Leo had a very nice presence early on. He's hands down the most mellow cria we've birthed here. Just look at how comfortable he is in Layla's arms on Day 9! Layla received an adoption certificate for her birthday and she came that day to choose her "Adopted Alpaca for the Year". She chose Leo, and when I told her he didn't have a name yet, she asked if she could name him. And viola, we have Leo Carson!
Both of Leo's parents are multi-Champions with excellent fleece stats including lingering fineness, nice uniformity and excellent density. So he has lots of potential! At birth, his fleece was very soft and curly. But after cria shearing, he left with his dam to head north for breeding. So unfortunately we had to wait till the following spring to see how it's growing out. The good news is that on arrival he almost immediately became best buds with one of their recently born cria. So we were sure he was in good hands!
Fast forward to six months of age after returning from Washington with mom. I took a look at his fleece one day and WOWZA! The pix here don't do him justice: he's extremely bright and fine with excellent density. It's too bad COVID 19 prevented us from showing him this spring. But he'll definitely be in the ring come fall!
We sent Leo's first fleece (just7 months growth) to the AOA National Fleece Show 2021. Judge Amanda Vandenbosch noted his even, well nourished fleece with developing staple, awarding him First Place (of 9)!
At the Gold Country Gathering 2021, Leo's 2021 fleece earned Second Place, with Judge Cheryl Gehly noting the fleece's brightness and fine secondaries. In Halter, Judge Wade Gease noted his density and staple uniformity especially between secondary and primary fibers after awarding him Second Place. Later in Walking Fleece, Cheryl Gehly praised his beautiful hand, noting the fleece was very fine, and very uniform, with little guard hair, which earned him Second Place (of 8) and Reserve Champion.
At the CA Classic 2022, Leo was awarded First Place for his density, organization and uniformity. Judge Laurel Shouvlin also noted how close the primary and secondary fiber microns were. In Walking Fleece, Judge David Barboza noted his soft hand, uniformity, dense bundling and brightness which earned him fourth place (of 8) in a very competitive class.
In the Walking Fleece show at the 2022 Gold Country Gathering Judge Dianna Timmerman noted his fineness, uniformity across the blanket,
staple length and character. She awarded him first place (72.5 points) and Color Champion.
