Apprentice Practitioner (AP): Robert Applegate

Estacada, OR robert.applegate@oregonchain.com phone: (503) 722-0440 mobile: (971)221-4506 I became involved with Alpacas when we bought our first male in October of 1993 out of the first Peruvian import. We noticed during the first Alpaca Show in 1994 we attended in Estes Park during the Wool Festival that people were getting these animals into the ring any way they could, including dragging them by their ears, or on their knees by the lead line. We also noticed that people were leading Lamas through obstacle courses without use of force, and we had seen Lamas packing on trails, so it seemed to me that Alpacas were obviously intelligent animals. I started training our stud using gentle techniques I'd observed Dad use (and I'd used for years) with horses - before I 'discovered' Camlidynamics during one of Marty's demonstrations during an Alpaca show later in the year. I started using these techniques, and although I hadn't yet attended a clinic, the training was successful, a lot easier on both me and the animals. One of the larger ranchers in the area (where we agisted our stud) noticed my 'success' and asked me to train his 'show strings' of imports. I was able to attend a two day clinic in the Spring of 1995 taught by Marty which really defined the techniques so much more fully, giving me a greater understanding of the principles and techniques. I continued to train the original ranchers 'show strings' for a number of years as well as other Alpaca owners both large and small, whether for showing or just managing their herds ever since. I continue to attend Marty's clinics to remain up to date with new techniques and tools (after all - it's called 'Camelidynamics' - not 'Camelidstatics').