HOPE DeREGNIER: I've had llamas in the Iowa State Fair for four years.
One of my jobs in 2017 was to help unload and stall llamas.
When my parents picked me up, I said, “We need to have these.”
Later that year, I sold my steer and I bought three llamas.
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MADDIE LANE: So today we have a llama show going on.
We have a bunch of people from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska.
And you have a bunch of youth, you have adults, you have just a whole variation of people.
[ Applause ]
And everyone loves it here, so everyone kind of gets along very well.
And it's just super fun to be around here.
JUDGE: Okay, walk-through.
First obstacle, bring your llama in here.
I want you to pick up and check the right front foot.
JUDGE: This is a pack course, and the obstacles that are in this course are what simulate
what you would do if you took your llama into the wilderness packing.
CONTESTANT #142: There's multiple packs.
There's a training pack that's a lot cheaper.
So there's two pockets.
There's a bigger one, and then a smaller one.
You can fit random stuff in there.
ANNA REESE: So there's those three different classes.
There's the pack class, which is what we've been doing, and then they have obstacle and
PR.
Finding the right llama is part of the thing because not all llamas are the same for every
job.
So you have llamas that are good guards, so they take care of the flak floc of sheep.
Some llamas are good at PR.
Some animals are good at stuff like this.
Some llamas just plain don't want to do any of it.
MADDIE LANE: It's a lot.
There's a lot of patience that goes into it.
It's really fun just to watch other animals progress, like, your friend's llamas, they
go from being the most stubborn to winning first place.
It's very fun.
It's really cool to watch.
MOM: I think it's something that keeps the kids -- for me personally, my kids, it gives
them an outlet to do things, to work with them, to show how responsible they can be,
to keep them out of trouble when they're growing up.
IRENE GERWIG: Well, the biggest events for us exhibitors is to come in and show our animals
for showmanship and performance.
We're a pretty big community.
We consider ourselves a llama family.
A lot of us with llamas got the got started in 4H during the county fair.
From there there might have been a breeder helping the youth at the county fairs and
wanting them to go to regional shows.
So the kids started going the regional shows and started getting to know kids from the
other counties.
CONTESTANT #112: I like their personalities.
When I’ve had a bad day at school or something, when I come home and they will always greet
me at the fence.
This is Adonis, by the way.
IRENE GERWIG: I love just watching them from my kitchen window.
ANNA REESE: They're just really intriguing and unique animals.
The way that they learn just really, I don't know.
They've captivated my heart.
IRENE GERWIG: I invite you to come see the llamas.
We're there the last weekend of the state fair.
Come by, come talk to us.
We all like to talk to the public about our llamas.
If you want to pet one, there's always somebody that will let you pet one of the llamas.
CONTESTANT #139: And I just love it so much.
I love the people I show with and I most importantly love my llama.