There is no shortage of livestock at the Canadian Western Agribition. While many people associate the event with cows and horses, Tuesday featured some less common animals: alpacas and bison.
Amanda Vandenbosch, an international alpaca judge and senior trainer, joined the Saskatchewan Alpaca Breeders Network to judge the harness and fleece shows.
She explained that there is a number of criteria to work through when it comes to judging.
“So, we’re judging the conformation structurally. How that [is] put together, looking at all their traits, that they’re fit for function and then in their fleece, the qualities of the fleece that are going to be positive, and then taking that fleece to end product,” she explained.
Agribition added a new addition to the show this year, called the Innovative Fleece Assessment. This includes measuring the fiber diameter of the fleece across the whole fleece.
“The breeders here have very much …