Fall 2022- Congratulations to Mary Miller of Aspen Alpacas on her purchase of FTAF Privateer. At age 10, Privateer is as handsome as ever and going strong. We are ever so grateful for what he has added to our herd over the years. He has blessed Rare Gem Alpacas and our clients with many amazing champions and foundation offspring. We will miss this sweet dispositioned boy, but happy that he is going to such a great home and program. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Privateer's offspring made their first show appearance March 2019. RG Privateer's First Mate took two 1 firsts and Grey Color Champion in both Halter (out of 17) and Walking Fleece (out of 33). RG Harley's Davidson took first of 13 in his Walking Fleece class and then Reserve Color Champion Walking Fleece (25 total). We can now add "Producer of Champions" to Privateer's list of fine qualities. Privateer’s grey, 3X color champion son sold at 2020 Amber Autumn Auction. Congratulations Jamey Haney on her purchase of this beautiful Privateer offspring. Privateer's 2017 skin biopsy at 5yrs old by Dr. Norm Evans shows a density of 71 follicles/sqmm. SP ratio is 12.1 to 1 with level 4 of 4 gland presence which correlates with what senior judges are referring to as “well-nourished fleeces”. Secondary fibers average 21.9 microns and primary fibers averaging 30.1 giving him a variation of only 8.2 microns. I greatly anticipated the arrival of this guy and he is all that I expected and more. He is out Crown Jewel of PVA and SHVN The Buccaneer (who passes on lingering fineness to his offspring), both of whom are multiple champion animals! What a powerhouse background this guy possesses, The Elite Maximus, Hemingway, Bobbie Ann on the dams side and Pot of Gold, Royal Inca Legend on his sire's side, no wonder he is such a gorgeous animal. Privateer is stunning. As you can see by his fleece, he possesses awesome structure and the brightness to his fleece is blinding. Take that with his gorgeous head and coverage everywhere and we are looking at a boy that will make an excellent herdsire! Privateer's fleece is that "elite" fleece with bundles everywhere and secondary bundles coming out of each bundle, even down to his knee and under his belly and on his chest. He also has dark skin which should allow him to pass color. He has placed well in the shows and has always been up against very tough competition. The animals that placed above him were always from very big farms. So that should tell you where this boys really stands in the line up of future herdsires. Privateer started his breeding career Fall 2016 and has thrown many champions and has champion grand-offspring as well. He tends to throw the color of the female— while significantly upgrading fleece characteristics. If you have a dam that you love the color of and want to look for improvements in AFD (fineness that lasts!), SD, density, crimp, brightness!

And a little history on Harley... Years ago I looked out into a large herd of alpacas when I was visiting a ranch and one alpaca in particular caught my eye. Before I even knew what a harlequin was, the stunning Bella Gris started my journey to learn about harlequins and what makes them so very special. In 2016, I had an opportunity to add this beautiful harlequin daughter of Bella Gris to my herd. Their looks are very different, one a very light silver grey platinum harlequin and the other a darker version-- both simply exquisite! While Harley's color is a variation of her dam's, she carries the same beautiful phenotype of her dam and sire-- LV Vantaggio Di Bisturi--with fleece to die for. And for those Bisturi and Assie Rockford lovers-- Harley is the granddaughter of both! UPDATE: 2021 Fiber Stat results just in. Please note Harley's test scores... her stats practically unchanged since 2014!