DMAR Update for Week 5/25/08

Posted 26 May, 2008 in Alpaca Sales, DMAR Store, Alpaca Shows, Alpaca General | No comments

DMAR Update for Week 5/25/08:

AOBA National Show in SLC, UT: I just got back from the national show last night. I left last Wednesday for a fun time networking, learning, and observing alpacas. To my disappointment I didn’t do as well on my fleeces as I thought I would, however on the upside I did take a seminar on how to do fleeces and plan to put my newly found knowledge to work and redo my fleeces to see if I can improve the overall scores. I had a great time and look forward to the next show.  Of course that won’t be until the end of September in New Mexico.

DMAR Nikoli and DMAR Antonio: Both of these juveniles are now fully weaned and beginning their halter training. Both boys are for sale and I will have a link to their information within the month.

Bisbee Farmer’s Market: Tom and I will be back at the farmer’s mkt. this weekend. We hope to see you there.  

DMAR Update for Week 5-11-08

Posted 16 May, 2008 in Alpaca Shows, Alpaca General | No comments

DMAR Update for Week 5-11-08:

2008 AOBA Nationals in Salt Lake City, UT: I am so excited as this will be the first national show I will be attending. It runs from Wednesday, May 21st thru Sunday, May 25th. Thusday and Saturday are filled with seminars and show watching is left for Friday and Sunday. I will be entering six fleeces at the show. I have my fingers crossed.

Today we will spit check Emma who is bred to DMAR Apollo. Emma, a true black, is very fine, but lacks density. Apollo is a very dense medium brown male with wonderful crimp. Both maiden and herdsire have the typey head and nice fiber coverage. I believe this pair will create a wonderful cria.

All is well this week. This past Saturday we went to the Bisbee Farmer’s Market to find out that it had been moved to Elfrida. All was not lost as we were able to be vendors at the Fire Station Centennial Festival. Sales were good.  

SouthWestern Regional Alpaca Show

Posted 19 March, 2008 in Alpaca Shows | No comments

SouthWestern Regional Alpaca Show was held on March 7-9 at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix. The weekend was absolutely gorgeous with the temps in the 70’s. The show was a level IV and proved to be very competitive with many of the color classes being over 10 alpacas.

We took with us DMAR Apollo, DMAR Diego, Walls Edge Emma, and Walls Edge Shasta.

First to go into the show ring was Emma (true black yearling female). She had to compete against 10 other alpacas. Emma’s previous owners never showed her, so she was understandably nervous and kept moving around. We were in the second row and the judge moved us up into the first row. No, we didn’t take a first, but we did take a 6th place. Placements only go up to 6th place at the shows, but we were thrilled since that meant she was better than 5 other alpacas. The judge stated that her fleece was not as dense as the others before her, but remarked that although she was dusty she could still feel the fineness. This is wonderful as you all know getting fineness in the darker colors is easier said than done. By the way the following week we took Emma to IAO and she took a second.

Next in the ring was Apollo. Apollo is now a senior alpaca (2 years old). Apollo has always had a very calm, confident air about him. He walks in the ring like he owns it and demands your attention as he stands there calmly with head held high and ears standing on end. It didn’t take long for the judge to pull us up into first place. The judge commented that Apollo was very dusty (this is usually a problem for Arizona ranchers as we do not have pasture, but dirt,dirt, dirt) and not as fine as the other boys, but he definitely had the fleece growth along with density to pull him into first. Also, she commented on the width of his chest which would make him a good breeder.

Diego was next. Oh my Diego. He is without a doubt the most friendly alpaca I have on the ranch. He runs up to guests and kisses them all. You can’t help, but love Diego. Except of course if you are the one showing him in the ring. Diego cannot stand still. He is constantly moving and in one show he actually laid down threatening that he wouldn’t get up. At least at the SWRAS he didn’t lay down. We didn’t place this time around, but we do have hopes again after we get him sheared. His staple length at this point is very long and with long staple lengths the alpaca loses some of its definition in crimp. He is still super fine, but it just wasn’t enough this time.

Last in the ring was Shasta. She did great considering it was her first show as well. She walked with me and stood still. Of course she is a white alpaca and she was up against 12 other white yearling females. We didn’t place with Shasta, but we do expect her crias to be something else. No more shows for either girl. It’s time to get them bred and see what they can produce.

All in all the show I feel was a success. We had a lot of fun and we always love interacting with the public and fellow ranchers. The show is free to the public, so if you missed it this year there is always next year.  

DMAR Diego - 1st Place NMSFAS

Posted 25 September, 2007 in Alpaca Shows | No comments

DMAR Diego - 1st Place NMSFAS (New Mexico State Fair Alpaca Show) out of 7. Senior Judge, Sharon Loner, kept my husband, Tom, sweating in the line as she pulled out 4 other juveniles to compare and inspect their fleeces again. Only after the decision was written down and Sharon signed the paperwork was my husband approached with the blue ribbon.

DMAR Diego was the last to walk into the ring since he was the youngest in his class of juveniles. Tom says Sharon came around looked at both sides of Diego’s fleece after checking his teeth and then never looked back.  Sharon advised that she had her eye on DMAR Diego as he walked into the ring. After seeing him up close she knew he was her first place winner and proceeded to let the owner sweat it out as she looked for her second place winner.

Sharon went on to say that DMAR Diego was the whole package. His fleece was fine and uniform. She advised that he felt buttery soft. His bite was perfect and he had the typey head they expect in alpacas.

DMAR Diego is too young for breeding, but keep watch of him. We expect this to only be the beginning of his show winning career. DMAR Diego is a Victor grandson, whose genetics are irrefutable.  

SouthWestern Regional Alpaca Show

Posted 7 March, 2007 in Alpaca Shows | No comments

If you have a chance this weekend please don’t forget about attending the SouthWestern Regional Alpaca Show from Saturday, March 10th thru Sunday, March 11th. It is being held at the Arizona State Fairgrounds and is free to the public. Over 460 alpacas have been registered to attend. This should be a lot of fun.

Here is your chance to meet the alpaca ranchers in the area and also meet some of the vendors.

We hope to see you there. 

2006 AlpacaFest West Show Winners

Posted 13 November, 2006 in Alpaca Shows | No comments

This past weekend, November 11th and 12th we attended the AlpacaFest West show in The City of Industry, CA. The venue was in the City of Industry Expo center. We were pleasantly surprised at how pretty the location was. It was a level II show with 280 alpacas in total and judged by senior judge, Jane Tellier. On day 1 we got to show off our DMAR Apollo. He was in the medium brown category and was one of six alpacas. Jane chose him to be 2nd place. She stated that he had a very pleasing head and was very fine. Apollo definitely has a presence about him. He strutted around the arena proudly and gave the appearance of a winner. DMAR Apollo is an Augusto grandson and he will become our herdsire when he is old enough.

DMAR Athena showed the following day. She was one of six in the light fawn class. She was up against some stiff competition like All American Alpacas, Alpacas of Misty Ridge, and Alpacas del VAlle Cereza. As I held my breath I listened to Jane Tellier place Athena first with the comments such as solid structured female, good conformation, excellent density, and uniform of micron from top knot down to her toes. Then when Athena went in for the championship round she won reserve color champion. Again Jane brought up her excellent density. DMAR Athena is an Augusto granddaughter.

Overall we had a great show and spent some good times catching up with old friends and making new ones.