Blackgate Lodge Suntory
Blackgate Lodge Suntory was always going to belong to us, even though he was born in Australia and we didn’t know he existed until he was 6 months old.
The above picture is Suntory when we took the Supreme at the Manawatu A&P Show in 2009
Suntory looks like a Male, he has presence, frame, the most amazing nature we have ever seen in any Alpaca and to add to all this he has the most beautiful fleece.
This is the sort of animals we want to be breeding.
The picture to the right is Suntory when we took the Supreme at the Manawatu A&P Show in 2009
The chain of events that led us to being able to purchase this amazing Alpaca
It is a long story of how all this came to be so I will abbreviate this
- I have carried a picture of a fleece that we believe is what an Alpaca Fleece should look like, in my computer bag for two years – The Fleece belonged to Camelot Tor when he won the Supreme at the Auzy National.
- We went to the first world Conference in Australia and were lucky enough to stay with Lyn and Graeme Dixon of Waralinga Alpaca Stud. Over a cup of tea one early morning (we were up because of the time difference) – We learnt all about a Stud male named Shanbrooke Accoyo Tulaco and how he was imported from Peru into Australia. He was one of the best Males in Peru.
- On the Friday before the conference started, there was a boat cruise around the Sydney Hatbour, we went on this and ended up meeting and sitting with Kate and Robbie Cuthill from Blackgate Lodge Alpacas. Over the trip we got to know each other quite well. The wine and food was fantastic.
- We went back to Auzy to their National Show a few months later and this is where Kate and Robbie took out both the Junior Male Champion and the Reserve Junior Male Champion with two 6 month old Cria both sired by Camelot Tor.
- Suntory was the animal that took the Reserve Champion, he was light fawn and his brother was white. Jenny Jackson was the judge and in her comments, she said you should go and look at these two young Males. – We did and we just loved Suntory the minute we layed our hands on him.
- Kate and Robbie then told us they were going to have an Auction is just 6 weeks and that Suntory would go up for Auction – Oh I should mention that Suntory’s Dam is a Tulaco Daughter.
- We registered to bid at the Auction and due to the time difference, it was one of the longest days of our lives ………. To cut a long story short, we were the highest bidder and so we bought Suntory, or I should say we really stole him from the Australians as we got him for a whole lot less than we believed he was worth.
 Suntory just days after the Auzy Nationals |
 This was the Fleece he had when we first saw him |
Suntory’s first fleece, as you can see in the picture above is long and silky soft. We could not see any Medulated Fibres anywhere on his entire body and the crimp was just everywhere, and I mean everywhere. There was crimp right through his brisket, right to the front of his bonnet and right down to his toes.
He was quite frankly the best 6 month old Cria we had ever seen
 |
 |
| Picture of Camelot Tor and this is the Fleece Picture I have carried around for so long now | |
Suntory’s Sire pictured above (Camelot Tor) is what we believe an Alpaca Stud Male should look like. You can tell he is a male from 100 yards away.
His fleece as pictured above is long and soft, silky to the touch has extremely well defined lock structure and each lock breaks up into many smaller locks. This is a beautiful Fleece
Suntory has the same Fleece type a this and now he is in his 3rd Fleece it looks pretty much the same.
Below is Sunny’s Fleece from his second fleece which had 12 months of growth and after he had been to 5 shows so it was a little tired and he had also sweated a wee bit as well.
He shore exactly 5kg Total Weight for this 2nd fleece and he was just under 2 years of age.
The photo is not that good, but it gives you an idea of his fleece type, we will add a better shot soon from off of his back.
 |
 |
| This Picture was when Suntory was just 14 months old and in his second fleece | |
In the Picture above, Suntory has just won the Supreme at the Auckland Easter Show in 2009.
You can see how he is starting to look like his Sire – Camelot Tor already..
We did not have to trim or prepare Suntory in any way for this Show, this is how he walked out of the paddock He is just such an amazing animal.
Suntory’s Showing Record
The first 5 Shows that we showed Suntory at he took the Supreme at all 5 Shows
They were
- The Auckland Royal Easter Show
- Waikato World A&P Show
- Manawatu A&P Show
- Central Region Winter Show
- Rotorua A&P Show
The Picture above is of Suntory’s Dam – Blackgate Lodge Sonnette
