Kengali Rhodesian Ridgebacks - 2015 NEWS & EVENTS

EUKANUBA WEEK!

The second week of December is the highlite of our show year here in Central Florida! The Eukanuba National Championship show is in town, along with 3 of our regularly scheduled shows and our own club's Regional Specialty show! We had an AMAZING year this year showing our youngsters! After showing at our National Specialty show back in September, it was officially Duma and Bono's time to come out! Bono showed at the 3 regularly scheduled shows and was Reserve Winner's two of the days and Winner's Dog on the third for his first point! He then showed at our Regional Specialty where we had an entry of 67 and was Best of Opposite Sex in Sweeps and Reserve Winners Dog overall! Then it was Duma's turn, and she also won Best of Opposite Sex in Sweeps and Reserve Winner's Bitch! Duma was entered in Eukanuba and in a huge entry of 56, she was Winner's Bitch, Best of Winners and Best Bred By Exhibitor, earning a 4 pt major! To top it off, our co-owned girl, Tegan, was Winner's Bitch on Thursday for a major win and then had a repeat performance as Winner's Bitch at our Regional Specialty show on Friday, finishing her Championship!! Sharon and I are so very grateful to our judges for these awards! CLOUD 9 for sure!!

November Hi-Lights!

After a year and a half out of the show ring, Charm is back in it, working towards his Grand Championship! His first weekend out in Brooksville, he was Select winner both days - a nice way to start it off! His next shows were November 12th and13th in Ocala. He won Best of Opposite on Thursday - HOORAY! We missed Friday due to Chyna being in early stages of labor, but he knows what's in store for him the next few months!

Sunday in Ocala was THE BIG DAY, tho! Our handsome boy, Ronin, was entered, and when his regular handler was stuck in another ring, Patrick Mazepink, stepped in and showed him to Best of Winners and a 3 point major! So happy for Ronin's people, Sheila and Robin Soltau and very thankful to Patrick for handling him! One more major to go!!

Patrick and Ronin - photo by Megan Cloudman!

A Show of Elegance!

September in Rhode Island...what could be nicer for Floridians looking forward to cooler weather? Our National Specialty show was held this year in Warwick and we made the trip to enjoy the show, the location, the people and you bet...the FOOD! We had a fabulous time getting together with friends, old and new, enjoying the sights and having a great time showing our dogs. Puppy, Bono, made his show debut in the 4--6 puppy class and while he didn't place, he showed well and had FUN! 8 mos. old Duma also made her show debut and placed 4th in a very competitive 6-9 mos class of 25. Our Katniss won the American Bred class, beautifully handled by Darlene Bergan! Sachi-momma gave it her all in both Veteran Sweeps and regular Veteran, but didn't place. She received a LOT of compliments, tho and showed her heart out for me. All in all, a GREAT week and we're already looking forward to next years Nationals in Ohio!

Duma

Duma in sweeps

Bono

Sightseeing in Newport

Bono

Jen and Duma!

A trip to the beach!

Sachi

Duma

Duma - 3rd place!

YAY, DUMA!!

Katniss & Darlene

BO KNOWS WINNING!!

Our young boy, Bo, started his show career in Tampa in June. He won 3 of the 4 days there, including a Best of Breed win over Specials, earning a 4 pt major. The next weekend in Orlando was a repeat performance! The following weekend he finished his championship on the first day with a 3rd 4 pt major! He followed that up in the next three weeks by finishing his Grand Championship! He is now GCH Kengali's Justintime!

In October, he and his handler, Arvind deBraganca, made the trip to NJ to attend the very prestious Morris & Essex Dog Show, which only happens every 5 years. This is not just a dog show...it's an EVENT! Folks dress up in period costume from the Gatsby era and have a great time with that, too! There was an entry of 56 Ridgebacks this year and we were thrilled beyond belief when Bo won Best of Breed!

Bo is co-owned by Tisha and Colin Farnham and their two sons, and when not out being a pampered show dog...he's the family's best buddy and spends his days, with his buddy, Doza, racing around their 150 acre hydroponic farm here in Florida! What a life he has!

Best of Breed!! Morris & Essex

Spectacular Summer Fun!

Two of our Charm and Tori sons have had an awesome show season this summer! Bo made his show debut on June 11th - 3 shows, first day Reserve, second day Best of Winners, third day Best of Breed, beating several Specials for a 4 pt major, 4th day - Best of Winners again! Second weekend - Reserve first day, Best of Winners the second and Best of Breed again and another 4 pt major the third day! Then, third weekend out, Reserve the first day, Best of Winners the second with his 3rd 4pt major...NEW CHAMPION!!

