Border Union Show 2011

We have had a very busy two days at the Border Union Show, hence the lack of blog and tweets!  We had more animals this year and nine different breeders which was good.

Friday morning we were up early and headed off to Kelso to build pens and the ring and get the fleece judging done.  Kelso is a Composite show, so the fleeces are judged on the Friday with the animals on the Saturday and the scores combined to obtain the overall placings.

It can all get very complicated but with Rob Bettinson from Toft Alpaca's judging the show we were in safe hands.  Just to prove the fleeces were judged here is Rob with apprentice judge Melanie Douglas hard at work yesterday.

Before I get too excited and tell you more about it, I must say a big thank you to all the stewards who helped out, Judith Millburn, John Waugh, Mike Griffiths, Carol and Dave Pearson and Paul who as always was entertaining the crowd with his commentary.

We had taken along 6 animals, 3 boys and 3 girls.  As it was a colour championship we started with the blacks and worked through to the whites.  Our first alpaca in the ring was Meketaten, we had high hopes for Meketaten as she has a fabulous fleece, thankfully the judges clearly agreed commenting on her fabulous fleece, 1st place - thank you very much. Meketaten who is from Golden Guinea also went on to win Brown Champion.

Next up was Sandstorm, our adult boy.  Another first place in a very close class, so we were very pleased with this one.  Sandstorm is a compact alpaca with excellent conformation, with a very pleasing head type and fabulous fleece; the description the judge gave of him in his summing up.

Then it was the turn of Lady Godiva, another of our Golden Guinea progeny, she came second  in the Intermediate Female class.  She was exceptionally well behaved in the ring.

In the fawn colour championship we were then delighted that Sandstorm was awarded best fawn.

Next was the turn of the whites, we had Niveous and Wynfor in the same class, Intermediate Male.  These two boys are from Legend of Spartacus, the Supreme Champion at the 2009 Scottish National Fleece Show, so we were hoping for good things from them.  After a little deliberation, Niveous was placed  1st and Wynfor 2nd, how impressive was that, Rob said there was only a cigarette paper between them.  I was pleased that I agreed with his placing too!

The final show team member was Barnacre Casiphia, now this girl is something very special.  She is a well grown with an outstanding fleece and great conformation.  She was actually in a class on her own, Intermediate Female. 

In the ring the judge asked a number of times the date she was sheared as the rate of her fleece growth is fantastic, she already has an inch of very impressive fleece.  First place again followed by White champion!  Not bad eh, we take white, Fawn and Brown animals and win all three champions.

Casiphia then went on to win Supreme Champion and Best of British, with Meketaten, yes the brown (!!) being awarded Reserve Champion.  What can I say we are so so pleased, it just goes to show what you can achieve with a lot of hard work and good breeding.

I will tell you more tomorrow, yes there is more.