CANBY, Ore. — Grant Parker held the lead rope as he guided Fonzie the llama through the obstacle course at the Clackamas County Fair.
Parker, a senior member of the Spring Creek Sproingers 4-H club, walked Fonzie through the course set up in the llama and alpaca show ring.
Fonzie went over the teeter-totter and a bridge and weaved through poles sticking out of the ground. Because llamas are excellent pack animals, the obstacles are meant to simulate trail conditions.
Llamas are not as common as cattle, sheep, swine and goats at county fairs, but they are shown by 4-H youths in Oregon and across the United States.
There was a time when Fonzie would assume the “kush” position as he approached a simulated waterfall at the end of the course. That is, he would simply sit down.
This time, Fonzie was cool. He strolled through the water.
“I was worried that he wouldn’t go through it,” Parker said. “It took a little coaxing.”
Llamas are not as common as cattle, sheep, swine and goats at county fairs, but they are shown by 4-H youths in Oregon and across the United States. 4-H Youth Development is a program of the Oregon State University Extension Service that serves more than 20,000 youths across the state.
Parker, a junior at Wilsonville High School, has been caring for and training with Fonzie for three of the five years he has been in the Spring Creek Sproingers. He leases Fonzie from Joyce O’Halloran, the founding Spring Creek Sproingers club leader and owner of Joyful Llama Ranch in West Linn.
“A friend of mine got me interested in llamas,” Parker said. “Fonzie is the main attraction for me. He’s the reason why I do it.”
A club for suburban kids
The Spring Creek Sproingers started showing llamas at the Clackamas County Fair in 1999. O’Halloran mostly draws 4-H members from Portland and nearby suburbs.
“Hardly any of my kids live on farms,” O’Halloran said. “They just love the llamas. They love building the trust. They feel like they have an animal friend.”
Sarah Geisler, the llama and alpaca superintendent at the Clackamas County Fair, said O’Halloran is “giving these urban and suburban kids experience with llama husbandry.”
“They get to be there when the llamas are born, they get to raise and train them,” Geisler said. “The kids do a lot of their own work, so it’s a pretty independent club.”
Llamas are not market animals, so they are not auctioned at the end of the fair. Like dogs and horses, llamas and alpacas are judged as performance animals.
“For the most part, we get to have fun with these animals, and we get to take them home at the end of the fair,” Geisler said.
Breaking barriers
There are about six 4-H llama clubs in Clackamas County.
“My son walked out of a sheep ring and said that he didn’t want an animal that he had to send off to auction,” Geisler said. “So, the kids switched to llamas.”
“When my kids were first in it, we were sort of the black sheep of the Clackamas County Fair,” she said. “The traditional livestock clubs didn’t understand why we did this. But I think we’ve slowly broken down that barrier.”
Llamas and alpacas, both native to South America, have been growing in popularity among 4-H’ers. Clubs are starting in Marion and Lane counties, Geisler said. In Central Oregon, alpacas were shown for the first time this year at the Crook County Fair in Prineville.
It also fits the Portland metro area, Geisler said.
“Llamas maintain that ‘Keep Portland Weird’ vibe,” said Geisler, who lives in Aurora. “Llamas are just quirky. We have famous llamas that do weird things. I think llama people are just a little bit kooky and that speaks for the Portland mentality, and I include myself.”
She pointed to Caesar the No Drama Llama, who drew national media attention when he rode the MAX train and appeared at protests in Portland in 2020, and to Rojo, a former 4-H llama who was grand marshal of Portland’s Junior Rose Festival in 2013 and who visited children’s hospitals in Oregon and Washington. Rojo died in 2019.
Why kids like llamas
“I think they’re friendly, very sweet and interesting,” said Harper Murray, 11, who is in her second year of showing her llamas Willie and Teddy at the Clackamas County Fair. “I get to look out my window and see that I have big furry friends in my backyard. They’re just a great passion for me.”
Harper is a second-generation member of the Llama Lovers Club. Her mother, Anna, was in the club in the late 1990s.
“They don’t require affection or seek it,” Anna Harper said. “They tolerate it.”
What llamas can do
- Learn simple tasks quickly.
- Carry 25%-30% of their body weight for up to eight miles as pack animals.
- Serve as guard animals.
- Provide thick, soft hair for rugs and rope.
“Llamas are very smart and teachable,” said Sherri Tallmon, owner of Hidden Oaks Llama Ranch in Estacada and longtime leader of the Llama Lovers club. She sells llamas to people who hunt or backpack and spend a lot of time in the woods.
Llamas can be somewhat skittish but generally have a calming effect on people, Tallmon said. Several of the 4-H llama clubs take their animals to schools, assisted living centers, farmers markets and community events.
Making llamas available
Sid Lefranc showed llamas for several years before capping their 4-H career at the 2022 Clackamas County Fair. Lefranc and Princess, whom Lefranc leased from O’Halloran as a member of the Spring Creek Sproingers, won several awards, including grand champion and reserve grand champion.
“When I was in the fifth grade, I went with a friend to Joyce’s ranch and instantly fell in love with the llamas,” Lefranc said.
O’Halloran’s leasing program “allows the people who live in the suburbs like me, or in the city, to get a taste of farm life or spend time with animals that they normally wouldn’t be able to,” Lefranc said.
Sikha Bach, a member of the Spring Creek Sproingers, showed 13-year-old Onsomu at this year’s Clackamas County Fair. Bach lives in Portland and leases Onsomu.
“Llamas are just fun and interesting to work with,” Bach said. “I’m inspired by them.”
