by Cindy Lavan

I thought about allowing Tim to write this bit on show attire and proper halters but then changed my mind when I realized it would be coming from a man's perspective even though that man is a judge.

Fashion Do's and Don'ts or Yes' and No's

• Ladies and gents - NO open toe shoes, slides, sandals or flip-flops allowed. Just doesn't make sense from many angles including the one where you get your toe stepped on by the alpaca with the dung on his foot.
• Do wear black or dark colored pants with a white or light colored shirt. Plain and simple. Jackets in a myriad of colors are allowed but don't draw too much attention to your clothing as the judge stares at you and not your alpaca! Ties are not recommended, they will only get in the way. Sweaters are allowed and again, keeping with a solid color theme may work best. You want the attention to go to your alpaca, not you.
• NO CELLPHONES in the ring. If you must, put it in vibrate mode but know you may vibrate your alpaca if holding him/her while the judge is looking and that may be a good or bad thing depending on how halter training went.
• A plain black halter and black lead please. I don't care if they wear hot pink halters and leads at home, black is the best color for the show ring.
• No ID tags of any sort on you or your alpaca. Name Tags are great for shows but not for the showring. Hopefully, the gate keeper will catch it. If you are wearing your logo on your shirt, cover it up either with another shirt over top or I have been known to use Duct-tape in the past. Also, any farm identifying ear tags or farm identification on you and your alpaca as well, is strictly not allowed. Duck-tape again can work here if your alpaca has an ear tag inserted with any kind of farm identifier.
• Hats - not recommended for you or your alpaca unless firmly secure or you are entered in the costume class.

Copywritten 2006-8 by Tim Lavan. All rights Reserved and Reprint by Permission Only.