It is a long way from Brookley Farm in Bedfordale, about 45 kilometres from Perth CBD, to the Sydney Showgrounds.
However, it was well worth the effort for Bedrock Alpacas’ Chris and Tara Ravenhill after they claimed Best Suri Alpaca In Show at this year’s Sydney Royal Show.
Bedrock Cosmic took out the major prize for Suris in what was a great result for the stud.
Not only does Bedrock Alpacas have to have its animals show-ready earlier, the logistics of bringing the contingent to the show are extraordinary.
“It is a long way from our place to Sydney,” Chris said.
“It takes five days of doing between 800 and 1000km a day to get there.
“The last thing we would want is to travel that far and the animals’ coats to be ruined or for them to lose body condition.
“We have done the trip eight times now and each time we tweak it to be even better than the last time.
“We use a specially designed trailer to bring them over.
“It is not just the equipment though – we have to get the alpacas ready for the trip as well.
“This entails keeping alpacas which will be travelling together in the same area for a couple of weeks leading up to when we leave.
“It helps them get use to each other and be comfortable together.
“We also get them eating out of feed trays in preparation for time in the trailer.
“It works pretty well, but we are always looking to improve.”Chris and Tara were drawn to alpacas after seeing them at some shows.
They began Bedrock Alpacas in 2000 with the purchase of five females, crossing Suris and Huacayas.
They now have 250 alpacas, but surprisingly only 15 breeding female Suris.
Out of their 14 strong contingent, only three were Suri making Bedrock Cosmic’s win all the more impressive.
“Cosmic’s fineness and lustre stood him out from the other Suris,” Chris said.
“He looked in great condition, but the real standout was his fleece.
“Dark fawn coloured Suris always have lustre, but his was a step above the others.
“Some of the Huacaya breeders would come and have a look and be blown away by how good his fleece was,” he said.
