Ridgeway alpaca ranch holding open house this weekend

RIDGEWAY — Nestled in Ridgeway, not far from the Martinsville Speedway, is a ranch stocked with animals not often found in Virginia — from alpacas and llamas to enormous Percheron horses, miniature donkeys, fainting goats, a tiny Zebu cow and even a coatimundi named Taz.

Rick and Laura Steele moved to Virginia from New York just over two years ago, and opened Infinity Acres Ranch to breed and raise alpacas for their luxurious fleece. The endeavor has grown into much more as the couple found themselves falling in love with a much wider variety of critters.

Free Alpaca Farm Days

On Saturday and Sunday, Rick and Laura Steele are opening Infinity Acres to the public for Alpaca Farm Days.

Admission is free, and guests will meet live alpacas, watch fleece being spun and see fiber demonstrations. Fleece products will be available for sale, the 4-H Club is having a bake sale and mini-horse cart and pony rides for children will be available throughout the day.

The ranch will be open from noon until 4 p.m. both days. It is located at 136 Joppa Road in Ridgeway, and takes about 40 minutes to reach from downtown Danville. View a map here

Rick said signs will be posted from U.S. 58 and U.S. 87 directing guests to exit on U.S. 220 (towards Martinsville Speedway), and from there to the ranch, or you can get directions at the ranch’s Web site, http://www.infinityacres.org.

This day will be all about the alpacas, and other animals will not be in the section of the ranch open to the public. Talk to Rick or Laura about returning to meet the other animals.

On a recent trip to the ranch, we were greeted by Rick, wearing a T-shirt that read “Love grows here” and accompanied by a sugar glider named Cowboy in a pouch that swung from his neck; a beautiful, white Newfoundland dog named Zenna, who promptly leaned in for a hug; and a handful of cats who clearly expected attention as well.

One young cat, named Shiloh, accompanied us throughout the tour.

The couple found the cat when it was only a few days old and eye-dropper raised it. Trying to mimic what a mother cat would do, they would wipe the cat off after it ate — and then Rick would rub it up against his beard.

“She doesn’t let me get very far, and she gets jealous when I pay attention to the others,” Rick said with a laugh. “She thinks I’m her mother.”

On the way to the alpacas and llamas, we met a Zebu — a miniature cow — named Ghandi officially, but generally called “Moo.”

“They’re one of the few known animals that has never been genetically adjusted to be mini,” Rick said. “They’re not rare, but they are unusual.”

The couple acquired the tiny cow when it was five days old, and it quickly found a best friend in Pinta II, one of several fainting goats at the ranch.

“I’ve never seen a cow jump like this one does,” Rick said as we watched Moo copy Pinta’s stiff-legged jumps. Moo won’t get much bigger (his head is not even waist high), but he will develop a hump on his neck and look like a very small Brahma bull when he reaches adulthood, Rick said.

With stops to visit Nubian and Angora goats, pot-bellied pigs, a flock of peacocks, Percheron horses and miniature donkeys, we finally made it to the alpaca and llama area.

Alpacas and llamas

The Steeles have a dozen alpacas, which they breed for their fleece and for shows, with some help from a local 4H Club — one of only two clubs in the state that focus on alpacas, Rick said.

“We’ve got the best nucleus of kids, and the parents are really good supporters,” Rick said. “The kids get a chance to show the animals and win ribbons. They walk them around, teach them to go up and down stairs and jump over poles, to back up — it’s all part of the competition.”

Alpaca fleece is much softer than sheep’s wool, and is highly prized for weaving.

“It’s stronger and warmer than wool,” Rick said.

Alpacas are smaller than llamas, with their weight topping out between 110 and 170 pounds compared to the 400-plus pounds an adult llama can reach.

One of the quickest ways to tell the difference between alpacas and llamas is their ears — llama ears are curved, while alpaca ears are more “canine-looking,” Rick said, and point straight up.

While llama fleece is also prized, they are generally raised to become guard animals, watching over herds of other animals.

“They know everything that goes on,” Rick said, just as a dozen pair of ears perked up and all the llamas turned to watch Shiloh stroll up in search of Rick. “We’ve been hearing coyotes around here lately, but they won’t get close because the llamas will hear them.”

The alpacas and llamas are both curious about visitors, and if you stand still they’ll come up and blow in your face, then run their muzzle over your cheeks and lips — their version of a kiss, Rick said.

After visiting with the alpacas and llamas, we strolled down to the pond, where we fed the fish, and talked about leaving. That took a while, because there were still Succata tortoises, Eclectus parrots, a coatimundi and the gift shop full of alpaca fleece products to visit.

Rick said school groups love touring Infinity Acres, and that’s easy to believe — where else can you get nuzzled and kissed by so many species in the same day?

Public tours

The Steeles are more than willing to show off their menagerie to anyone interested.

School groups often visit the ranch, and tours for the public are available by reservation. Rick said the cost of tours is low because they enjoy showing off their animals — $20 for groups of up to four people, plus $5 for each additional guest. Rick said there is not a set length of time for the tours.

“When we get people here we hold them captive,” Rick laughed. “We love the animals so much, we like to share them. When you have animals with all these personalities, you have a million stories about them; you have to tell me when to stop talking.”

Tours can be scheduled by calling the Steeles at (276) 358-2378.

• Thibodeau is a staff writer for the Danville Register & Bee.