Source: http://www.kusa.co.za/
by The parent club

History of Rhodesian Ridgeback

The breed today known as Rhodesian Ridgeback was established in 1922, thanks to the passion, constance and drive of Mr. Francis Richard Barnes. Let's follow the words of Mr. B.W. Durham witness of those days, as he told about them some years later in an article for the South Africa Kennel Union Gazette (Dec. 1950):

"The chief, if not the sole, credit of getting the breed standardised and recognised by the S. A. Kennel Union, is due to Mr. F. R. Barnes of Figtree - then resident in Bulawayo. I think it was in 1922 that Mr. Barnes circularized the many owners of "Ridgeback" or 'Lion Dog", as they were beginning to be known, and asked owners to bring their dogs to the meeting to be held on the second day of the Bulawayo Kennel Club Show to endeavour to formulate a standard with the object of leter recognition by the S. A. Kennel Union. The response must have been gratifying to the convenor. A large number of owners attended and well over 20 dogs were paraded. I attended by invitation. These dogs were of all types and size, from what would be regarded as an undersized Great Dane ta a small Bull Terrier; all colours were rapresented - Reds and Brindles predominating -. The convenor addressed the gathering and there was general agreement that a club to further the interests of the breed be formed. Mr. Barnes then asked for suggestions as to the standard to be adopted. Owners were reluctant to come forward, each naturally thinking his the correct type. Finally a spectator with some knowledge of the breed took a dog and suggested that that size and configuration be adopted, then chose another specimen for its head and neck, a third for legs and feet, and, making use of some five different dogs, built up what he considered to be aimed at. A few days later Mr. Barnes compiled the standard, a club was formed, Mr. Barnes' standard adopted and this, with some later amendments and alterations is the standard in use today."

It must be noticed that the witness " with some knowledge of the breed " was Durham himself, at the time the only "all breeds" judge in Rhodesia. Beyond Barnes, Durham and Mr. C. H. Edmonds took part in the drawing up of the standar, the latter senior Vet Surgreon for South Rhodesia at the time.

Crested dogs arrive in Rhodesia

But let's go 50 years back! The Reverend Charles Daniel Helm was born in 1844 and died in 1915. Charles Helm who lived in Matabeleland at the end of last century, the southern region of today's Zimbabwe, Rhodesia up to 1980.

Source of the photo of Rev. Charles Daniel Helm: http://www.tabikiana.de/ by Marion Andres

Helm ran the mission of Hope Fountain, not far from the kraal of the matabele king Lobengula, where years later the city of Bulawayo was to be founded. In 1879 he brought two ridged dogs from the Swellendam district, to his new house. The dogs were Lorna and Powder. The mission was located at a crossroad and stop place for the many travellers crossing the region, among whom a number of "white hunters" after big african preys,elephants and lions.

Source: http://www.kantara.com.au/ by Linda Costa: Rhodesian Ridgeback Pioneers.

Cornelius van Rooyen
Among the people visiting Helm's house there was Cornelius van Rooyen who lived in Mangwe, only 90Km. south of Hope Fountain, and one of the most famed hunters at the time. His missionary house in Matabeleland was well known within the explorers and hunters of those years. One day, the intrepid hunter Cornelius van Rooyen appeared in his house. He was immediately interested in Helm´s ridged dogs and took them on a hunting expedition. He was so satisfied with what he saw in that dogs, that he decided to continue with the breeding himself. His aim was to improve even more the natural hunting abilities of these dogs. Cornelius van Rooyen was perhaps the most important person involved in the development of the Rhodesian Ridgeback. He used these dogs to hunt all kind of animals, in order to sell their products, or to hunt them alive to sell them to european zoos. As years passed, van Rooyen became very well known because of his dogs, and every hunter would do everything to obtain them. In that way, the breed soon expanded through all the southern part of Africa. He was hit by Helm's dogs and asked him for crossing them with the dogs of his own pack. This breeding resulted in more rigdged dogs closer to the hunting needs of van Rooyen. He continued to breed and improve his dogs which started to be known as "van Rooyen dogs".

Source: http://www.kantara.com.au/ by Linda Costa: Rhodesian Ridgeback Pioneers.

Francis R. Barnes, then living in Bulawayo, obtained his first ridged dog in 1910 from Mr. Graham Stacey, owner of a farm nearby Figtree, who had his dogs from van Rooyen. So the circle was closed between Helms and Barnes, through van Rooyen.

Hence the Rhodesian Ridgeback is the result of the efforts of hunters, breeders and dedicated people who have managed to cross dogs and get the best out of some European breeds like the irish terrier, grand danes, pointer, grayhound and the bulldog-not the same of today's, but taller and more agile at the end of 1800-, with the breeds already existing there when the Europeans arrived.

