BREEDER INTERVIEW WITH KAREN PIPKIN, GRACERIDGE RHODESIAN RIDGEBACKS
Channing
The transition from owning rescue dogs to purebred dogs was gradual. As a child, I rescued or acquired a few from different sources… a neighbor, or my grandfather who found a dog during a hurricane, and others in the woods behind our house. In my twen- ties, I bought my first purebred English Springer Spaniel. Later, after having two children, I worked with Animal Care Services as a foster, rescued dogs from the street, and adopted from kill shelters and rehomed them. At the same time, I owned some purebred ter- riers. So, we had mixed breeds and purebred dogs at the same time, before I bought our first Rhodesian Ridgeback. Today, I enjoy working with Ridgeback Rescue in small ways. Who have been your mentors in the sport? Please elaborate on their influence. My mentors in Ridgebacks have been Jill Davis, Dr. Christina Wistrom, and Jane Gentzen. I am thankful for each one of them in individual ways for helping me grow as a Ridgeback owner/breed- er, and for giving me the opportunity to own their beautiful dogs. Handlers Antonio Vidmar, who is a Ridgeback owner himself, and Valerie Nunes-Atkinson have also been wonderful mentors in my journey. I am thankful for their help in countless ways. How many dogs do you typically house? Tell us about your current facilities and how the dogs are maintained. Currently at home we have 10 Ridgebacks and two Border Collies. Our beautiful “Rhys” (bred by Jill Davis) is currently out being shown by Valerie and Antonio, and will come home soon. They all live in the house with us. We have 8.5 acres for them to run on and enjoy. Not all of our Ridgebacks are show dogs, and I evaluate which ones will be shown. Some love it and have that show spark and look; others don’t quite have it for one reason or another. I have done OFAs on all of them. I have bred three times, and will continue to do so if the genetics are right, the dogs are conformationally approved, and their health test results are good/ passing. I will work with the breeders of each dog I co-own to make the best choices before breeding. This is what keeps a breeding pro- gram moving forward in preserving the important qualities and traits with great attention to the details. Conformation, health, temperament, and genetics are all to be considered when breeding.
Essie
Kingston
92 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, JANUARY 2024
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