Our 30-something years' experience in selecting, preparing, training, handling and judging dogs has been very useful in helping set up and participate in llama shows in Australia.

The Breed Standard developed and adopted by the Llama Society (Inc), an organisation we helped to found early in 1993, was, I believe, a World first and formed the basis for the Standard adopted by our sister organisation, The Llama Association of Australasia.

We weren't, however, prepared for the challenge of cleaning and grooming such large, woolly beasts! We seem to have a handle on it now, with minimal stress for both owners and llamas and our efforts over the past three years have been well rewarded.

Our US import Princess produced Stravinsky, winner of Best Male and Reserve Champion Llama at the '98 Royal Show. Our other American girl, Aussie Gold produced the exquisite Violetta, who in 1997 gained the award of Junior Champion Llama before being lost to us in a tragic farm accident.

The following year saw Aussie's daughter Cyrene, repeat her half-sister's 1977 Junior Champion award and add to it, by eclipsing Stravinsky and winning Champion Llama at the '98 Royal Show.

At the '98 Royal, another homebred youngster, Demeter, took the third highest award of Reserve Junior Champion. Daughter of our homebred Iolanthe, Demeter's sire is Gershwin, who won Champion Llama at the '96 Perth Royal, the first llama show to be held in the Southern Hemisphere.

At the '99 Perth Royal Show our homebred Burnbrook U2 took out Champion Llama, while his younger brother Beowulf won Reserve and Junior Champion. In 2001, at the LAA's Western Region's annual llama show, U2's third fleece (he was four and a half years old at the time) was awarded Reserve Champion Tapada/Lanuda fleece from a total entry of twenty-three.

Showing llamas is fun. As with most things to do with llamas, minimal training and preparation is necessary. Shows in Australia require only that the animal be clean, with surface debris removed, and that it walk on a loose lead and stand for examination. Performance classes require more training, but are a lot of fun too!