Welshpool Livestock Market welcomed an animal that isn't your typical Welsh native, as hundreds of alpacas descended on the venue for the Welsh Alpaca Show.

On Saturday, October 21, Welshpool Livestock Market played host to the annual show for the second year in a row as it made its debut at the venue in 2022.

The Welsh Alpaca Show, first held in 2019 and halted for a few years as a result of Covid-19, saw alpacas of all shapes and sizes gathered at the event and was open to the public.

The 2023 show had up to 120 alpacas entered into the event, while more than 350 people visited the market to see the animals on display and to see the winners of each competition category awarded by the show judge Barbara Hetherington.

Event organiser Michael Henderson said: “This year’s Welsh Alpaca Show went really well, as we welcomed hundreds of people to the event.

County Times: Numerous awards were presented to various competition winners at the 2023 Welsh Alpaca Show.

“I was especially pleased to see so many people turning up as we were a little worried that the bad weather from the day before would dissuade people, or that the floods would make it impossible for others to make it, but fortunately we still had a healthy audience.

“Welshpool Livestock market proved to be wonderful hosts and we had no trouble with the floods.

“Despite being one of our smaller annual shows, it still takes six months of planning to put together.

“We welcomed a really high quality of animals, with a very strong competition, including some entries who travelled from as far away as Scotland to be here.

“We also had lots of interest from people who had never seen an alpaca up close before, especially not in the middle of Wales. It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm and curiosity from the visitors around these unusual animals.

“Welshpool Livestock Market proved to be a very good venue when it came to visitors. Being on the side of the road, we were visible to people driving by. I had multiple people tell me they noticed us or our signs from the road and just had to stop to see what was going on.”

Visitors were asked to pay an entry fee of £2 per person, with all proceeds going towards the Royal Benevolent Agricultural Institution, a charity providing local support to the farming community across England and Wales.

In total the show raised £652 for the charity.