National show reflections (by Paul)

Evening all, I am indeed back from my travels down to Newark and the National show so I thought I would reflect on the long weekend.

First of all I must say a massive thanks to Mike and Carolyn Birch for a fantastic and well run event. With such a large number of animals, owners and members of the public anything could have happened - but it didn't!

This was the first time Barnacre had attended the National (as competitors) and it was great to meet some old friends and make a good few more - hello everyone.

Despite travelling solo and arriving after dark the show team was safely unloaded and (eventually) the tent errected for a cold nights sleep. Thanks to the many owners who pointed out how warm their hotel rooms were (Just Alpacas!), it's about time room service and central heating came as standard in tents if you ask me!

The 'public' were very very interested in alpacas (Alison - buy some alpacas to keep the horse company!) especially those that were taken on walks to try and combat the humidity of the show building - not something I'd factored into account. Horatio (our 1 year old Hornblower black male) thought that he might keep cooler by hanging his head out of the pen for the whole weekend - I think Hughie might have a little bit of competition there for the affections of the public!

To the alpaca owners out there who haven't shown any of your animals, go for it. Our bag of ribbons is proof that dedication to the welfare of your animals and sensible investments of time and money can produce great results.

It is quite ironic that now we have some animals to show Debbie had to stay behind and look after the 'next generation'. The challenges of alpaca farming keep rumbling on.

Bring on Northumberland show in 2 weeks time...

Paul