Rippin' is a champion, out of two champions, designed to make champions. The pedigree on this male is superlative not only for his "close-up" ancestors -- his 7x champion sire, Crescent Moon's Simtustus, and his 7x blue, champion dam, Aussie .38 Special daughter Zumbador's Rossi -- but because of how incredibly well-thought out the breeding to produce this male truly is. Any two champions can be bred together, but this is no guarantee that the progeny will be any good; some lines just don't cross well. In Rippin's case, it is evident that his breeders put very careful thought into his production. Rippin' has impact sire Peruvian Victor and impact sire Danko twice in his pedigree. This careful use of line-breeding is very commonly used in livestock breeding to "lock in" traits of interest, and in this case, it worked. Both Danko and Victor were known for imparting great density to their offspring, and guess what? Rippin' is dense ... Really, really, REALLY dense. He will be biopsied in 2017, but, judging solely by hand-feel versus fineness, it is likely that he is the densest grey alpaca on our farm and one of our densest males, period. This is true follicular density, mind you, not merely a coarse, heavy fleece, for Rippin's first fleece boasted a spectacular 15 micron AFD, and his 3rd does not look to be above a Grade 2. (His 2016 histogram is pending -- his fleece was sent to show the moment it arrived in NH.) He has excellent uniformity, great staple length, and, oh yeah, fantastic crimp -- that ultra-high-amplitude, medium-frequency that spins up beautifully. Rippin' is not a halter champion just because of his fleece, however. He carries this fleece around on a solid-boned frame with superlative, straight conformation. His coverage is very good and he has a beautiful topknot. He has some filling-out to do yet, but, given his excellent bone substance, he promises to mature into a nicely heavy-set, macho male. All of this with a marvelous, inquisitive, yet calm disposition -- a truly ideal temperament. Rippin' began his breeding career with great enthusiasm this summer, 2017. I am so eager to see his offspring! He has also been priced ... For which I must be going crazy. My rationale is that we now have two other .38 Special line males, and now two Simtustus daughters, and Rippin' is the tallest and lankiest of my .38 boys. This guy might have the best crimp on our farm, though, so ... Yes, I'm probably crazy.
