By Kayla Barlow, TheStatehouseFile.com

A concrete floor littered with hay. A cacophony of animal sounds. Scents of livestock and manure mingled with the familiar fair smells of deep-fried dough. All of these set the backdrop for one of the Indiana State Fair’s main attractions: llamas.

With their thick, wooly coats, long necks, tall ears, and thick, long lashes, llama showings are a treat for many fairgoers.

And they aren’t just a fun hobby—llama showing is actually saving the llamas population. According to a recent agriculture census, llamas are dwindling in number due to climate change and declining interest, but llama breeders and the industry that supports them are helping ensure that the llamas continue to thrive. 

At the head of the pack is 4-H, the largest youth development organization in America, which 

runs llama and alpaca programs across the U.S. 

But at the fair, Evelyn Arlean Matthew runs the show. For Evelyn, a precocious 10-year-old overflowing with vivacity, llamas and llama showings is something she’s known all her life. 

“Well, my great aunt and uncle, they kind of like—they’re the really big things in all of the llama community. They kind of started the llama showing in this area, and it just became really, really big,” said Evelyn.

Fast forward to present day, Evelyn has been showing llamas for three years and has become a queen of the stalls in her own right. Her stall is bejeweled by her spoils—a royal purple and gold ribbon, a silver suitcase, and a navy blue banner, all awards inscribed with the rankings she won this weekend: Reserve Champion 4-H Showman, Champion Junior and Grand Champion (respectively). 

Every good queen needs her steed. For Evelyn, it’s a llama named Cru. A social, beautifully majestic llama covered in a skewbald coat of luscious wavy brown, black and white wool, Cru boasted a bedazzled head harness covered in shiny pink jewels. 

“For classes like culture and showmanship, you want to be fancy because you’re showing off your llama and showing off how well you can do,” Evelyn said of his crown-like harness.

Just like the harness, Cru himself loves to put on a show, and he’s learned a variety of tricks thanks to Evelyn’s teaching—sidestepping over poles, walking through water, walking with a pack on its back, and more. 

“I like jumping because when he does a high jump he flies through the air and that’s really cool,” Evelyn said. “I like backing through a tunnel, it’s more of a complicated one … It’s fun to just kind of get through there.” 

Obstacles aren’t the only thing that Evelyn and Cru have to get through. They have to get through his snack addiction as well. 

“[Cru], he likes to eat a lot. He’s kind of chunky and so, sometimes there’s leaves on the poles, and he tries to eat those, so I always have to watch out for that, make it have a tight lead, and that takes off a couple of points, but you don’t want him to eat the leaves, so I gotta work on that one.” 

As much as Evelyn is helping Cru with his snacking, she said that he’s helped her too. 

“I’m going to be in fifth grade. It’s going to be a big change because you don’t have one singular classroom, and you don’t have a teacher to walk you to your classes, and there’s a five-minute passing period.” 

But thanks to Cru, Evelyn is prepared for any llama questions. “When they ask questions about llamas, I’ll be like, ‘I know, I know!’” 

Cru has helped her outside of school as well.

“There’s been times when—OK, it may be a little silly, but I went to the orthodontist appointment, or to the dentist. I’m not too big of a fan of it because I have a lot of stuff going on with my teeth, I have braces … So when my heart gets racing, I can just imagine that Cru is with me helping me get through this, and it goes fine.”

As an added bonus, working with Cru has helped her gain confidence.

“When I’m getting ready to show, when I walk into that first class, I want to be really focused and make sure that I’m presenting my llama good, and that helps my confidence because it’s also good to have confidence in a class. Judges like that, so that’s definitely helped me.”

A positive outlook has helped her, too.

“You know, I always gotta remind myself, ‘You’re not gonna win every single time.’ And also, I can learn from what I’ve done wrong, so it’s kind of helpful.”

Even when she doesn’t get the ranking she wants from judges, a hug from Cru never fails to get her spirits up.

“Sometimes, I walk into the stall and he sees me and his ears go up and he runs to me and I can hug him, and it just makes me really happy, “ Evelyn said. “Or my family can calm me down or, if my cousin got a higher ranking than me, that can get me really, really excited!”

Because Evelyn has seen firsthand how happy llamas can make her, she is excited to share her love for llamas with others to share that happiness.

“Llamas can be a therapy animal, so you can go to nursing homes,” said Evelyn. “I’ve brought him to a parade, and we were going to go to a nursing home, but that’s when COVID hit, and we haven’t found the time since, but I’ll probably do that at least someday.”

She can’t wait for the day she gets to share the joy of llamas with her school, too.

“I’ve brought my ferret to school, but I haven’t brought my llama … yet.”