By Viv Fulton
Reprinted from The GALA
Newsletter, February 2010
"Falling for Camelids"
was the theme of the November 2009 GALA Conference. Held in Ithaca, New York,
it was the annual conference fulfilling the Greater Appalachian Llama &
Alpaca Association bylaw's directive to educate members of the public. Charlie
Hackbarth of Mt. Sopris Llamas (now Sopris Unlimited) in La Vela, CO was the
keynote speaker sharing his views on where the llama industry has been and
where he felt it was heading. This being Charlie's first ever keynote address,
we were all just as excited as he was to hear what he had to say. We were not
disappointed. Sure, it wasn't the smoothest talk or the most organized we'd
ever heard (in spite of his wife Sandy's best efforts), but you couldn't deny
the intensity and sheer joy that Charlie has when talking about llamas, llama
packing, and for that matter, the whole entire camelid industry. Charlie's
focus was really a wake-up call to everyone, and not just llama packers in the
Northeast. In essence, the Nike® commercials shout it too -- Just
get out and do it!
The whole point
of having llamas and alpacas is to enjoy them. It doesn't matter if you're
going packing, or going to shows, or going for a picnic with the neighborhood
brownie troop. We got them to be with them, to just sit in a chair with our
coffee by the campfire listening to them peacefully chew their cud and watch
the sun go down. So many people get their first two llamas and do all this, add
multiple babies, and suddenly wake up to realize they better hurry up and turn
this into a business, as it's costing them money, they haven't sold anything,
and they have no time to enjoy them as they had when they got their first. Life
takes its toll and the next thing you hear is that there's another bunch going
through the local cattle auction, the rescue organizations are getting calls
about the animals that owners didn't have time for, and those beautiful bedroom
eyes are no longer soft and stress-free.
GALA is made up
of not just llama owners, but alpaca owners as well. Charlie's even made
scaled-to-size pack systems that are perfect for lunch hikes for these smaller
llama cousins. His keynote address, and his and other’s workshop sessions, were
purposely targeted to both critters. And so too is the message: we ALL must get
out and DO something with our camelids. To not means we will lose wonderful
opportunities to connect to something that can only benefit our mental and
spiritual outlook on life. As we wind down the calendar year, take the winter
months to rejuvenate, and prepare for the next packing season / spring renewal
/ decade, we should take Charlie's advice and include llamas and alpacas in our
plans. Those plans (and subsequently "we") can only be better with
their involvement. And this involvement, this connection and joy of ownership,
is what Charlie was saying will keep the llama industry strong. It's not the
big breeders catering to individuals that expands the industry. It's all of us
talking to others in the grocery line, at a parade, at the barbershop or beauty
salon, showing by example, our joy in living with those animals that will
expand and grow the llama industry. We need to Just get out and do it!
The GALA
conference this year was relatively small -- over 125 but less than the 200+
we've seen in other years. However, it WAS one of the smoothest run, more
intimate, certainly friendlier, and generally more relaxing than many others
I've attended and that's not just my opinion, but a whole lot of other folks'
who were there. I was pleased to give a couple talks at this conference, as
well, and had the opportunity to speak with many of the attendees. And I was
pleasantly surprised to see not only long-time llama owners in the audience,
but to see and speak with many who had never swerved from their stay-at-home
"business plan" of breeding llamas to sell or from their show
schedule, to now hear they were interested in trying llama packing or some
other activity with their llamas. Could Charlie's message have really gotten to
them? Only time will tell of course. Sadly here in the Northeast, the
llama-packing season tends to go dormant as the snow, bitter cold, and adverse
weather conditions tend to discourage participation. Will these folks remember
their renewed sense of anticipation when the spring weather returns? I
certainly hope so.
As the country
continues to market real estate in the rural areas to those in the cities,
there are fewer and fewer areas open to llama packing, or for that matter, open
to hiking with any large animal. Unless the llama hiker has purchased enough
property himself to set up interesting trails, or adjoins a like-minded
neighbor, those who want to hike with their animals are forced to either travel
long distances or to give up the idea entirely. Many llama owners who purchased
the animals initially as hiking companions, changed their direction to the show
circuit and substituted the performance classes for the natural world. Now, the
economy, the subsequent drop in the number of llama shows and other events, and
the realization that camelids are not really a get-rich-quick road to financial
security, has made many people reassess their reason for having the critters in
the first place. Will Charlie's message of Just get out and do it! find a
resonance with these people? Will those that bought the animals as hiking
companions want to resume that intent? Are they even capable? Some of us still
have our first llamas, but they, like us, are getting older too. The last few
GALA conferences have had questions about arthritis; the first conferences did
not. Is hiking with llamas (and alpacas) still an adequate or viable reason to
have them? Can the walk around a farmette's five acres (as the realtors call
them) provide enough justifiable joy?
This short
commentary is intended for both the GALA and PLTA (National Pack Llama Trial
Association, Inc.) newsletters, so my audience automatically includes both the
"choir members" and the 'congregation." To those of you who don't
know about PLTA, let me tell you a little of how that organization can help you
Just
get out and do it! with your camelid friends. The PLTA started out as
an organization whose primary intent was to set up and document participation
in events called pack trials that were tests of a member's llama's packing
abilities. Starting in the West, the organizers looked at the typical llama
packers out there to see what attributes needed measuring. The trials utilized
pre-determined elevation gain, distance, weight to be carried, and a series of
obstacles that could be standardized, theoretically at least, across the
country. This was all fine for a number of years; if you didn't have the
elevation gain in your part of the country and still wanted to evaluate your
llama, you traveled the extra distance to where there was a trial with the
requirements.
But times have
changed, and so, too, has the PLTA. The organization is no longer made up of
just "serious" llama packers, but others who want to hike with their
llamas. PLTA has recognized that its membership needs to be made up of everyone
who hikes with a llama, whether or not they do it over a mountain range or on
the flat area around a lake or along the seashore. The organization is national
in scope; so too must their membership be, and subsequently, the services
provided to that membership. We need to address the feasibility of running pack
trials in areas with minimal or severe elevation gain, with no water obstacles
available, or other conditions not typically found across the country, but that
are "typical" of a given region. Some adjustments have been made in
the regulations; others need individual study.
And what about
those that just want to hike with their llamas without the testing regulations
of the formal pack trials? Well, PLTA has addressed that with their new Mileage
Club. This new service was spurred on by the Southern States Llama Association
who, in turn, were interested in setting up a camelid hiking club similar to
the American Volkssport Association® walking clubs. Basically the Mileage Club
recognizes the mileage that a member hikes with their llama, irrespective of
elevation gain, weight carried, or obstacles negotiated. Here's a justifiable
excuse to Just get out and do it! It's a great opportunity for those
handlers and llamas who may not be the most physically fit, whether due to age
or health conditions, and for those on the other end of the spectrum -- the
younger and beginners. PLTA provides pins, certificates, and recognizes the
successful completion of Pack Trial accomplishments. They do so also for
Mileage Club achievements. Go to the website www.packllama.org
for more information. And Charlie's message? Let it be your new mantra for the
new year. It's not just a charge to the GALA community in the Northeast. But
bring back the enjoyment and just plain fun reason for having your llamas,
regardless of where you live. And if hiking with them is at least some part of
that, then all the better. As Charlie would say -- Just gel out and do it!
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