Innovations Make LOCC Fall Classic Special

By Cheryl Juntilla

        The first innovation was a change in location. The cost of the facility in Colorado Springs where the LOCC shows were usually held kept rising to the point where it was becoming unaffordable. Barb and Bob looked around and found a wonderful new location at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Castle Rock, Colorado. This facility is not only less expensive for exhibitors, but features a brand new, indoor, state-of-the-art, climate-controlled arena. The existing stalls are located just a few steps away from the arena, which is a huge improvement over running a couple of hundred yards up and down that hill in Colorado Springs. New stalls are going to be built and should be completed in time for next year’s show, which will make the facility even better.

        The biggest innovation occurred in the performance classes. The LOCC shows always attract large numbers of both youth and open performance exhibitors. The problem with having a lot of entries in performance classes is that it takes a long time to complete all of the classes and shows can run late into the night. Exhibiting in performance classes is usually a case of "hurry up and wait." You hurry to the arena for the walk-through, hurry back to the barn to get your animal, hurry to get your animal to the arena, and then stand and wait for your turn to go through the course. After you complete the course, you take your animal back to its stall or try to find a safe place to tie it. Then you wait until the course gets changed for the next performance class so that you can repeat the hurry up and wait routine. By the end of the day (or night) the routine gets pretty old, especially for the animals.

        Almost all of the waiting time was eliminated at this year’s LOCC Fall Classic for a couple of reasons. The first reason was that performance crew leader Larry Lewellyn’s courses were so efficiently designed that they could be quickly changed for different age divisions in a matter of seconds by simply adding or moving one or two obstacles. Since all three courses were in place up before the show started, there was virtually no time spent waiting for set up or course changes.

        The second reason was that Barb and Bob dared to try something totally new and different in the way the performance classes were run. Three judges were utilized and the pack, public relations and obstacle classes in each division were run simultaneously. One walk-through, which covered all three courses, was given for each age division. Each competitor began with the pack course, which was judged by Patti Morgan. After completing the pack course, the competitor proceeded to the public relations course and was judged by Kathy Peterson. As soon as the competitor finished the public relations course, he or she moved on to the obstacle course, judged by Dale Peterson. Anyone who was not showing in the pack class skipped that course and went directly to the public relations course. Once an exhibitor and llama had finished the obstacle course, they were done. To avoid turning the classes into memory tests, the obstacles on each course were numbered. Of course, there was still the need to remember what you were supposed to do when you got to the numbers and those who did not pay careful attention during the walk-through paid a price later for their inattentiveness.

        Things started off a little slowly in the morning as both judges and exhibitors adjusted their thinking to this new idea and concerns were voiced and addressed. However, once the classes got started, they moved along very smoothly and all of the youth performance classes were completed before lunch. The open performance classes had more than 20 entries in the pack, public relations and obstacle classes, as well as several pack string entries. Even so, all of the performance classes were completed before 4:00 o’clock Saturday afternoon and the performance crew was able to have the courses dismantled and packed up in time for everyone to attend a delicious barbecue dinner hosted by Annette Mulholland and her family at their home.

        This innovative approach to performance classes saved everyone a lot of time. It also meant that each llama only had to be brought to the arena once and there was no need to leave animals tied up for hours while waiting for their next class. The reduction in waiting time seemed to greatly reduce the stress on the animals as well as the exhibitors. Any show superintendents who have found their performance classes running late into the evening should seriously consider trying this new approach.

        Other highlights of the show included a delightful youth costume class and two miniature llama classes. Karen Kinyon judged the shorn fleece and walking fiber classes. The walking fiber class had more than 25 entries, which were all brought into the arena for the announcement of the placements. It was real treat to see all of that gorgeous fiber moving around the arena at the same time.

        The double-point halter show on Sunday was judged by Dale and Kathy Peterson and had 140 entries. A silent auction to raise money for scholarships and stipends for LOCC youth members added to the excitement and several vendors provided shopping opportunities for those who didn’t have time to get to the nearby factory outlet stores.

        During the halter classes it was announced that Ann Bruhn is donating a female llama named Cayenne Pepper to LOCC for a fund-raising event. This beautiful four year-old appaloosa was awarded first place in the adult light wool female class by both judges and will come complete with a breeding to Barb Harris’ champion male Wild Cat Musketeer. This will be an exciting opportunity to win an excellent female and what should be an outstanding cria. We are anxiously looking forward to hearing details on how to enter.

Cayenne Pepper and Ann Bruhn

Photo courtesy of Mary Wickman