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 ...

Ginger is a daughter of Aussie Colorado Dillinger, but her dam line is extremely cool as well. Her great-grandsire is Peruvian Vengador, an Accoyo bastion of fineness whose name appears (often multiple times) in the pedigrees of many of today's most prepotent studs. Her great-granddam, Peruvian Julieta, was owned by the renowned High Plains Alpacas of Canada, and was a foundation dam in their program. The other really cool surprise about Ginger was the discovery that she has SPOTS. They aren't screamingly obvious spots, but she definitely has them. Her base color is medium fawn, while dark fawn spots dot her blanket. The white of her face is also spotted. Is this due to the action of the harlequin appaloosa gene? I don't know for sure. Her granddam appears to have been a pinto, so it could be that these two pattern genes are playing together in an interesting fashion. One thing's for sure, it can't hurt her chances for throwing appaloosa! Aside from all of the above, Ginger is a lovely female. She is square in her proportions, and her head is simply ideal. She has good bone and pretty good coverage. Her fleece is long-stapled, with a soft hand and good uniformity. She is a VERY easy keeper. Ginger so far has had two beautiful male appaloosa crias and a pinto female!