Sturgeon County became home to the newest king of alpacas this weekend as a local animal took top prize at Alberta’s annual alpaca show.
Othello, a two-year-old fawn-coloured alpaca, was declared supreme male at the 2010 Alberta Alpaca Livestock and Co-operators Association (A.L.P.A.C.A.) Spring Show held March 26 to 28 at the Horse Sence stable just north of St. Albert. Five-feet tall and full of fuzz, Othello beat about 200 competitors from across western Canada to win the event’s top prize.
Lauraine Bijou, Othello’s owner, says she was just ecstatic to have won the top ribbon. “It looks very good on him,” she says. Palladin, a white alpaca also owned by Bijou, also placed second in his class at the event.
Othello is no stranger to the show circuit, Bijou says, having won grand champion last year at the spring show. (Animals compete for best of their class; class winners compete for grand champion; the grand champs duke it out for supreme status, or best male and female in the show.) She credits a strong pedigree developed by years of careful breeding for the win.
Alpacas are the smaller cousins of llamas, according to Bijou, and were domesticated by the Incas about 5,000 years ago. They are known for their excellent manners (they even poop in the same spot) and soft, warm fleece.
Bijou says she got interested in alpacas in 1995, which lead her to start Alberta Rose Alpacas near Morinville. She now raises 45 of them, shaving them once a year for their woolly fur.
The animals are easy to train and handle, she says, and need little more than hay, grass and water. “The fibre is exquisite,” she says, and makes for excellent hats or duvets.
Show alpacas are judged for their shape, bone density and stance, Bijou says, as compared to a universal standard. Particular attention is paid to the crimp, density and colour of the fleece. Competitors are not allowed to wash the animals before the show as this would ruin the fleece, so it’s important to pick out any bits of grass or dirt that might get tangled in the coat.
Alpacas can be brown, white, or black, with some breeds featuring a cow-like mixture of all three colours. Othello has a fawn coat, which is a uniform yellowish-brown coat like that of a chihuahua.
Othello is taking it easy following his recent win, Bijou says, kicking back with his pals in the pasture. “He’s happy to be home, around with all his buddies.” He and his fellows will likely be shorn for the spring wool sale towards the end of April.
To learn more about alpacas, visit albertarosealpacas.com.
