Kuyu earned his AKC Lure Coursing Field Championship on March 21, 2015.  Like his mom Kayta, his dad Kanzu and his littermate sister Kaia he is an intense lure courser.  He loves nothing more than to chase the bunnies.  His intensity and enthusiasm make him well-known (dare I say infamous) among the human lure coursing community here in southern California as it can take more than one experienced handler to get Kuyu to the line and off the bags.  Many thanks are owed to all the friends who have helped get Kuyu to and from the line so this title was possible.  With this new FC title combined with his AKC Conformation title (CH), Kuyu becomes an AKC Dual Champion (DC). SoCalCoursing awards a lovely medallion for a new FC.  This medallion was especially sentimental and meaningful for us since one of the 3 dogs on the medallion is Kuyu’s dad, Kanzu running back in his prime.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Kaia “BIF GCH Bakari’s Fabled Treasure SC” is a Kanzu x Kayta daughter and Kuyu littermate sister. She rocked the Ridgeback Lure Coursing community this fall when she won the 2014 AKC Lure Coursing Championships(NLCC). Kaia ran her first weekend of AKC lure coursing in August 2014 winning breed and Best In Field Saturday for a 5 pt major and breed on Sunday for an additional 2 points. With these wins, Kaia qualified for the NLCC held in September. The course layout and rolling terrain made it quite challenging. Kaia won breed on Saturday. Momma Kayta and Kaia also won the kennel stake on Saturday, and Kayta won the veteran class on Sunday. Go team Bakari! Indigo won breed on Sunday and Sheba had the combined high score. So Kaia, Indigo, and Sheba ran off for the big NLCC breed win. It was Kaia’s most incredible run yet. All four judges gave her the top score for her run making it a clean sweep and a clear win. We are so proud of Kaia and Kayta. Congrats to our Bakari Family!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Like his sire and dam, Kuyu continues to show intense interest in lure coursing. Given his parents intense interest in ‘chasing the bunny’ it seemed a sure thing that Kuyu would share this passion. It has turned out to be more than any of us expected. He is exceptionally insistent on coursing. Unfortunately he seems to wear himself out screaming to get to his turn. By the time he gets to the field he is exhausted from howling and jumping and trying to find any possible way out of this crate to get to the field when other dogs are running. Gradually he is learning that when his lure coursing jersey is put on it means it is time to run. He has also learned now that when he gets to the line he doesn’t have to jump and lurch to try to get to the lure. With experience he is learning that going to the line means that the bunny will move soon and if he just waits fixed on them they will move soon and he will certainly be released so he can chase them. These leanings have made Kuyu easier to handle and get to the line. Next he had to learn to run with 2 other dogs and to not be intimidated by other dogs on the field at the same time with him. He also has had to have some ‘doggie manners training’ to shape his behavior for when he comes back in to the lures at the end of the run. It is hard with the young dogs to give them some behavior shaping without dampening their enthusiasm. One year ago he completed his first AKC lure coursing title, the Junior Courser (JC). This year we have focused on conformation and so Kuyu has only had the opportunity to enter 4 days of lure coursing. It has been a formative year giving him experiences designed to expand and shape his lure coursing skills and behaviors.This year at the annual So Cal Turkey Run he finished up the requirements for his Senior Courser title (SC). In order for a sighthound to earn this title they must compete in 4 lure coursing trials and receive qualifying scores of at least half the available points. In all 4 of these SC trials Kuyu has won points or tied for significant placements only to loose the run-offs to the lighter weight and hence faster girls. But watch out now ladies. Kuyu is more experienced and is no longer intimidated by group running.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like his mom and dad, Kuyu has always shown a keen interest in lure coursing. Since he was a very young puppy he has demonstrated a crazed passion for the lure during practice runs. After his 1 year birthday he became eligible to do his first official run. At the So Cal 2012 Turkey Run he had his first opportunity to show his potential and he earned what we hope will be his first of many lure coursing titles. This first title is the AKC Junior Courser (JC) title. This title is available to sighthounds only. In order to earn the JC title the hound must be at least 12 months old and must run two courses of at least 600 yards with a minimum of 4 turns under two different judges. For the JC test, the hounds run alone. Kuyu ran two days during the Turkey Run and earned his title on the Orange Coast Rhodesian Ridgeback day of the weekend. This is Kuyu’s first AKC title and he will now have the JC suffix added to his name.

