A judge closely examines two young alpaca in the ring. To the untrained eye, there may not be much difference between the animals. But Dana Welch, who has been raising and breeding alpaca for more than 10 years, has an eye for the same things the judges do.
It’s about the proportion of the animal, the quality, uniformity, softness and brightness of the fleece, its health, and many, many other factors.
Dana and her husband Tim Welch, of Purgatory Falls Alpaca in Lyndeborough, don’t show their animals for the prize money – because it costs significantly more to travel to shows and board their animals than they would ever make with prize money, if there were any. (And there’s not, they mention wryly.)
“All it is is bragging rights,” said Tim, as he watches his wife in the ring, showing a young males the couple brought along to the combined North American Alpaca Show and Northeast Alpaca Expo held in Massachusetts this past weekend.
So why do the couple do it?
“Because we’re idiots,” said Tim with a laugh. “This is like our vacation. Instead of going somewhere for the week, we’ll invest $3,000 to $4,000 to take our animals to the shows. And get nothing but the bragging rights.”
Dana, however, said she sees alpaca shows as a clear indicator of whether the farm’s breeding program is on the right track, and a way to get a professional opinion on what traits should be bred and which ones need to be watched. Dana, who uses her alpaca’s fleece to spin yarn and weave with, is particularly interested in the quality of her animal’s fleece.
Even if that means the hecticness of showing an animal and then racing back to the Purgatory Falls stalling area to grab another alpaca to lead to a different ring, only minutes apart – a routine Dana is well used to by the end of the two-day event.
Tim and Dana brought six of their herd to the show. They switch up the animals they bring, said the pair – usually those they’re thinking about breeding that year.
The two started small, after Tim became interested in an alpaca farm he drove by every day when they lived in Washington. Dana was interested in making her own yarn, and the two decided to give it a go with seven animals.
Now they have about 80.
“I don’t know what we were thinking when we got them,” said Dana. “And I certainly didn’t know where we were going with it.”
Dana can look out over her herd and tell you each of their names. “I like the personalities,” said Dana. “They are very individual. They’ll interact with you, but if they don’t like you they’ll walk away from you. They’re like cats that way.”
Showing has become a more expensive endeavor in the last few years, said Tim, meaning fewer alpaca breeders and raisers are still doing it. The ones that are left are either the cream of the crop or some of the largest alpaca farms in the United States, who have the funds available. That can mean stiff competition, said Tim. But that doesn’t mean that Purgatory Falls doesn’t come away with its own share of ribbons, including first place takers.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com.
She is on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.