At this point it is time for the question: where does the "ridge" come from?

Evidence of the first domesticated dogs on our planet goes back to 4500 BC in Egyptian tombs, and in 1729 AD we have a written record of ridged dogs at the Cape. Apart from Africa the only other place where ridged dogs are found is Phu Quoc in the gulf of Thailand.

The name of the breed is determined by the peculiarity of the ridge on the back of these dogs. In Europe these ridges are unknown but they are common in much of Africa. For example, many of the Sitkas in this country have ridges, and this feature is observed frequently in the indigenous dogs of Zaire, Angola, Tanzania, and Zambia. The Mesopotamian Hunting Dog was brought down the east coast of Africa in the course of tribal migration over several centuries and part of the movement was deflected towards the west. We must assume (S. H. Stewart) that these dogs carried the ridge gene and that eventually they reached the Cape and acquired the name of Hottentot Hunting Dog, serving a very useful purpose with the Khoisan in a semi-domesticated environment.

Khoikhoi dog - Hottentot Crested dog
Almost certainly from the Hottentots - o Khoikhoi, as they called themselves. Their dog was the Hottentot Crested Dog, or Khoi Khoi Dog. This was a half-wild african dog that the bushmen of the Khoikhoi tribe occasionally domesticated to use it to hunt lions and to protect themselves and their cattle. At that time, the european settlers used to travel in large convoys of huge wagons pulled by oxen, where they transported all their possesions and their families, looking for a suitable place where to stablish. They were called "voortrekkers", and this was the only way to travel through the wild african territory. They needed their dogs to hunt their daily food and to protect the convoy from the marauding wild beasts. At the same time, the dogs must be adapted to the harsh conditions of Africa. They must be able to follow the convoy through large extensions of savanna, to work in very hot weather, to withstand long periods without food or water, and to be courageous enough as to maintain a lion at bay while the hunter prepared his gun. None of the dogs that were brought from Europe were capable of all this. They needed another type of dog.

Source: http://www.mieliestronk.com by Dugeot-leerreeks

Source: http://www.tabikiana.de/ by Marion Andres

The Khoikhoi was the population the first Europeans found when they landed in Good Hope Cape region. The Khoikhoi had come from the Great Lakes Region some centuries before and, along with the big horned oxes and fat tailed sheep, they took with them in their migration a small-medium sized dog, 45 cm., pricked ears, a ridge on the back and a terrible temperament. The Khoikhoi crested dog was not elegant nor impressive at first sight, but the europeans soon noted some of its extraordinary characteristics. It was very brave and courageous, with long, thin legs, capable of high speed and resistance. It was also adapted to the climate and insects of the african veldt, with its short thick hair. It was able to cover very long distances without taking food or even water, and, most impressive of all, was capable of attacking a lion and survive. As this extraordinary indigenous dog started to breed naturally with the european dogs, the first Ridgebacks were born...

Source: http://www.kantara.com.au/ by Linda Costa: Rhodesian Ridgeback Pioneers.

The foundation of the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club (of Rhodesia) - The Parent Club

A few days after writing the standard Barnes and some friends founded the Rhodesian Ridgeback (Lion Dog) Club sited in Bulawayo. On 29 december 1924 the club tried to have the breed recognised by the South Africa Kennel Union (SAKU, today KUSA, Kennel Union of Southern Africa ), but unsuccessfully. It was only in 1926, February 4, that the affiliation was accepted by SAKU and the breed recognised as Rhodesian Ridgeback. This had been a point in Barnes' wishes: that the new breed had a name which would acknowledge the country of origin and its distinctive mark at the same time. Many others would have liked the name "Lion Dog", in South Africa in particular.

First steps of the new breed

Barnes registered his dogs (6) on 16 march 1926, among them there was Eskdale Dingo, born on 15 May 1915 from Lion and Como. Barnes adopted the Eskdale name for both his kennel and his farm near Figtree. The foundation of the breed was laid in these years, and the characteristics and the qualities of the breed we admire today in the Rhodesian Ridgeback come to us from those first breeders.

Source: http://rrcwa.tripod.com/ by The RR Club of Western Australia

The kennels we find in today's pedigree belong to those years:
Avondale    of Mr. T. Kedie-Law from Rhodesia
Drumbuck  of Mrs. L. M. Dickson who was among the founders of the Club
Eskdale      of Mr. Barnes
Khami    of Mr. G. Stacey
Kumalo    of Miss M.J.S. Vigne
Munemi    of Captain B.L. Miles, who collaborated with the Club for many years
Revelston    of Mr. D. R. Keith from Swaziland
Rhodian    of Mr. A. J. Walker, famous for his hunting pack
Sandvelt     of Captain R. R. Dendy-Rawlins
Sipolilo    of Arthur "Tractor" Smith, great hunter
Umvukwe    of Miss Ainslie
Viking    of Mr. Vernon H. Brisley, probabily the greatest among the breeders of the time and the one who influenced the most the breed in those years.

