2016 Outlook

Every year when things start to come to a close, all I can think about is starting everything up again the next year!  That's pretty much the place I'm in right now...planning mode!  Or should I say dreaming mode!

I have a lot of big plans for 2016.  Sure, not all of them will come true, but I can hope!

First and foremost, getting Lily some real exposure in the show ring!  She has huge footsteps to follow in (her full brother was Grand Champion Medium Wool Male at the ILR Gathering and her half sister has won numerous Grand Champions and Best of Shows in 2015), and I know she will succeed.  I'm really hoping to make it to a few of the big out of state shows (March Llama Madness, the Virginia Classic, the ILR Gathering/LFA), as well as some of the closer ones (the NY State Fair, the Big E, etc.).  Our main focus will be halter, but I may show her fleece as well.  We'll do performance at some of them, and I might even make her wear a costume!

Lily at the 2015 NY State Fair.

Second, starting plans for building a new barn!  This is the one that will probably not amount to much, other than the planning, but oh well.  In order for me to become a full-time llama farmer I need to build up my herd, and in order to do that I need a new barn!  We have a nice barn now, but there is very little pasture attached to it (less than an acre), so it is pretty useless.  I hope to build a new barn next to a 6-8 acre field on the other side of the property.

My dream barn!

Last but not least, I think I'm going to get a breeding male next year!  I'm going to need one by spring 2017 if I want to breed Kara and May again (I could even breed Lily at that point, but I will probably wait); outside breedings are just too expensive!  Going along with my overall vision for my ideal llama, I'm going to be looking for a male with awesome conformation, thick bone structure, dense fine fleece, and a nice personality.  It's going to be hard to find though...the thick bone and dense fiber and harder to come by than you might think.  I'm going to try to find a part Argentine, as it will help with those traits.  I'm pretty sure I've narrowed down a few farms to look at when the time comes...  If I can make it to the ILR Gathering/LFA Sale this summer, I would like to bring home a male from the show.  That way I can save a bit on transport and be able to show him at the local shows in the late summer/fall.  I've even figured out where to build a new pen!

I'd love to have a male that looked like this guy!  (Argentine Poltergeist)

New York State Fair!

Well it has been a whole MONTH since the NY State Fair, and I'm just now posting pictures!  I'm a terrible blogger when I'm working full time...

Overall, the animals did pretty well.  They all placed respectably well in halter, and Ralph even managed a performance class placing!  Lily was not at all happy whenever Kara left the pen, but by the end she managed to refrain from trying to jump out!  They weren't very happy about all the people though, even Kara.  They spent a lot of time in the middle of the stalls, just out of reach.

Chilling in the stalls.

As with most shows, there were highs and lows.

First off, it was just plain awesome being in the ring with May again.  She was the second llama that I showed as a kid, and it was so much fun to be back at it with her.  And she was amazing!  The judge loved her fiber (even though she was body shorn!) when we were in halter, and he seemed pretty impressed when I told him she was 15 years old!  She managed a respectable 4th place in light wool adult female, despite being the oldest in the class.  And even without any performance work in 13 years, she did amazing for me in obstacle and public relations.  She placed 20th out of 49 in novice obstacle, and if she hadn't refused a very steep and narrow stair obstacle in novice public relations she would have placed pretty well...she got an 8 or 9 (out of 10) on all the other obstacles!  I can't wait to see how she does next fall after some training!

Still looks good for 15 years old and 4 crias!

Ralph was his good old steady self.  Always nervous, but I've learned how to deal with it most of the time.  He placed 7th out of 49 in novice obstacle, and if I hadn't forgotten an obstacle (the easiest one too!) and gone "off course" he would've done well in novice pack.  I think he was 21st out of 48 or so in novice public relations.

Kara...well Kara was mostly my fault.  She got pretty heavy this summer on all our gorgeous green grass, and thus didn't do so hot in halter.  She placed 3rd, right behind the Grand and Reserve Champion winners.  She also placed 3rd in bred and owned female, behind the Grand Champion Heavy wool and Suri winners.  She was great in showmanship though, except for not letting the judge touch her.  We still got 2nd though, which I thought was pretty good.  And she got to meet her "little" half-sister, Sunny.  They placed 1st in produce of dam, and the judge loved them and their size!

Chubby girl...

Sunny and Kara.

And last but not least, Lily (aka MSF Regal Princess).  To be honest, Lily was my disappointment.  She was very very nervous being at the show, and it came out in the ring.  She was a mess in the performance classes, although she did try some new obstacles which I was proud of.  She wanted nothing to do with halter either, and thus didn't walk very well.  She got 2nd out of 3, behind the Grand Champion heavy wool female.  The judge seemed to like her, he just couldn't evaluate her movement very well.  I'm hoping that I can get her over some of her fears this winter, and get her to more shows this spring to help as well.

Little miss ears!

Such a gorgeous girl!

It was still a great show with lots of great people, and May got to go to home with Dakota Ridge Farm from Albany to be bred to their gorgeous male (and Best of Show at the NY State Fair!), Joey!  Very excited for this baby!!