 
 
For videos of Kuyu’s JC run for Saturday Click here  and for Sunday Click here
 
 

The 2012 Top Performers issue of The Ridgeback Magazine includes a beautiful 3 page article on Kanzu and his history- making Grand Champion-Triple Championships. The issue also contains an ad honoring Kanzu’s accomplishments including his three 2011 top 10 rankings in; RRCUS agility, AKC agility and LGRA (Straight Racing).

 
Click Here for the story
 
Click Here for the full ad
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Spring Issue of The Ridgeback Register (April 2012) prominently features Kanzu on the cover as “America’s first and only Grand Champion Triple Champion Rhodesian Ridgeback. The Ridgeback Register is known primarily for promoting show dogs and this issue marks the first time the magazine editors have chosen to feature a performance dog on the cover. The issue includes a two page article by Theresa Lyons, the publisher of the magazine entitled “Shaking up the Stereotype”. Theresa chronicles Kanzu’s career and concludes that “Kanzu proves that form really does follow function”.
 
Shaking Up The Stereotype
Ridgeback Register Spring Issue, April 2012
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

January 2012 was a very special month for Kanzu. He earned his Grand Championship on January 15 and just 2 weeks later on January 27 he finished up his Master Agility Championship (MACH). With these new titles he has earned a place in history by becoming the first RR and the first dog in the 27 breeds of the Hound Group to become a Grand Champion-Triple Champion (GCH-TC).

These two small sets of initials are made up of a large number of accomplishments and represent the culmination of several years of hard work. The GCH is a conformation title and means that Kanzu had to first earn his conformation championship and then grand championship. The TC denotes that he has three championships, in his case: Conformation, Lure Coursing and Agility.

Until now, there has been only one Rhodesian Ridgeback with a Triple Championship. Kanzu now joins his Aunt Laea (A Kobe daughter pictured below with Kanzu) keeping it all in the family and becoming the first male TC Ridgeback. With the addition of his Grand Championship he has become not only the first and only RR to hold the title of GCH-TC but also the first and only dog in the entire hound group (27 breeds) to have earned this title.

Of course, Kanzu did not achieve any of these accomplishments alone. He was handled in conformation to his championship by his breeder/co-owner Mike Patterson and to his grand Championship again by Mike and also by Curtis Freeling. In lure coursing he was handled by his mom and very special friend, Justin Dannenbring. His MACH was completed with Vicki LePenske and Tracy Tennison. Along the way Kanzu had many supporters and boosters who encouraged and helped in a variety of ways to make this amazing series of titles possible. Special thanks to them all!

CLick Here for the story of Kanzu’s Champion Title
CLick Here for the story of Kanzu’s Field Champion Title
CLick Here for the story of Kanzu’s Grand Champion Title
CLick Here for the story of Kanzu’s MACH Title
 
 
 
 
The following photos show the Steps to Kanzu’s GCH TC title: Champion, Field Champion, Grand Champion and Master Agility Champion

 
 
 

The final rankings are out for 2009 Lure Coursing. Kanzu had a great year. He earned his Field Championship in July and ended the year as Number 10 Ridgeback in the country for AKC lure coursing. He also ranked #29 for all sighthounds in the US for the year. Lots of thanks go to his special handlers especially Justin Dannenbring who Kanzu adored just about as much as he loved ‘chasing the bunny’. Thanks too to Jim Wallace for all the great lure coursing photos.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Kanzu earned his Lure Coursing Field Championship in July 2009 at the Lompoc Inland Wilderness Hunt Club Trial. His field championship added to his conformation championship resulted in his new title “Dual Champion”.