Winter - Classical MileEnd Alpacas

News BAF 2008
The British Alpaca Futurity 2008
If you have news of events
or developments within the
alpaca industry which you
would like to share with
others please send it to:
The Editor
Alpaca World Magazine
Vulscombe Farm
Pennymoor
Tiverton
Devon EX16 8NB
United Kingdom
Email: info@
alpacaworldmagazine.com
Alpacas at the winning post … the British
Alpaca Futurity 2008 expects to build on
the success achieved by last year's event.
The British Alpaca Futurity 2008 will take place
at Newbury Racecourse on February 16th and
17th. This will be the premier two day Spring
Show for alpaca enthusiasts in the UK and
Europe despite the Bluetongue virus controls
still in place.
At the moment breeders inside the
surveillance zone will be able to
show their alpacas at the Futurity
and it seems there is a possibility
that animals from outside the zone
may be able to take part in the
show classes. DEFRA and a core
group of industry stakeholders are
considering a ‘seasonally vector free
period’ between January and early
March that will permit movement.
This corresponds directly to a period
of low midge activity when midges
are either dying off, inactive and/or
unable to transmit the virus.
The best of British alpaca breeding
will be on display in the show classes
judged by Mike Safley (USA) and
Paul Cullen (UK). There will
be authoritative seminars from
the British veterinarian Claire
Whitehead, lecturer in Camelid
Medicine and Reproduction at the
Royal Veterinary College and British
Camelids chairman and experienced
alpaca breeder Nick Weber who will
talk about practical nutrition. The
American judge and author Mike
Safley will discuss Alpaca Type on
the Sunday morning.
There are fantastic prizes to be
won in the raffle and an opportunity
to see the best of British alpaca
fashions on the catwalk. This will
consist of new garments designed
by students at the Leeds College of
Fashion and Design and a range of
commercially available garments
from existing producers.
There will be a champagne
reception and celebration dinner
followed by an elite auction of nine
alpacas. The online auction of stud
services provided by an excellent
range of alpaca males from across the
country continues to raise money for
the event - there are no reserves.
For those of you still slightly
bemused as to what a Futurity
actually is, John Potts explains.
What is a Futurity?
Forgive me if you know all about
them or have seen them in the USA
or Canada. They follow a slightly
different format but all have the same
purpose-to add some razzamatazz
to the format of the usual county
agricultural shows, to wave the alpaca
flag with lots and lots of attendant
publicity, to sell alpacas at very good
prices and to have a good time.
Let me explain in outline the
format of The British Futurity: It
is designed to be a showpiece for
all British alpaca breeders, large
or small. The show classes, with
substantial prize money on offer, are
open to any alpaca offspring, over
six months of age on February 16,
2008, of all 'nominated' Herd Sires.
Nominating a Herd Sire requires
the owner (or any other person with
the owner’s permission) to pay a
nomination fee. This nomination
then makes all of that male’s
offspring eligible for the event.
A Herd sire must be domiciled in
Europe and registered with the BAS
to be eligible for entry. The owner
of the herd sire receives ten percent
of the winnings of his progeny and
the Futurity Championship will
be awarded to the nominated sire
whose progeny have won the most
money during the show. There will
be a Futurity Champion Huacaya,
a Futurity Champion Suri, a
Small Breeder award and a Junior
Herdsire award.
The owner of each qualifying
offspring pays an entry fee for each
alpaca entered. Entries will compete
in classes run under BAS rules and
the top three or five, depending
on the number of animals in the
class, will win cash awards starting
at £100 for first. The top two in
each class will move on to the
Championship classes. There will
be colour championships only. Cash
prizes will be awarded to the first two
places in each of the Championship
classes.
Entries for the auction have now
closed but there will also be three
‘wild card’ slots where animals that
have been shown at the Futurity
can go into the auction. The
alpacas will be paraded during the
auction and will be available for
inspection on the first floor during
the day. The Futurity sponsors - The
Alpaca Stud, Bozedown Alpacas,
EP Cambridge UK, Alpacas of
Wessex, Classical MileEnd Alpacas
and Langaton Alpacas - have also
purchased an animal that will be
auctioned for charity.
The British Alpaca Futurity is a
non-profit making event. All entry
money will be returned in prizes
after costs are met. In the event that
there is a surplus from sponsorship
money/stands/promoters it will be
put towards next year’s event.
Will another show be an
unnecessary burden on our season
and breeders generally? I don’t
"For more information on any aspect of the
Futurity please contact John Potts on 01903
891425 or go to www.BritishAlpacaFuturity.com
where you can also reserve your tickets and
obtain entry forms."
believe so. The Futurity will kick
off the 2008 show season and help
to give the industry a much needed
boost after a difficult 2007.
Is it a show mainly for the bigger
breeders? Absolutely not! It is an
occasion where all breeders, however
small, can participate. There is no
limit on numbers. The facility can be
adjusted to take almost any number
of alpacas. We hope breeders will
attend who only have one alpaca to
show-or even none at all, to be able to
see the showing, listen to our speakers
and experience the excitement of the
auction. It is an occasion for everyone
to have a good time
The originating sponsors are The
Alpaca Stud, Alpacas of Wessex,
Bozedown Alpacas, EP Cambridge
UK, Classical MileEnd Alpacas and
Langaton Alpacas.
4 Alpaca World Magazine Winter 2007 / 08