In 1996 I started working with Alpacas.  When I first learned of the South American Camelid, like many people my first question was “what is an Alpaca”.  Shortly after I began attending Alpaca shows where I often worked as a ring steward to gain all of the experience I could.  Working with the judges made me appreciate the process and challenges that livestock judging presented and I decided to attend the International Alpaca Judging School in 2001.  After returning from Peru I also began the AOBA judges training program and completed my certification in both IAJS and AOBA as a halter, fleece and performance judge.  I judged my first show in 2006 and was honored to be able to judge 9 shows in 2007 both in the US and Canada.  Today together with my wife Brenda we run our ranch in the foothills of Northern California and devote our fulltime attention to raising Alpacas.