Llama show in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, attracts people from Canada to New York
The show animals are as curious and watchful as the audience
at the llama show and sale taking place this weekend in
the Iowa Equestrian Center at Kirkwood Community College.
The Llama Futurity Association World Championship Show
& Sale brought llama owners from British Columbia to
New York for the show, continuing through Sunday.
"They have a gentle nature and they're intelligent.
They're neat animals," says Mark Smith, an Indiana
farmer and llama judge.
They're quiet, too. A 5-month-old cria, the name for baby
llamas, experienced its first separation from its mother
while the mother was in the show ring Friday morning. The
cria hummed softly to express its anxiety.
"That's the most noise they make," says owner
Mike Gerken of Ada, Ohio, who is also president of the Llama
Futurity Association. "We take them to nursing homes
and preschools and they have a calming effect on everyone
around them."
Kristi Murdock of Toddville, owner of 12 llamas, showed
two of them in Friday's show.
"I was so excited at work yesterday (Thursday) I could
hardly concentrate. It's so nice to have one of these in
our own backyard," Murdock says.
The show's organizer, Phil Feiner of New York, also was
happy to have the show at the center.
He was impressed that a Kirkwood Community College ag leadership
group offered to help llama owners unload their animals
and gear Thursday.
"We have yet to have anyone this cooperative. They're
above and beyond. Most exhibitors have commented on how
much they like it here," Feiner said.
Friday's show attracted 160 entries, and 80 animals are
scheduled for the sale at 2 p.m. today. Another 100 llamas
are signed up for the show at 8 a.m. Sunday. All events
are free and open to the public.
The sale will feature some top-quality animals. Minimum
sale prices are $2,000, and the highest price at last year's
sale was $50,000, Feiner said.
Mike Gerken said his family is a good example of how people
fall in love with llamas. His daughter wanted a horse, but
they had no knowledge about horses. A friend introduced
them to easy-to-keep llamas and Gerken bought four at an
auction.
He now has 75, and his three breeding males cost $36,000,
$35,000 and $30,000.
"They've paid off," he said. "The first
question people ask is, 'Can you make money in llamas?'
It's how hard you want to work at it. If you want to make
a quick buck, you'll lose money.
"There's one little girl that follows me everywhere.
She's my favorite, but she's in the sale. It will be a tough
ride home, but in two weeks, I'll have another favorite." |
