(gentle music) - [Aric] It is summertime in Indiana, and we all know what that means.

(gentle music) Yep, the llama costume contest at the Indiana State Fair.

(upbeat music) Now we Hoosiers of course, know all about why these llamas and alpacas are doing this.

(upbeat music) Can you believe some people haven't even heard of it?

The Instagram reel we posted during the contest got over four million views.

(upbeat music) So we here at across Indiana just wanted to make sure, just in case you didn't know.

- We are here at the Indiana State Fair.

- Tonight, we have a llama show, and the llama costume contest.

- You know, state fair costume contest, they always bring it.

This is my 10th year in 4H and my 11th year showing llamas.

(laughing) (upbeat music) - [Aric] This is a llama.

This is an alpaca.

They both hail from South America.

They like the Andes Mountain range, and are really good climbers.

Usually a llama is bigger than an alpaca, but not always.

(upbeat music) The best way to tell the difference is by the ears.

Llama ears are longer and curved, like bananas.

Alpaca ears are shorter and pointy.

These animals are very expressive, and let you know when they don't want to be on camera.

Whoa, chill out Bob.

So then why are these llamas and alpacas dressed like it's Halloween?

- My name is Emaline Ceased, and this is Mojo.

You might not recognize him though, because he's gonna be completely covered.

- My name is Peyton Webster, and my llama's name is Sprinkles.

Oh, Sprinkles.

Grandma, can you get a pooper scooper?

- The biggest thing, in my opinion, for costume is training and desensitizing.

So you can see Mojo right now, he's clearly a little nervous.

It's his first time here.

By standing out here, and what we're doing right now is desensitizing him to the environment.

So if there would be any situation like an emergency or a vet situation or even just being in public where he would need to be exposed to those sounds and those feelings, it's great to get him used to it so that he's able to be calm in an emergency situation.

- [Aric] Essentially, this contest is actually just a fun way to train an animal not to panic.

- [Emaline] Most of the time, you want to get your llamas to be as fully covered as possible.

- [Aric] And the more noise, the better.

- We've put in all sorts of stuff all over him.

I actually have pop cans that we drag behind him, so they crinkle and rattle a little bit.

- [Aric] The llamas and alpacas that do well in the costume contest also do well with people.

- Sprinkles has to go to the vet a lot, because she is pregnant.

And when you go to the vet, you want your animal to be desensitized.

Sprinkles is actually registered.

She can be a therapy llama.

- [Aric] And this year, Sprinkles brought home the blue ribbon, but it wasn't easy.

The competition was tough.

- I know.

- [Aric] But for these llamas and alpacas, it's not all about the win, it's about friendship.

- I actually saw Sprinkles born.

Sprinkles and I have grown up together, so we kind of have that bond.

- Good job, Mojo.

I was just blown away by a llama when I was just joining, and I was so excited to join, and it was my favorite thing ever.

And I haven't lost that feeling, because the club is just so amazing and the community is so fantastic.

- You get a lot of life experiences through llamas.

- [Emaline] He loves to give llama kisses.

- [Aric] Can you give al a kiss right now?

- Llama kiss?

(giggling) Kind of.

- [Aric] That was pretty good.

- Yeah, he kind of likes hugs sometimes too.

They're just a really cool animal that you should definitely meet if you get the chance.

Right?

(no audio) - [Aric] Find more Across Indiana stories at wfyi.org/acrossindiana.