05/08/2026
We have an exciting opportunity for you as you arrive to the show and get set up. CRCA and PLTA member Bob Blount has offered to demonstrate a Pack Trial Llama Association Challenge. This is not a PLTA sanctioned event, merely an interactive demonstration. This will be held Friday 6/19/26 from 1-4pm at HOLR. It is a come as you please event that will be happening in the wooded area where we usually have the pack class. Feel free to bring a llama and their pack to participate in the challenge and learn tips and tricks for general packing and for your eventual participation in a future Pack Trial!
Info from Bob:
The Pack Llama Trial Association (PLTA) Challenge is an event in which llamas and handlers participate for experience, entertainment and education. Rather than being an examination of a llama’s skill against strict standards, as the pack trial is, this event provides an opportunity to engage with other packers and handlers in a stress-free environment that supports learning and fun. Undertaken in a group setting, it provides PLTA members with an environment for exchange of ideas and training concepts and an opportunity to increase both the llama’s and the handler’s skill in a natural setting.
The Challenge is a less structured event than a pack trial, allowing for greater flexibility, and broader participation. Participants are allowed to undertake as much of the Challenge as they choose and still receive acknowledgement for their effort. No one fails a Challenge. The handler can decide what the appropriate load is for the animal at the time of the event, what obstacles to attempt, and how far to go. Llamas can attempt obstacles they have not experienced before and will not be eliminated from participation or penalized in any way if they do not complete them.
Since there are no required obstacles, elevation, or distance, the event can be staged in a wide selection of venues. The course may be as long or short, as steep or flat, as easy or rugged as planners choose, as long as the basic criterion of a “realistic packing environment while allowing for variations in conditions that are peculiar to different parts of the country” is met.
This event also provides a social outing for llama owners who enjoy packing or want to learn to pack but have no interest in promoting their animals as commercial packers or breeders, as is often assumed in a pack trail. There is no limit to the number of events a llama may participate in.
The Challenge is also an educational opportunity that allows those with little experience to interact with more experienced llama owners. As part of the Challenge experience, participants are encouraged to ask questions, and expect assistance and interaction with more experienced handlers and the Challenge Master. Further, they should expect assistance in learning how to safely negotiate obstacles and teach their llamas to deal with obstacles that are new to them.
