One of the great traditions of the West Texas Fair and Rodeo is going to the Griffin Arena and seeing prize steers, heifers, and other traditional farm animals competing for awards and bragging rights.  If you dropped by the arena this week, you might have noticed some animals competing that do not seem to fit here in west Texas.

Kresta Thomas has a very unique animal that she spends a lot of time with. Valentino Dancer is a 7-year-old gilded llama.
 
Kresta has been showing Valentino for several years, went all the way to nationals with him, and won reserve grand overall. 

Kresta explains why she decided on her show animal.

"I decided to show llamas and get involved because when I was younger, about 7 or 8 years old, I saw the llamas at a stock show, and I was like, wow what a unique animal!" Thomas says, "And i thought that would be interesting to get involved with."
 
Kresta then fills in the details for all of us on llamas, "They originated in Peru. They are used for backpacking, they have on the packs, and kind of like with mules, you put them stacked up. And we also use their wool to make sweaters and blankets and such sort. Around here in west Texas we use them for guarding herds of sheep and goats, and they're just like a donkey."