First Show
Sunday, October 8, 2017
First Show
Another memory I’d like to share is that of our first show. We entered the Virginia Classic Alpaca and Llama Show in 2008. We just brought two boys, Havana Smoke and Ice Man. Having attended a couple shows as spectators, we had a general idea of what to do but no real experience.
What a way to start! Smoke was the first to go into the ring and was, to put it mildly, quite a handful. He was a very nervous, high strung animal and combined with my inexperience and nervousness, this was a recipe for disaster! Sure enough, as the judge went to examine him he went ballistic. He reared up, catching me in the chest and pushed me half way across the ring before I got control of him. Again and again the judge patiently tried to examine him and the ring steward jumped in to help. Finally we succeeded and the judge moved on. Oh joy, I thought my heart was going to explode! We did end up placing fifth I think, so at least we got a ribbon for our efforts.
Next came Iceman who was much easier to handle. This went very well and he got a fourth place ribbon.
We survived our first show!
Since then, we have caught the “Show Bug” and have competed much more successfully at many shows over the years. (More on that later!)
It’s a good thing I’m a stubborn, determined person and have taught myself better handling skills.
I still get nervous and excited when we show, but am no longer intimidated by even the most difficult animals.
Another memory I’d like to share is that of our first show. We entered the Virginia Classic Alpaca and Llama Show in 2008. We just brought two boys, Havana Smoke and Ice Man. Having attended a couple shows as spectators, we had a general idea of what to do but no real experience.
What a way to start! Smoke was the first to go into the ring and was, to put it mildly, quite a handful. He was a very nervous, high strung animal and combined with my inexperience and nervousness, this was a recipe for disaster! Sure enough, as the judge went to examine him he went ballistic. He reared up, catching me in the chest and pushed me half way across the ring before I got control of him. Again and again the judge patiently tried to examine him and the ring steward jumped in to help. Finally we succeeded and the judge moved on. Oh joy, I thought my heart was going to explode! We did end up placing fifth I think, so at least we got a ribbon for our efforts.
Next came Iceman who was much easier to handle. This went very well and he got a fourth place ribbon.
We survived our first show!
Since then, we have caught the “Show Bug” and have competed much more successfully at many shows over the years. (More on that later!)
It’s a good thing I’m a stubborn, determined person and have taught myself better handling skills.
I still get nervous and excited when we show, but am no longer intimidated by even the most difficult animals.
