Mr. Butterscotch (AKA Scottie, or “Mister Scot” for the serious Star Trek fan) was one of those alpacas whose photo I had seen and gone, “WOW.” Well, sometimes the stars align, and now, months later, we are proud to have Scottie join our stud row. Scottie is a very light silver harlequin appaloosa. His sire was a dark harlequin son of the renowned DPA Quetzal, son of Timoteo. His dam, My Peruvian Zuleika, was a powerful producer for Magical Farms. She is also the dam of multiple-champion grey Zoolander, as well as several harlequin daughters who were all exceptional. With a name like Mr. Butterscotch, and covered in spots, one might expect Scotty to be a bit of a goof – but this is one serious macho. Scottie is a very dominant male, though he is outgoing towards humans and very good on a halter. He gets along very well with the other large, macho studs that he lives with. Scottie's dominant nature isn't surprising, as he has the largest testicles that I have ever seen on an alpaca. This is a very desirable trait, as it has been found to positively correlate with high offspring fertility in other livestock. Coming up on his tenth birthday, Scottie still looks stunning. He is ideally conformed, with a square build and good bone. He is extremely well-muscled and has a wide chest and excellent spring of rib. His type is excellent, with a handsome head, coverage to his toes and a topknot that keeps on growing. Scottie did extremely well in the showring, taking blue ribbons at highly competitive shows. More importantly, he has retained many of those competitive fiber traits even on his tenth fleece. Scottie's current fleece is still endowed with a distinct, consistent crimp that is medium to high in frequency. His brightness is terrific for his age, and his fleece is still quite uniform with a soft handle. He is very dense, and working on a great staple length for his age. Before arriving at Howling Hill, Scottie had one harlequin, Tia, to his credit. She has solid bone, excellent coverage, beautiful type, and consistent crimp. His first cria here was an appaloosa ... His second, a harlequin ... His third, a minimally-spotted appy. Scottie can throw harlequin, alright. As Scottie is getting up in age, I have decided to close his studbook. Look for his offspring on our farm, as well as females bred to him.

I hesitate to use the word "elite" to describe an alpaca, because it is, in my opinion, undefined and over-used. I reserve it, therefore, for those animals whose "eliteness" is pretty much indisputable. Honey Bun is a female who is indisputably elite. Honey Bun is a daughter of Hidden Hill Peruvian Pundit. Pundit is the full brother of futurity champion Dually, but what is really exceptional is how similar they are to each other -- and how dramatically similar their offspring. I have been to multiple farms and seen many Dually and Pundit kids, from extremely varied dams, and, even before I knew a single thing about alpacas, I could pick them out of the herd without fail. Both sires reliably stamp their offspring with a square, compact frame, excellent bone, coverage, density, character, and fineness -- and, of course, that HEAD. That is some serious prepotency. Honey Bun's dam, Honey, is a daughter of 588 Peruvian Lancaster, and there is some more prepotency for you. Lancaster is known for siring offspring who are solid-boned and correct, with full coverage and exceptional fleece which is especially fine and uniform. Honey is all of those things, with a bay-black dam for some color potential. (She is also one of the friendliest alpacas you will ever meet.) In the Thoroughbred horse world, when two sire lines cross especially well, it is called a "nic." In the Western performance horse world, it is called a "magic cross." There is no specific term for it in the alpaca world, but it is an observable phenomenon nonetheless. I have seen several offspring of Lancaster dams sired by Dually or Pundit, and they are all exceptional, every one. Honey Bun is particularly awesome. Her conformation, type, and body build are spot-on. She is square, heavy-boned, absolutely impeccably correct, and possessed of a terrific head. Her coverage is excellent (no thanks to the wet winter). Then, there is her fleece. Her 1st-year AFD was 15.6 microns, with an SD of 3.2 and 100% comfort factor. Her brightness is so dramatic that some may have considered her a silky cria. Her second fleece, more importantly, is even better. Dense, high-frequency, high-amplitude, highly organized, blindingly bright, and just awesome. Her 2nd-year AFD only increased to 17.4 -- while the SD and CF were unchanged. The best part is that, because of her genetics, all of these outstanding qualities are almost guaranteed to be very, very highly heritable. That, above all else, is what makes Honey Bun an exemplary, truly elite foundation female. Honey Bun is now proven, and has demonstrated that, in addition to her other qualities, she has inherited one of the most important qualities of all from her dam: She is a slam-dunk mom! Her cria -- a dark brown -- was up and nursing before I even found her. Aaaaand Honey Bun makes Appaloosa. AWESOME.