Local ranch wins llama honors

Kay Sharpnack and "Siluette." photo provided

The llama breeding industry may not be booming as it once was, but recent showring success by Hinterland llamas showed that the farm is doing something right.

At the recent Grand National Llama Show held in Lincoln, Nebraska, Hinterland-owned or bred llamas picked up 23 top-10 awards.

There were more than 800 animals presented at the show, qualifying in a myriad of classes that included halter and performance. To qualify for the Grand National, animals must win a grand or reserve championship at local or regional shows.

The Hinterland llamas travel to about eight shows each year, going as far as Kentucky, Oklahoma and Nebraska in the process.

Judie Moser is in charge of fitting and training the llamas for the shows. Moser is also a widely respected judge and is in demand not only to judge shows but to train prospective judges as well.

Hinterland is owned by the doyen of the American llama industry, Kay Patterson Sharpnack.

When she and former husband Richard Patterson moved to Central Oregon from Ohio in 1973, with 44 Arabian horses and 30 llamas, they were unaware that soon they would singlehandedly begin to establish an entire industry.

They started their own studbooks and selectively bred them on the same principles they bred their Arabian horses, continuing to purchase new animals from a variety of sources.

At the same time, they began to establish a market for their animals, always selling in pairs and marketing llamas as animals that were fun to do things with.

In time, the Patterson ranch became the largest llama ranch in North America, with numbers never going below 500 animals.

When the Pattersons went their separate ways in 1990, Kay moved down the road to establish Hinterland Ranch, taking 250 of the llamas with her, and eventually marrying veterinarian Eric Sharpnack.

She continued with breeding high quality llamas.

"My passion has always been breeding animals, first with the Polish Arabians, then with camelids. Breeding is my joy spring in life," she said.

The showring is a relatively new endeavor for the team at Hinterland. Convinced by other breeders that they should show, they began in 1999.

"Show success is a validation of our breeding goals," said Sharpnack. Those goals include presence, balance, elegance and style, all attributes that cannot be trained into an animal.

Sharpnack disputes the notion that the llama industry is in decline due to being overstocked.

"There aren't over 150,000 llamas in the whole country," she said. "Personally, I think there's a market for more than a million llamas."

She added, "We, the owners, are the ones who are responsible for giving our animals value. Our perception becomes reality."

According to Sharpnack, llamas are magical and the most unique of all domesticated animals.

They are the only large animals whose breeding males are safe for children to be around.

They are kind to each others babies, are very sociable to humans, and contrary to popular notion, don't spit indiscriminately.

Plus, they're a lot of fun.