Autumn Hill Llamas & Fiber's future breeding females!

FOR SALE: Overman Bluff N Fluff

It's sad to have to do this, but the time has come to look for a new home for Bluff.  The herd is moving to central NY next spring/summer, and I have to downsize as much as possible.  I'm keeping Bluff's gorgeous daughter, Kara, to carry on the legacy in my future breeding herd.

Bluff at ~6 months of age (Fall 2006).

Bluff is definitely one of the coolest llamas I've ever purchased, and she is still one of my favorites on the farm.  I bought her in 2008 from Doug Overman of Overman Llamas in Otterbein, IN.  She was only halter trained, but she had a very calm disposition and I knew she would be easy to train.

Bluff at ~1 year of age (Spring 2007).

A family friend showed Bluff at her first show (Kentuckiana Classic) just a month after we purchased her, and Bluff placed 2nd in a very competitive halter class.

Bluff in April 2008.

A couple of months after that I showed Bluff for the first time at the Allen Co. Open show, where she placed 1st and Grand Champion in halter!  I was over the moon!  We also went to the Ohio State Fair, where she placed 2nd in her first Novice performance class!

Bluff and I in Adult Showmanship at the 2008 Ohio State Fair.

Shortly before the Allen Co. show we bred Bluff for the first time (to MRLF Ridge Runner- our ALSA Halter Champion herdsire at the time), and Bluff entered the "mom" portion of her life.  In June 2009 she gave birth to Autumn Hill's Rainier, who has since gone on to win Champions in halter and place in many competitive Novice performance classes with his new owner.

Bluff and Rainier at the 2009 Indiana State Fair.

Bluff and Rainier getting ready for the costume class.  Bluff is the one covered from head to toe!

Rainier at ~2 months of age (Summer 2009).

We bred Bluff back to Ridge later that fall, and in October 2010 she delivered Autumn Hill's Iliamna (aka Lily).  Lily was almost perfect in every way, and it was devastating when we lost her to a cruel dog attack at just 3 months of age.

Lily and Bluff, Fall 2010.

Desperate for a Bluff/Ridge baby to keep for myself, we bred Bluff back to Ridge one more time, and Autumn Hill's Karakoram (aka Kara) was born this past April (2012).  She is even more colorful than her two full siblings, and I hope she matures just as well as Rainier has!  She shows a lot of potential, and has her mom's fabulous personality.

Kara and Bluff, Spring 2012.

Kara and Bluff, Spring 2012.

As much as I hate to see her go, Bluff deserves to be more than a pasture ornament.  She has an extremely friendly personality, and would make a great Public Relations llama.  You can touch her anywhere, and she isn't spooked by large crowds or loud noises.  She would also make a wonderful 4-H or open show llama.  She's already obstacle, pack, and costume trained, and would have potential as a driving llama.  With a little bit of practice she would be amazing!  And with all of the gorgeous crias she has produced, Bluff also would make a great breeding female.  She has good conformation, huge stature, and tons of presence.  Her fiber is gorgeous and she passes on her sweet personality.

Bluff, Winter 2008.

So you can decide...what could Bluff bring to your herd?  I'm asking only $500 for Bluff, which is much less than what she is worth, especially with her training.  And to the right home, I would even consider lowering her price.  She is a one-of-a-kind llama, and deserves to have a home that can appreciate that!  Visit our Facebook page, or call (317-979-2669) or email (llamapyr 25 @ earthlink.net) (get rid of the spaces!) for more information on this gorgeous girl!

And last but definitely not least...her bloodlines.  Her sire is MSF Ringmaster...a Tuna Catcher son from the famous Mark Smith Llama Farm!  Her dam is a beautiful white Chilean girl, who throws a lot of gorgeous female crias!

Bluff's sire, MSF Ringmaster.

Bluff's dam, Chilean Fluff & Buff.

I want a baby!! (llama that is...)

I miss having baby llamas on the farm!  I keep seeing post after post on Facebook about farms that have had crias born this spring, and I'm so jealous!  I know that it isn't responsible, but sometimes I wish I could have 4-5 crias born each spring and fall...they are so much fun!

Fall 2005 crias: (L-R) Trillium, Catastrophie, April (the big female laying down), and Inali.  That was such a fun year!

Now that I'm in grad school, we've made the decision to downsize our herd and quit breeding.  I just don't have the time to train and show crias like I used to.  However, after losing my precious Lily (born in October 2010, she would've been our last cria) in January to a dog attack, I had to re-think the idea of not breeding our one remaining female llama (Bluff, Lily's mom).  It was a big more difficult logistically since I had already sold our herdsire Ridge, but with a little bit of work Ridge made it back to the farm for a short visit, and Bluff has been rebred (well, hopefully, we're still in the process of making sure the breeding took)!

Autumn Hill's Iliamna (aka Lily) at one month of age (her mom Bluff is in the background)

So even though it seems like forever from now, I will get one more llama cria of my own in mid-April next year!  I really hope Bluff has a girl, but if she has a boy I may just have to rebreed her again and keep trying...

Bluff and her first cria, Rainier.  I can't wait to see that sight again!