dave Serino — love you all — plus the three remaining Lutzes who are not going to college in Florida. We did in fact offer Sam, who as chance would have it was on a 4 day weekend, the chance to come up from Daytona and jump into the fray but unsurprisingly, he passed. I can’t say I would have done any differently had our roles been reversed! It was all good though and in the end with the NEAOBA show ending by midday on Sunday we even had all of the show critters back on the farm and going for a celebratory jaunt in their home pastures by dinner time, roll spots be damned. The results below, as is usually the case, speak for themselves…

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CCNF Championships, Specialty Awards, & 1st Place Finishes at the 2017 Showtacular, Syracuse, NY

Empire Alpaca Extravaganza

CCNF Carrera (CCNF Panamera x CCNF Centurion) – Judges’ Choice Huacaya Female

CCNF Sentinel (CCNF Capuchin x CCNF Elixir) – Champion Fawn Huacaya Male

CCNF Oriflamme (CCNF La Vie en Rose x CCNF Elixir) – Champion Light Huacaya Female

CCNF Carrera (CCNF Panamera x CCNF Centurion) – Champion White Huacaya Female

CCNF Heidrun (CCNF Dorianna x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – Best Bred & Owned Huacaya Female

CCNF Angiolo (CCNF Bellisima x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – Best Bred & Owned Huacaya Male

CCNF Claire de Lune (CCNF Moonlight x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – Reserve Champion Fawn Huacaya Female

CCNF Rise Up (CCNF Eternal Rose x CCNF Elixir) – Reserve Champion Fawn Huacaya Male

CCNF Tristan (Chatham Lancaster’s La Boheme x CCNF Elixir) – Reserve Champion Light Huacaya Male

CCNF Bataclan (CCNF Daliance x CCNF Elixir) – Reserve Champion White Huacaya Male

Cas-Cad-Nac Farm LLC (CCNF Bataclan, CCNF Oriflamme, CCNF Sentinel) — 1st Place, Breeder’s Best 3

CCNF Elixir (CCNF Oriflamme, CCNF Bataclan, CCNF Tristan) – 1st Place, Huacaya Get of Sire

CCNF Magisteria (CCNF Jasmine x CCNF Magistrate) – 1st Place, Brown Yearling Huacaya Females

CCNF Sentinel (CCNF Capuchin x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Fawn Juvenile Huacaya Males

CCNF Claire de Lune (CCNF Moonlight x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Medium Fawn Yearling Huacaya Females

CCNF Armani (FRE Elixir’s Fashionably Late x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Dark Fawn Yearling Huacaya Males

CCNF Rise Up (CCNF Eternal Rose x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Medium Fawn Yearling Huacaya Males

CCNF Isola (CCNF Ascension x CCNF Defiance) – 1st Place, Light Fawn Yearling Huacaya Females

CCNF Oriflamme (CCNF La Vie en Rose x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Beige Yearling Huacaya Females

CCNF Heimdall (CCNF Mechlin x CCNF Centurion) – 1st Place, Beige Yearling Huacaya Males

CCNF Tristan (Chatham Lancaster’s La Boheme x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Beige Yearling Huacaya Males

CCNF Rainbow Pulse (CCNF Couture x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, White Yearling Huacaya Females

CCNF Carrera (CCNF Panamera x CCNF Centurion) – 1st Place, White Yearling Huacaya Females

CCNF Bataclan (CCNF Daliance x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, White Yearling Huacaya Males

CCNF Priam (CCNF Pristine x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, White Yearling Huacaya Males

CCNF Heidrun (CCNF Dorianna x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Bred & Owned Dark Yearling Huacaya Females

CCNF Angiolo (CCNF Bellisima x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Bred & Owned Light Yearling Huacaya Males

 

NEAOBA Alpaca Fall Spectacular

CCNF Rainbow Pulse (CCNF Couture x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – Judges’ Choice Huacaya Female

CCNF Midnatsol (CCNF Lilah x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – Champion Brown Huacaya Female

CCNF Rise Up (CCNF Eternal Rose x CCNF Elixir) – Champion Fawn Huacaya Male

CCNF Magnar (CCNF Magdalena x CCNF Elixir) – Champion Light Huacaya Male

CCNF Oriflamme (CCNF La Vie en Rose x CCNF Elixir) – Champion Light Huacaya Female

CCNF Rainbow Pulse (CCNF Couture x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – Champion White Huacaya Female

