Alpaca Show UK

Laurel Farm won a number of awards at the 2007 alpaca show in Devon this year including first prize for Cleopatra & second prize with Saphire. We regard our alpacas welfare as paramount which is why we move all our alpacas around the paddocks on the farm so they can get used to traffic noise & a change of environment. This means when we take them to alpaca shows they are calm as they have become used this change in environment. The awards in which Laurel Farm has been credited with at alpaca shows is a sure sign that our breeding programme has been very successful so far & bodes well for the future.

The British Alpaca Society is the governing body for alpaca breeding in the UK. 

In order to compete in alpaca shows, your alpacas must be registered with the BAS.
Imported animals have to undergo rigorous screening before they can be registered and UK bred alpacas have to have a pedigree history to enable them to be added.

Most alpaca shows are run under BAS rules and it is a great achievement to win a place at one of these shows.   The bigger breeders have hundreds of animals to chose from so it is not surprising that they can pick out a few good alpacas for show when the time is right.  Despite this there is always a chance for the smaller breeder, as we have found out ourselves.  

The animals are show with a number.   The theory being that the judge will not know who owns or bred the alpaca, but of course some faces are well known within the industry.

Classes are split by age, sex and colour and there is usually a winner in each class, which is eligible to enter the championship class.  The second in each class will be eligible to enter the reserve champion class.

Unlike many other animals, alpacas are shown in “field condition” i.e. just as they come out of the field.   Of course this can be very flexible and it is advisable to at least pick off excess hay from the fleece, make sure they do not have faeces under their tales, trim toenails, and ensure that they have no disease or parasites.

In practice most breeders will get their show animals into a barn or shelter overnight so that if it rains the fleece does not get wet.  They will have been halter trained in the weeks or months preceding the show and providing the grass is nourishing enough, kept away from hay for a week or so.  This is because it is inevitable that your best show alpaca will decide to roll in the hay the day before the show, thus making him or her look scruffy and uncared for.

If the alpaca has been kindly halter trained and accustomed to people, animals and noises they are unlikely to find the event stressful.  This is not necessarily true of the owners.

Everything becomes worthwhile when you win a rosette, but even if you do not, then you will have had an opportunity to talk to the public and market your animals, as well as meeting other breeders and swapping information, stories, and telephone numbers.