First, you have to thank Red Granite for delivering such an outstanding male. Second, you have to thank Kitt Hollister for selling you her herd, including this outstanding male, and if I could reduce the lack of hesitation in making that purchase, I could in fact reduce it to this one male. From Kitt: "The best way to introduce this male is using the facts. First: YES, he is a true Harlequin. His great grandsire, Black Epic, is one of the most prolific Harlequin Appaloosa producers out there. His spots are subtle as his coloring is very light, a most stunning lavender rose grey. They are there, however, and there is no question that his extraordinary coloration is the result of the Harlequin Appaloosa gene." At 127.2 follicles/square mm density, Man of Mystery is the densest alpaca yet biopsied by Ian Watt in the USA, and I have not yet heard of a denser alpaca out there. With a primary SD of 2.5, secondary SD of 2.2, and fiber population differential of 3.5, he is also one of the most uniform. To quote Ian Watt directly, "overall this is the best alpaca I have tested in the US." His yearling histogram, at 16.0 AFD and 3.1 SD, is fine. His two year old histogram, at 17.3 AFD and still a 3.1 SD, is fine. His 2019 AFD, calculated off of his biopsy, is 16.9. So, he's fine, and he's staying fine, which is to be expected. Why? Well, his sire, CCNF Legionnaire, has a 6 y/o AFD of 17.3 with an SD of 3.5, and his dam's 5 y/o histogram was 20.5 with an SD of 3.5 -- impressive for any color, but stunning for a TRUE BLACK. So, here we go: unbelievably dense, uniform, and fine. As the pictures show, this fleece is, as expected, also quite beautiful -- bright bright bright, with a high-frequency crimp that stamps it as truly elite. He also has a decent staple. So far, he has thrown pattern 80+% of the time. His crias demonstrate his unique coloring and fantastic fiber statistics! He's produced blacks with 16 micron fleeces adn 2.9 SDs, and appaloosa/harlequins with 17.9 microns and 3.6 SDs. Be on the lookout. This guy is restricted but his kids are not... Much much more to come.

Nina's 2024 breeding is to match her with Howling Hills Conspicuous "Spike". On 6/20/20, we were surprised by a white cria. There were two faint-and, oh so small- fawn spots. One on her forehead and one on a lower leg. She was statuesque like a ballerina. Fast forward to two years old and Nina's fiber is lovely. Dense bundling, tight crimp, brightness and coverage galore. What to do about a breeding...with some spots in her lineage? Time to change lanes. Bred to Red Granites Man of Mystery in '22, we are now in the appaloosa business with the birth of Nina's first cria, a LF appy girl, Dancing Elk's Mystery Unveiled (aka...Dotty). Our plan for Nina's 2024 breeding is to match her with Howling Hills Conspicuous "Spike".