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 too.

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.

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.

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 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.
Niki Anderson-Kuklenski