Snowmass Dark as Knight

This young male has a BRIGHT future here at Rare Gem Alpacas. He was purchased in utero with his dam, Snowmass Andean Diamond, through the 2021 Snowmass Bred Maiden Sale. Not only did we love his dam's phenotype and genotype, she has a pedigree that we had been wanting to incorporate into our appaloosa and harlequin breeding program. We hoped that our in utero baby would be a black male, but knew we had less than a 25% chance based upon the parents' genotypes. Well... the stork delivered! We got just what we were hoping for... an elite-fleeced, black male with tons of curb appeal. He has been aptly named, Dark as Knight-- "Dark" for his color and "Knight" after his sire Divine Kingship.

Dark as Knight will be a very versatile herdsire here at Rare Gem Alpacas in the coming years. He has been genotyped and is an Ee a2a3 which we have found ideal for producing harlequins and appaloosas. He can also cover other colors as well. In addition to being the perfect genetic mix, we are smitten with this young man's fleece, phenotype and disposition. We look forward to him stamping his offspring with his traits-- including his teddy bear head.

Update: Dark as Knight competed in two shows this Fall and took a Color Championship at both shows. Check out his scorecards and fleece samples under "Photos" to the right. This boy continues to please us!