Alpaka judging in the Allgau...

The schwabenhalle  in Buchloe was an ideal setting for the Alpaka Show last weekend. Apparently these halls are made specifically for the showing and sale of cattle. There is plenty of room for the animals alongside the hall and tons of tiered seats from which the public and breeders can enjoy the spectacle. The show was organised for breeders only on the Saturday and open to the public on the Sunday when 2000 people popped in to enjoy the alpacas. 

Great turn out and I had the privilege of judging some remarkable alpacas. Exhibitors had come all the way from Holland, Italy, Austria and France to compete their alpacas. A massive thanks to Hienz and Simon for inviting me to judge and for creating this alpaca showcase. A fantastic amount of work goes into getting it right and they worked their Alpaca socks off to make sure everyone had a good time.

There was a great atmosphere in the hall and the exhibitors as always took defeat in their stride with good humour and there were tears of joy for the winners. 'Twas ever thus - please feel free to blame the judge.

A big thanks also to Hieke who took Shirley and I out on the Thursday evening for my first ever Croation meal- yumliscious. 

A big thanks to Pia and Jan who worked as my interpreter - not an enviable task with my accent.

Thanks to Ritchie for his sound work and scribework  and thanks to his girlfriend who played show secretary throughout. 

Thanks to  Theresa for scribing the fleeces until late on Friday evening.

And  big thanks for the patience and good humour of the exhibitors and for all the volunteers and organisers who put in their time and talent to make this show a success.

And not forgetting the young Klinks - Reuben and Tom who did a great job ferrying fleeces to me all Friday evening. Thank you one and all for an unforgettable experience in your wonderful country and I hope to see you all in the UK pretty soon.