Source: http://www.tabikiana.de/ by Marion Andres
( Hutchinson's Dog Encyclopaedia)

The breed spreads out

From 1930 to 1949 Rhodesia Ridgeback spread all over Southern Africa. Under the British Crown ruling the region life is easy: there are no borders, there is a widespread enthusiasm, the perception of being privileged citiziens and a general welfare in which the white population partecipates. When the war arrives it is anyway far. It is in this context that the breed establishes and consolidates. In this period first quality kennels establish, run by dedicated and experienced breeders and passionate people.

Among the most important kennels:
Drumbuck  of Mrs. A.M. Smithwick
Leo Kop   of Miss Mabel Wellings, one of the most important of the time which much contributed to today's bloodlines
Lions Den,    of Mrs. D. E. Strickland who worked for many years in the committe of the RR Club of Rhodesia, till she went back to England in 1950
De Holi   the affix with an Esperanto name of Major T. C. Hawley. He was a famous breeder and also a historian of the breed with his book "The Rhodesian Ridgeback"
Gazeley   of J. B. Bocock, who started breeding in 1947
Inkabusi   of Mrs. I. Kingcome fom Salisbury in Rhodesia, her husband, dr. Martin Kingcome, carried out studies on the Dermoids Sinus and suggested recommendations to the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club in order to defeat it
Meyendell   of Mrs. M. Mooiman from Sandown in Transvaal (RSA).

Source: http://www.kantara.com.au/ by Linda Costa: Rhodesian Ridgeback Pioneers.

The breed establishes

These years are of fundamental importance for the definitive affirmation of the breed. Some kennels will in fact produce subjects that left their mark in the pedigrees of next generations. The most authoritative perhaps was the kennel Glenaholm of Mrs. Phyllis McCarthy, Pitermaritzburg, Natal, founded in 1951. This kennel is still active today, after 46 years, run by Loraine Venter, Honeydew Transvaal, Mrs. McCarthy's daughter.

But other kennels greatly contributed:
Isimangamanga  Of Mrs. J. B. S. Yeates who started breeding in the 50s
Mindemoya   of Mrs. F. H. A. Pritchard in Bulawayo
Rockridge   of Mrs. Howard in Johannesburg
Thornbury   of the Greens in Johannesburg
Maxwood   of Mr. S. Cawood in Honeydew, Transvaal
Mpani   of Mrs. Mylda Arsenis in Salisbury, Rhodesia.
Mrs. Mylda Arsenis was an active supporter of the breed, both as a breeder and as a member of The Parent Club where she held various offices. She had her first litter in1964. In 1979 she moved to South Africa.

Source: http://www.glenaholm.com/
by Carl Venter

These years are quite difficult for Rhodesia and as a consequence for the breeders in the country. In fact momentous events were to occur when the white population claimed on 18 November 1965, with unilateral declaration, the indipendence from the British Commonwealth, and a long and difficult time of civil war started. The war caused several kennels to disappear and others to move to South Africa.The war finished in 1980 with the declaration of independence of the Republic of Zimbabwe. This period was a serious blow for the Rhodesian Ridgeback in Rhodesia, and only after several years since the end of the war the canine heritage of the country could be rebuilt.

Source: http://www.igrr.de/ by Interessengemeinschaft Rhodesian Ridgeback

In this respect a fundamental contribution is certainly due to Margaret and Sammy Wallace from Harare (formerly Salisbury) with their kennel Mushana. They had started breeding in 1968 and up to today they have produced outstanding RRs exported all over the world and present in the lineage of the best champions in many countries. Beyond their activity as breeders the Wallaces have also acted as the guardian of the tradition and "culture" of the breed with their action within The Parent Club of which they are respectively Secretary and President. Sammy Wallace also is international judge of the breed.

Finally among the important kennels it must be mentioned Shangara of Mrs. and Mr. Megginson. They arrived in South Africa in the mid-70s for a short holiday. Today they still live in Verwoerdburg in Transvaal, where they breed RR. Among the many outstanding RRs they bred there is "Paco", Shangara Checheni, RR of the year 1980, 81,82,83,84,85, winner of 105 BOB, and perhaps one of the most complete RR ever seen.

Source: http://www.rhodesian-ridgeback.sk/ by Slovak Ridgeback Club

After WWII the first Ridgebacks were introduced in Europe and North America. In the sixties they reached Australia and New Zealand. The international breeding started, but today it is still considered a rare and exotic breed.