Hi, I'm Linda Hayes and I started with llamas back in the eighties. Why? Because they are so much fun and so darn easy to raise. I was living in Texas and after teaching school all day, I'd go off to a rodeo and barrel race. Llamas and alpacas changed all that.

Once I realized I could keep them in the same fences as the horses and that they were much less trouble, the horse numbers dwindled and the llamas grew to fifty. Now Texas is really hot and not very conducive to raising woolly show llamas so in the summer I'd send them to board in Colorado where they could stay cool. It didn't take but a few years to realize...hey, why don't I go with them? So in 2,000 I bought a place in the mountains. I just love it here but land is expensive so I've had to cut the number of animals way back. Today I have 12 llamas, 4 alpacas and 4 paco-vicuñas.

But let's go back to the beginning; my first llama was Koko and I taught him lots of tricks. I'd dress up like a clown and off we'd go to schools, nursing homes and parades. We even performed on the stage at the State Fair of Texas. Now that was a thrill!

I really enjoy training llamas as they are fast studies. I've taught several to pull a cart and love to compete in the performance classes at the llama shows. I frequently hold training and show seminars both at my place and at events around the country. Always the educator, it seems.

In my quest to become better informed about camelids, I became a certified judge for the Alpaca and Llama Show Assoc. (ALSA) and the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Assoc. (AOBA) Since I was judging alpacas I figured I had better have some of my own so I bought a suri and latter some huacaya's. Their little fussy faces will melt your heart.

In 2005 I was showing at the Estes Park, CO, Wool Market show. They have everything there that has fleece on it, from bunnies to Paco-Vicuñas. Paco what? Wow...were they ever neat! This was the first time I had seen these extremely rare animals that are part alpaca and part vicuña. Of course I just fell in love and had to have some. I imported 4 females from Chili that were already pregnant. When the crias popped out they were the "spittin' images" of the real thing...the Vicuñas of the Andes Mountains.

Owning alpacas and P-V's (as we affectionately call the paco-vicuñas) led to an increased interest in fleece and the different attributes of fiber. I attended several training sessions and in 2005 became an AOBA fleece judge. Fiber itself is a whole discipline of it's own. Lots to learn...spinning, weaving, the scientific knowledge of structure and etc. It keeps the brain active that's for sure.

Isn't it interesting how one thing leads to another and how something as simple as buying a llama can change the whole direction of one's life? I wouldn't trade any of it for a second. I've made some wonderful friends who own camelids and have traveled all over the world visiting ranches and going to camelid conferences. I'm having the time of my life.

If you don't own camelids yet, what stopping you? Sell the condo and the sports car, buy some acreage and a truck and join the fun. You won't regret it. Not for a minute.

Llama Linda