Lorraine, a two-time grand champion white female, was the first alpaca that we purchased, on the Magical Farms Auction in October 2001. A complementary breeding meant Lorraine would be due with her and our first cria the following October 2002. Twenty years ago today, on October 5, 2002, an early morning call from my grandfather notified us that Lorraine had her baby. And little did we know what a star he would be. The next day, we were off to a show in Litchfield, Ohio. The cria still needed a name. We were driving through Sandusky, Ohio, when my grandfather's cousin, who was traveling with us suggested the name Sandusky. The "sand" element was reminiscent our farm name, the Sandhills region our herd first called home, and Sandusky's sand-like coloration. The name, Sandusky, fit perfectly. In short time, Sandusky was traveling with us to shows, and winning ribbons too. As a youngster, he competed against the likes of Moonriver's Durango and Sierra Bonitas Sargent Pepper. At the 2004 Wisconsin Spring Fling, Sandusky took first place and was grand champion in a class of fifteen yearlings. Nearly twenty years later, Sandusky is still winning ribbons, competing against alpacas less than half his age. He won first place at Calpaca's 2022 Autumn Fleece Extravaganza and second place, out of four, at Pacific Northwest Alpaca Association's (PNAA) 2022 Innovative Fleece Assessment (IFA) show in the Grade 4 class, placing behind our own Penny's Coal Front, who took first. Judges' commentary has included: "Excellent relocking for age, with uniformity within the micron" and "Maintaining style within lock for age. Good length for growing period. Very usable fiber. Exceptional to see at this age". Sandusky truly is exceptional. I don't know how many other alpacas, if any others, have a show career that spans two decades, but it's a feat fit for this special boy. Sandusky's real test began with his breeding career, and he did not disappoint. Every cria he has sired has been absolutely spectacular with a strong Suri phenotype. His trademark has been a beautiful head with eyes outlined in black and a black wave above the eye. The foundation females he has been bred to were also highly selected, so one cannot discount their contributions as well. Sandusky is a grand-sire or great-grand-sire to many of our exquisite grays. Over the course of 20+ years in the industry, we've experienced many highs and lows, and Sandusky has been with us every step of the way. There's no better alpaca to tell our story than Sandusky, as our alpaca journey, in many ways, has started with him. We couldn't think of a better day to officially launch our stand-alone website, blog, and store than Sandusky's 20th birthday. We feel so fortunate to celebrate 20 years of having Sandusky as part of our lives and herd. Happy 20th birthday, Sandusky! Here's to many more days of celebrating this milestone birthday for our special boy. More exciting announcements will be coming soon, so stay tuned! ***This blog was first published on sandhillssurialpacas.com, October 5, 2022. Visit: https://www.sandhillssurialpacas.com/post/a-big-day-for-sandhills-suri-and-one-special-alpaca-20-years-in-the-making to see the original post.