Mark your calendar for next year!
April 26 & 27, 2025
Photo of the Alliant Energy Center Coliseum taken by Beth Skogen at a past Great Midwest Alpaca Festival.
Walking Fleece Show
Click here to register
Registration Instructions
Online registration for the walking fleece show opens January 1, 2024 and closes April 8, 2024.
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Late entries will not be accepted, and a fee of $25 will be charged for ANY substitutions or changes after March 25.
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PayPal is the ONLY form of payment accepted. If you have any issues submitting payments through PayPal please contact:
Kathy Nauta
Registrar
fiveoaksfarm@charter.net
Phone: 608-835-0504
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The following forms must be uploaded to the registration site:​
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Owner of Record Form (if needed)
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AOA registration certificate
​No registration is complete until all these forms are received.
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What is a Walking Fleece Competition?
The Walking Fleece competition is an opportunity for the exhibitor to enter a fleece competition where the prime fleece is evaluated while still on the alpaca. Each fleece is judged individually against the AOA Walking Fleece Judging Scorecard on an absolute basis in contrast to halter judging which is judged on a comparative basis relative to the other alpacas in the class. Conformation is not assessed. An AOA Walking Fleece Scorecard will be completed for each alpaca in the course of this evaluation/judging process. Placements are made on a highest-point basis once all evaluations are completed and tabulated. Rules shall follow the rules for Fleece Shows according to breed, age divisions, Color Groups and class size. Color Championships may be offered if there are sufficient alpacas per breed type in any Basic color group to hold a championship. Oral comments by the judge may be given during the hands-on evaluation. Judging by an AOA-Certified Fleece Judge is required.
Walking Fleece Judging Criteria
The following are the judging criteria and maximum points that may be awarded. The points are recorded in ink on a Walking Fleece Show Scorecard and in pencil on the Judge’s Worksheet for both Huacaya and Suri.
HUACAYA POINTS:
Fineness and Handle (20)
Uniformity of Micron (10), Length (5), and Color (5)
Style: Character (Crimp) (10) and Staple Type/Density (5)
Brightness (10)
Absence of guard hair (10)
Absence of impurities/stains/fleece damage (5)
MAXIMUM POINT TOTAL FOR HUACAYAS: 80 points
SURI POINTS:
Fineness and Handle (20)
Uniformity of Micron (10), Length (5), and Color (5)
Style: Lock Structure (10) and Density (5)
Luster (20)
Absence of guard hair (5)
Absence of impurities/stains/fleece damage (5)
MAXIMUM POINT TOTAL FOR SURIS: 85 points
For Huacayas, the minimum walking fleece score to award a blue ribbon is 48. For Suris, the minimum walking fleece score to be awarded a blue ribbon is 51. If the total points in a class reach 48 points or above for Huacayas and 51 points or above for Suris, the judge will then start placements with a red ribbon in that class. Grey fleeces are eligible to receive full points out of 5 for uniformity of color. Multicolor designations and indefinite color fleeces receive 0 points for uniformity of color and have a total possible point value of 75 for Huacayas and 80 for Suris. In these classes, the minimum fleece score required to be awarded a blue ribbon is 45 for Huacayas and 48 for Suris.
How will it work for the Wisconsin Alpaca and Fiber Fest?
Judge: Laurel Shouvlin
Show Superintendent: Mary Curtis
We are accepting up to 140 entries. Judging will be held all day Saturday, and until noon on Sunday. There will be a separate ring for Walking Fleece Show. Animals will be judged by color class. The color classes will not be in the same order as in the Halter Show, but will be in a different order to allow animals to compete in the various shows. While the greys are showing in the Halter Show ring, we will start with fawns in Walking Fleece.
The Walking Fleece Show is a time-consuming competition and you may need additional handlers, particularly if you are participating in halter classes.
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Walking Fleece Show awards will be presented Sunday afternoon.
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All requirements for stalling, health certification, and check-in are
the same as the Halter Show. These requirements can be found here.
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