Niki and Jeff Kuklenski live in Lynden, Washington. Their farm, JNK Llamas, is our December 'Farm of the Month.'

Niki has been involved with llamas for 20 years and currently Jeff and Niki own 7-1/2 llamas, including Isle Eagle, who is just one event away from earning his "Elite" status in ALSA (Alpaca and Llama Show Association).

"Eagle" is a 9-1/2 year old male and has won the carting title at ALSA Grand Nationals three times, including this past November. He was also Performance Champion this year. Once he earns his "elite" status, Niki believes he will be the winningest llama in ALSA history. Currently, he stands with almost 500 points. This is one accomplishment that Niki is proud of, and it's no surprise! They truly are an impressive team in and out of the show ring.

Niki tells me that she had Eagle before she and Jeff were married 5-1/2 years ago and while Jeff likes Eagle, Eagle doesn't necessarily appreciate Jeff. Jeff is very supportive of Niki's 'llama' habit, even though he prefers horses.

When Niki was first interested in llamas 20 years ago, there weren't many people who had them, so she used the experience she had with horses to start training and working with llamas. She didn't always have llamas during those 20 years, and she says she will never learn everything there is to know about them. Some of the people she respects and has learned from in the llama world include: Judy Moser, Carolyn Willis, JoAnn Shook and Jim Krowka and Gwen Ingram. Well-known and respected in the llama community, to be sure!

Niki is involved as a 4-H leader with 10 youngsters who share her love of llamas. They travel to shows together and enjoy the occasional carting outing. She also serves on the ALSA board, and is the youngest member. Niki is on the board of LlamaRescueNet and is involved with llama rescue in the Pacific Northwest. She travels literally around the world facilitating training clinics, spending time in New Zealand last year.

As a full-time teacher at an alternative high school, you might wonder how Niki has time to accomplish all these things, but she isn't slowing down any time soon! In the future, she plans to work with and train more llamas.

To learn more about Niki and Jeff, visit their web site:http://www.nas.com/~jnkllamas/

Interview by Jill Edinger for LlamaCrossing.Com