Thistledown Heather Nikos
On May 19th 2009, our breeding program finally produced a cria with that beautiful and rare rose grey (maroon/silver) coloration we have always wanted! Heather is an absolute doll, with well-balanced, straight, square conformation; fine, dense, crimpy, rose grey fiber and a wonderful playful temperament. Most importantly, like her sire Nikos, Heather is remarkably free of medulated fiber throughout. A half-sister to Prince Arian, and daughter of PV Nikos, our 3X Champion, half-accoyo dark silver grey herdsire, Heather inherits Felix, Yupanqui and Hannaruh bloodlines from her sire. She is the daughter of two Champions, with her Champion dark brown dam, Holly, bringing the Black Hawk and CPeruvian Jaxon bloodlines into the mix. 

Awards:  Amanda VandenBosch awarded Heather the blue ribbon in her first halter class, at the Level IV CABO show in February 2010, against alpacas from some of the best grey breeding programs in the US. Heather won a second place in the March 2010 Virginia Classic Walking Fleece Fiber Futurity, and her juvenile fleece placed second in the 2010 MAPACA fleece show and second in the 2010 PAOBA fleece show, where she scored only 1/2 a point less than the Reserve Champion! At the 2010 Blue Ridge Classic, Heather placed second in her yearling class and won the Reserve Championship.

Available for sale in the Breeders Edge Auction - August 27-29, 2010

ARI#  Color: Medium rose grey DOB: May 19, 2009 Unproven

Champion Dam, Holly

Heather's dam, Holly, is a Champion out of two Peruvian Champions, She is an incredibly dense, crimpy. dark brown daughter of the black Champion, CPeruvian Black Hawk, and her dam is a Champion fawn daughter of the true black CPeruvian Jaxon. Heather exhibits precisely the excellent conformation, density and rare rose grey coloring we were hoping for with this breeding match. 

Holly's awards: Holly placed first in a shorn class of 4 at the 2004 ABR Fall Festival in Colorado. She placed first and was awarded the Color Championship in a large brown yearling class at the 2004 Mid-America Alpaca Show in Topeka, KS. At the 2005 Virginia Classic, she placed second in a class of 12 brown yearling females, judged by Ruth Inglefield. Mike Safley awarded Holly a third place in an extremely competitive full fleece halter class of 12 medium brown yearling females at MaPaca 2005, the largest alpaca show in the country. He also commented that she was "the densest alpaca in the class".


Champion Sire, PV Nikos

Maternal half sister, Meliora
 Heather is sired by Nikos, the exceptional, half-accoyo, showy son of the renowned half-accoyo silver grey herdsire Aussie Rockford, and Peaceful Valley Priya. He has outstanding conformation, a well-shaped beautiful head, extreme coverage and a dense topknot. His fleece is very, very fine and bright, with good architecture and a gorgeous dark silver grey color. 

Nikos awards: Nikos has three purple ribbons to his credit, including the Championship at the 2005 Virginia Classic, Best Grey/Multi in show in the huge 2005 OABA SpinOff, with a score of 93.5/100, and Reserve Champion grey fleece at MaPaca 2006, where judge Diana Timmerman awarded his 30 month fleece 20/20 for fineness and handle. Nikos also has 9 blue ribbons to his credit, including a first place in full fleece halter at MaPaca 2005, awarded by Dr. Julio Sumar.


Paternal half brother, Prince Arian