CCNF Heidrun (CCNF Dorianna x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – Best Bred & Owned Huacaya Female

CCNF Angiolo (CCNF Bellisima x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – Best Bred & Owned Huacaya Male

CCNF Claire de Lune (CCNF Moonlight x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – Reserve Champion Fawn Huacaya Female

CCNF Magisteria (CCNF Jasmine x CCNF Magistrate) – 1st Place, Brown Yearling Huacaya Females

CCNF Midnatsol (CCNF Lilah x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Light Brown Yearling Females

CCNF Sentinel (CCNF Capuchin x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Fawn Juvenile Huacaya Males

CCNF Claire de Lune (CCNF Moonlight x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Medium Fawn Yearling Huacaya Females

CCNF Armani (FRE Elixir’s Fashionably Late x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Dark Fawn Yearling Huacaya Males

CCNF Rise Up (CCNF Eternal Rose x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Medium Fawn Yearling Huacaya Males

CCNF Isola (CCNF Ascension x CCNF Defiance) – 1st Place, Light Fawn Yearling Huacaya Females

CCNF Magnar (CCNF Magdalena x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Light Fawn Yearling Huacaya Males

CCNF Heimdall (CCNF Mechlin x CCNF Centurion) – 1st Place, Beige Yearling Huacaya Males

CCNF Oriflamme (CCNF La Vie en Rose x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Beige Yearling Huacaya Females

CCNF Tristan (Chatham Lancaster’s La Boheme x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Beige Yearling Huacaya Males

CCNF Priam (CCNF Pristine x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, White Yearling Huacaya Males

CCNF Rainbow Pulse (CCNF Couture x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, White Yearling Huacaya Females

CCNF Heidrun (CCNF Dorianna x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Bred & Owned Dark Yearling Huacaya Females

CCNF Angiolo (CCNF Bellisima x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Bred & Owned Light Yearling Huacaya Males

CCNF Lyrica (Xanadu P. Cadenza x TKO’s King of the Ladies) – 1st Place, Bred & Owned Light Yearling Huacaya Females

Showtacular Fleece Show

CCNF Rainbow Pulse (CCNF Couture x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – Judges’ Choice Huacaya

CCNF Moonraker (CCNF Moonlight x CCNF Matrix Majesty) – Champion Brown Huacaya

CCNF Sienna (Happy Hearts Gemma D’Oro x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – Champion Fawn Huacaya

CCNF Rainbow Pulse (CCNF Couture x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – Champion White Huacaya

CCNF Magisteria (CCNF Jasmine x CCNF Magistrate) – Reserve Champion Black Huacaya

CCNF Dreadnought (CCNF Prima Majesty x CCNF Elixir) – Reserve Champion Fawn Huacaya

CCNF Heimdall (TGF Legend’s Lace x CCNF Centurion) – Reserve Champion Light Huacaya

CCNF Declan (Delicate Lace x CCNF Elixir) – Reserve Champion White Huacaya

CCNF Heimdall (TGF Legend’s Lace x CCNF Centurion) – Best Brightness

CCNF Heimdall (TGF Legend’s Lace x CCNF Centurion) – Best Crimp

CCNF Magisteria (CCNF Jasmine x CCNF Magistrate) – 1st Place, Black Juvenile Huacayas

CCNF Midnatsol (CCNF Lilah x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Brown Juvenile Huacayas

CCNF Sienna (Happy Hearts Gemma D’Oro x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Yearling Fawn Huacayas

MFI & KVR’s Fila My Fleece (KVR’s Prada My Fleece x MFI Peruvian Presumption) – 1st Place, 2 Year Old Fawn Huacayas

CCNF Prima Majesty (CCNF Bellarina x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Adult Fawn Huacayas

CCNF Heimdall (TGF Legend’s Lace x CCNF Centurion) – 1st Place, Light Juvenile Huacayas

CCNF Spittfire (CCNF The Mighty Beast Alexandra x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, 2 Year Old Light Huacayas

CCNF Ilario (Chatham Lancaster’s La Boheme x CCNF Elixir) – 1st Place, Yearling White Huacayas

CCNF Rainbow Pulse (CCNF Couture x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Juvenile White Huacayas

CCNF Staccata (TGF Let Freedom Ring x Spirit Wind’s Maestro) – 1st Place, Juvenile Pattern Huacaya

CCNF Eden (CCNF Johanna x Snowmass Matrix Majesty) – 1st Place, Yearling Pattern Huacaya