Passed On 9/1/99
ILR#R86249
Ponch
H-H x Roslind
Bred By Harlan Harris HA06
I
can honestly say that in all my years of llamas I have never
had the privilege of knowing another llama who was as
wonderful as Senta! If not for him, many of us would not
have grown into the llama lovers we are. I
first met Senta when Dannie Sayers purchased him as a four
year old gelding. He had been tried as a stud, but had been
unable to actually make any little Senta's. I was a young
teenager and thought Dannie was a bit nuts with her llamas
and for the life of me could not imagine why she would want
something you could not ride. She had me brush and work with
Senta as a little part-time job. Immediately, we established
our respect for one another as I found out he did not like
to be brushed and really never had been. Over the years
Senta would become famous for his loving personality, as
long as you did not brush him. Later
that year Dannie, Tessa (her daughter) and I joined FFA. I
did FFA for a year with Senta and even went to the Llamarama
in Olympia. There at our first show Senta and I won our
first halter class together and the packing class. Senta
negotiated an obstacle that nobody had been able to do and
won the class. (This was the beginning of my show
addiction!)
After
the first year, we joined 4-H with the Llamas Too 4-H Club.
I got older and graduated from High School, Tessa (Dannie's
daughter) and I shared Senta. I used him at open shows and
Tessa used him for both. I was now in college and
appreciated using Senta at events Dannie brought him to.
Senta
could always be counted on to greet people at the gates of
shows, fairs or other events and usually was looking for
some sort of treat. Among his favorites were tic-tacs,
lifesavers, gummy worms, fruit and juice. You can imagine
the delight of crowds that watched a white llama drinking
cool aid from a cup. Senta truly was an ambassador for the
llama species. He helped to teach people about how fun and
gentle llamas are and how loving they can be.
Left-Senta
Begs for a Tic-Tac
Middle-Senta Eats a Carrot Out of Tessa's Mouth
Right-Senta Drinks Orange Drink From a
Cup
Tessa
used Senta for many years and eventually got old enough that
she thought it would be a good time to train her own llama.
Senta then was loaned to a Terry Miller for her son JT to
use. JT has Down's Syndrome and really did well with Senta.
They developed their own mutual understanding of what was
going to fly and what would not! It was a perfect match and
so perfect Dannie decided to sell Senta (after talking with
Niki) to Terry for JT. Niki and Dannie had at this point
been talking about retiring Senta with Niki. Senta still
loved the people, but was pretty tired of doing obstacles
and was in no uncertain terms going to do them unless he
felt like it. That was the best part about Senta, whenever
he let you know something you just accepted it and did not
push it any farther. He was so darn funny and cute, how
could you make him? Terry
retired Senta to her house and JT began to lose interest in
4-H as he was now in his twenties. Senta was content to be
spoiled and loved by Terry, JT and her husband Michael.
Senta
the Snuggler
Senta
& Young Tessa at the Kitsap County Fair
Late-80's
Senta
& Tessa as a Dragon and Princess in the
Early-90's
Joan
a primary 4-H member in Niki's 4-H group became old enough
to have a llama project. Joan's family had several llamas,
but none that were suitable for a beginner llama 4-Her. Niki
one day decided it would be a good idea to borrow Senta out
of retirement for Joan and called Terry. Within two weeks,
Senta was in Bellingham thanks to Terry and her generosity.
It was no easy task to give up having this llama in your
life (as Dannie, Tessa, Terry, Joan and I will all attest
to). Joan
took Senta to the Spring Puyallup 1999, King County Fair
1999 and Lynden Fair 1999. Senta could not have been happier
to be around the people and kids he loved more than
anything. Senta
quickly trained Joan about which drinks and foods he liked.
This prompted Joan to start a daily ritual of going to the
pasture to take him treats and to play with him. They became
very close, to the point that he would let Joan catch him
and not her mother. Senta always knew the difference between
a kid and an adult and treated them accordingly.
Senta
& Joan at the Lynden Fair August
1999
Senta
passed away a week and half after his last fair. He was a
victim to being caught by his dog collar, in a tree he
climbed for leaves. We all were devastated by this loss as
we all felt that he would be there forever. So
rarely does a llama come along that does so many things for
so many people. Senta took up a large space in all of our
hearts and the many people over the years who came in
contact with him. I know of no other animal that put so many
years (15+) in the llama 4-H program and made so many young
4-H kids and adults happy. In
his honor we have created a trophy that will go to the 4-H
kid and llama that represents happiness and sportsmanship at
the fair. If you would like to be a part of this trophy,
please contact
me directly. Also,
please learn from this and don't leave halters, collars, fly
masks or anything else on your animals.
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