Marvelous May!

We had another great weekend, May 16 and 17th in DeLand at the Greater Daytona Dog Fanciers Association shows! On Saturday, our beautiful light wheaten girl, Tegan, was Winners Bitch, following up two more wins she had up in Perry, GA the previous week! This girl is on a roll! On Sunday, it was Ms. Hetty Lang's day to shine, winning Best of Winners! This gives her a win each of the 3 weekends she's been out!! What made this weekend even more special was the trophies each girl won that were donated by our dear friends, Bill and Carol Smith. Sadly, Carol lost her battle with cancer in March, but we know she was with us in spirit this weekend!

Showtime in April! WOWSER!!

April has been another totally awesome month for the Kengali Gang! Here on the homefront, the first weekend, we headed up to Elkton, FL with Ronin and Elena. Ronin was Reserve Winners both days and Elena was Winners Bitch both days, and on Saturday, also won Best of Opposite Sex over specials....NICE!!!

Then the following week, we took a trip up to Perry, GA....our annual fun time there, for sure! 7 mos. old Hetty Lang took the lead and won Winners Bitch on the first day, in her very first show! To say the least, I was beyond thrilled!! Then, my friend, Alex finished her girl, Paloma, on Saturday. Paloma is a Sachi granddaughter, so again, I couldn't be more please. Arya was Reserve Winners on Friday, so still needs that elusive major to finish her championship. All in all...a GREAT and FUN filled trip!!

Then, back home, we headed to Zolfo Springs with Ronin and Elena. Once again, Ronin was Reserve both days and Elena was Reserve the first day and Winners the second!

Next...onto Vero Beach with Ronin, Elena and Hetty Lang!! Ronin, happily!!, was Winners Dog the first day and took Reserve on Sunday. Elena was Winners on Saturday and Reserve on Sunday....reserve to Ms. Hetty Lang, who rocked it again, her second weekend out!

Next weekend....off for some Lure Coursing fun!

Wins around the World!

March 28th and 29th.....what an incredible weekend our puppy families have had! First, in Texas, we now have a NEW CHAMPION! CH Kengali's Worth the Wait, aka ATTICUS earned the final point needed for his championship! HUGE CONGRATS to his owners, Sandra and Al Alverson! He has been handled by Sue Cassel and Rose Leale who did a wonderful job with him! This win also gives our Jami her 5th champion earning her the ROM - Register of Merit - award! SO THRILLED!! Atticus is also Jethro's 5th champion...he needs 5 more for his ROM and we're working on that!

Then, up in North Carolina, our Legend/ Rowan daughter, ANNIE, Kengali's Into Mischief, won her first points on Saturday! She is owned and loved by Gary Koenig and I and we're beyond excited to see her doing so well!

KENGALI'S INTO MISCHIEF "ANNIE"

On the other side of the world, in sunny Tel Aviv, Israel, Kengali's Spirit of Masada, aka JAKE, won his first competition on Saturday, as well! He is an awesome big boy, littermate to our Gemma and Ronin, and I'm sure it won't be long before his Championship is announced. HUGE CONGRATS to his owner, Avi Menkes, who adores his big boy!

KENGALI'S SPIRIT OF MASADA "JAKE"

On Sunday, I got some great news from Colorado! Pam Cherkovsky and her girl, NALA - Kengali's Sweet Pea, won her second major, 4 pts., also winning Best of Opposite Sex over 4 Specials! I am beyond thrilled for Pam! This is her first show dog and the two of them have learned so much together! 1 more point and she'll be a new champion, too! Nala is also a littermate to Jake, Ronin and Gemma!! They are all from Chyna and Jethro's litter...they sure had some beauties!

KENGALI'S SWEET PEA "NALA"

Snowy Tennessee Adventure!

What an adventure we had going to the supported shows in Franklin, TN this year! As usual....you never can tell what the weather is going to be like up there! So after leaving sunny 90 degree weather in FL.....and then driving thru sleeting rain on frozen icy roads to 20 degree weather with windshield wipers freezing...one wonders "WHAT WAS I THINKING???!!" But after arriving at our destination and getting together with my friends up there...it was a warm welcome and knew I'd made the right decision to come! Arya, Ella and Sachi had a great time on the trip....but when we stopped and they got out in the snow, Sachi had flashbacks to 2009 and her trip to NYC and Westminster and gave me the old stinkeye! I'd promised her then, she wouldn't have to show anymore.....OOPS! I lied! She's a veteran now and we're going to have some fun with that!

