It's Show Day! Are you ready?

Here are some tips that might help.

Halter training. The most important thing about halter training is to make sure your halter fits correctly. Make sure the nose band is as high up on the nose as it can go, basically right below the eyes. If the nose band slips down on the nose your alpaca will think it cannot breath and panic resulting in poor behavior and a lack of trust of the halter. To prevent slippage make sure the opening of your halter is large enough for the nose band to go as high as possilbe. I do not reccomend halters that do not have adjustable nose bands. Make sure you do your halter training at home and include standing, showing the teeth and walking smoothly as these are the tasks that are necessay for your animal to be judged appropriatly.

Clean up. The do's and dont's of Clean up are important as some things are against the rules. It is a good idea to familiarize your self with the alpaca showsystem handbook especially the part on "rules related to modifications and preperation of alpacas and thier fleeces" starting on page 16. 2025 Alpaca Show System Handbook

Huacayas: We like to trim our huacayas heads to match the clean look of thier blankets. Triming around eyes so they can see is also important. It is best to practice this at home on animals that are not going to show first. We usually trim our heads a week or so prior to the show. At the show we check under the tail and trim any soiled fiber off each morning. We fit their halter appropriately and then use a microfiber rag to wipe off any debris. Doing anymore than a suface wipe off may effect the organization of your alpacas fleece that the judge will be judging you on.

Suris: We do not trim the fiber around the head on our suris that are showing. At the show we check under the tail and trim soiled fiber each morning. We fit their halter appropriatly and use a wand first to knock off debris on the outside of the fleece. Then we use a rubber mit to smooth the outside of the fleece followed by a spritzing of water from a spray bottle to smoothe down the fly aways followed by one more smoothing of the mitt.

Keeping your pens clean during the show helps with keeping your alpacas clean

What to wear. It is recommended to wear a white shirt and black pants. Keep in mind you want all the attention to be on your alpaca, not yourself. Looking clean and professional is important in your presentation to the judge.

In the ring. Once you enter the ring your job is to show off your alpaca. Make sure to keep your eye on the judge at all times and stay out of the judges way of looking at your alpaca. Encourage your alpaca to walk in swift and smooth showing off the evenness of its gate. When standing in the line up make sure your alpaca is standing balanced with legs pointing forward. If your alpaca is antsy it is okay to make a circle and then regroup to your balanced stand. Be ready to hold your alpaca still while it is being evaluated by the judge. If you are not sure how to do this ask another breeder at the show. Most breeders are more than willing to help. You will also need to be able to show your alpacas teeth, again, if you do not know how, reach out to a seasoned breeder and they should be happy to help.

Show ring etiquettte. When placings are done and the judge has completed giving their oral reasons of placements it is customary to shake hands with your competition prior to leaving the ring.  

                          Above All, have a good time!

                                                           Julia Child