This is the boy I had been waiting for. The only problem with him was that he was on the other side of the country, but he was just too good to pass up -- all of the parts were there. Thus, arrangements were made, and 'Bota came East. How awesome is 'Bota? Well, let's start with his lineage, since that was what really hooked me. His sire, Altair's Vito, is a multiple-champion and proven champion producer. Even more impressive than that is the fact that one of these championships was for fleece … At GWAS – one of the largest shows in the country … For his 66 month fleece! A son of CL9 Altair, Vito's genetics are uncommon on the east coast, and he is a total outcross to all of our herd. It was 'Bota's dam, though, that really caught my attention. A classic harlequin, Calliope had also taken a color championship – for her solid grey fleece – at GWAS. Her lineage traces back to one of the best true appaloosas of all time, Curly Calib, a descendent of the great Peruvian Platinum. So: Fleece champion, bred to fleece champion – we are stacking the deck in favor of some serious prepotency for killer fleece. Not shockingly, “killer fleece” is one of 'Bota's defining characteristics. He is possessed of terrific brightness, excellent fineness (16.6 AFD on his first shearing) and uniformity. His biopsy results confirm this (please see "Histogram" page). He has a high-frequency, high-amplitude crimp style which is consistent throughout his blanket, and excellent fleece organization. His fleece is abundant, with great apparent density despite his fineness. His fleece has been shown three times and received a blue ribbon each time. … Not that the rest of him wouldn't rock the show ring as well. In addition to his fleece, Kubota is a solidly-built, stocky boy with heavy bone and terrific substance. His conformation is perfect. He has the heavyset, compact build that I find most ideal in alpacas, with an ideal tie of his neck and shoulder and flowing lines. His coverage is outrageous – he has fiber absolutely everywhere on his body, including his toes and his muzzle – and he has a beautiful, typey head. A shy juvenile, 'Bota has matured into a very assertive male. He matured rapidly, with excellent reproductive development – another trait that we value in alpacas – and began his breeding career before his second birthday, getting it right on his very first try! Despite this, he is a sweetie who loves people. Kubota's offspring have started to arrive, and ... Oh. My. Goodness. Spots. And fleece. And wow. Kubota is closed to outside breedings. This is a special boy ...

Ray of Sunshine is one of those alpacas who had my eye for a long, long time. She is just gorgeous. She typifies what I want to breed for in alpacas: beautiful head, heavy bone, full coverage on a compact frame. This girl has type and presence for days. It isn't really surprising that she has this fantastic type. Rayo (as her barn name has become, to differentiate her from her Verticase-sired daughter, Raya) is a female whose phenotype so impressed me that I did not even bother to look at her pedigree until the drive home. (I am a pedigree fanatic, so that's saying something!) As it turns out, Rayo is a granddaughter of the legendary El Nino, via his multiple champion son Mint D'Or. Mint is out of a Bueno daughter, a line known both for presence as well as lasting fineness. It's almost certainly her granddaddy El Nino, however, who gave Rayo her gorgeous head and compact, ideal type. Rayo's dam, the original Raya, is a daughter of Mr. President son My Peruvian Durango, and she is a granddaughter of Augusto on her dam's side. Nice lines which represent an almost total outcross for our herd. Somewhere in that lineage, Rayo picked up some color. I don't mean color as in fawn or brown -- she is a light fawn -- I mean color as in pattern -- what we are breeding for. Rayo is very light fawn, almost beige, but she has a fawn cap that is darker than the rest of her blanket, and black claws that suggest that her genes may carry darker still. She comes from a mostly white background, but Rayo's markings suggest that she may just be able to pull grey out of a hat -- just what we are hoping for. Her pedigree is great, but the real deal with this girl is her phenotype -- that is, everything that makes her her, from conformation to fleece. Her conformation is perfect. Her structure is ideal: square and solid-boned. Her breed type is excellent, with a gorgeous head, full topknot, and total coverage. She has excellent presence, and comports herself as an alpha female. Then, there is her fleece. We acquired Rayo as a six-year-old, and we have no histograms from her younger years. That's okay, though, because Rayo is still most assuredly fine and uniform. She also still has a very well-defined, high-frequency, high-amplitude crimp structure, and she is still extremely dense. Her staple is still very good for a breeding female of her age. Rayo is proven, and we were thrilled to have her daughter by Quechua's Verticase join her herd as well. That daughter is simply fantastic, and a great indicator of Rayo's capabilities of a dam. OMG SHE MADE A HARLEQUIN and you bet I'm keeping him!! Very sadly, we lost Rayo to mammary cancer in 2018. She was one of our best, and will be truly missed.