There was a RRCUS supported entry on Saturday and Sunday, and I'm so happy to say that our beautiful Ella won Best in Sweeps both days, and her brother, Duke, won Best of Opposite on Saturday and brother, Satchmo, won Best of Opposite on Sunday. Their daddy, Spirit, won Best in Veteran Sweeps on Saturday and Best of Opposite on Sunday! And Sachi momma won Best of Opposite in Veterans on Saturday. To top it off, it was Arya's day to shine! It took a "village", but she won Best of Winners and a 4 point major on Saturday! She was shown in her class by her grandma, Tammy Lynch, who owns Spirit who is also Arya's sire. Then I showed her in the Winners Bitch class and then our Junior Handler friend, Sydney for Best of Winners! Duke also followed up his Sweepstakes win with Winners Dog, earning a 3 point major! They did their Tall Mommy, Liz Mask, proud, believe me!

We had a great party and get together on Saturday nite - the food and company was awesome! Already looking forward to next year!!

Arya wins a 4 pt major!

Sachi wins Best of Opposite, Veterans!

Ella wins Best in Sweeps on Saturday!

Ella wins Best in Sweeps on Sunday!

Lovin' Lakeland!!

Had a GREAT weekend at the Strawberry Cluster Shows in Lakeland! Our boy, Ronin, won Winners Dog both days and Arya won Winners Bitch on Saturday, earning the last single point she needed, so didn't show her on Sunday.

KENGALI'S RONIN ATTICUS
Owned and Loved by Sheila and Robin Saltau

January Circuit!

We're starting the year off working on our livernose, Elena's, championship, and she did pretty darn good on the January circuit for one just starting out! She is Kengali's Girl on Fire and is a daughter of Mbali and Skipper and is co-owned with my friend, Diane Quitoni, Chioke Rhodesians. Out of 10 shows, she was Winner's twice and Reserve Winner's five times. Here she is on the last day, being handled by my 8 year old friend, Emily Cloudman! How cute are they together?? Diane and I have great hopes for our Girl on Fire!!

photo taken by Emily's mom, Megan Cloudman!

Additionally, since Ygritte finished her Grand Championship, it's Gemma's turn to head back in the ring for hers! Five out of six shows that she was in, she won Select Bitch and if more than half way to earning her Grand! Way to go, girls!!

NOW!!! ON TO THE NEW YEAR AND NEW ADVENTURES!!!

We had an AWESOME start to the 2015 show season!! The Winter Circuit in Brooksville began last week, and we were there Thursday thru Sunday. Ygritte and Elena showed on Thursday and Friday. It was Elena's first weekend out and she was Reserve Winners on Thursday and Winners/Best of Winners on Friday for her first two points! Ygritte won Best of Opposite on Thursday and Select on Friday and we also won Best of Breed, Owner Handler! On Saturday, Arya was added to the lineup, and was Reserve to a 4 pt Major. Ygritte took Select again. On Sunday, Ygritte won Select again and became a new Grand Champion! The best news of all, tho, was our good friend, Raul Lopez, finished his girl, Sera, with back to back 4 Pt Majors! Sera is a granddaughter of our beautiful girl, Sachi, so, of course, this was "our win" , too! Arya's brother, Lucca, owned by Alex Thomas, also finished his Championship on Saturday and was Best of Opposite on Sunday. A pretty darn good weekend!!

Kengali's Girl On Fire "ELENA"

More pictures to follow!!!

Eukanuba and Regional Specialty Week!

Our Sunshine State Rhodesian Ridgeback Club had it's first Regional Specialty on December 12th, during Eukanuba week. Our Sweepstakes judge was Mrs. MaryAnn Alston and regular classes was Mr. David Miller. We had a nice huge entry of 54 Ridgebacks, gorgeous awards and were very pleased with the whole show. Our dogs, Ella, Quilla, Thando, Legend, Ygritte and Sachi all got to come out for this special event and gave a really good showing for us!

KENGALI'S THANDO   "THANDO" Reserve Winner's Dog
Owned and Loved by Rafi and Joy Etzion

CH KENGALI'S CARIBBEAN SOUL, ROM   "SACHI" Best of Opposite Veteran

GCH KENGALI'S CAPTAIN'S LAST COMMAND   "LEGEND" Award of Merit

GCH KENGALI'S KISSED BY FIRE "YGRITTE" winning Select Bitch, December 9th