I got my first ridgeback in 1994 from the original founders of Bridon Ridgebacks and have been hooked on the breed ever since.   Jim & Donna Theile from Newtonsville, OH founded Bridon Ridgebacks in 1979 and bred until 1999 when I took over their breeding program.  During that time, they bred and owned over 100 Champions and had several dogs that had outstanding performance careers, including my first boy, "BERT", CH Bridon's Albert Vonderlowen, CD, OA, OAJ, TT, CGC, VC. 

Bert was a wonderful addition to my home but when I got him, I had no idea that he would be the reason I got into competition and eventually, I got into breeding.  Bert was the second to last litter that Jim & Donna would ever breed.  A year after getting Bert as a puppy, I went back to Bridon kennels to get another dog.  They gave me, "RAGE", CH Bridon's Rage of Angels.  She was older when I got her and had several bad experiences with showing as a puppy.  I spent some time working with her, and sent her out to be shown because she was an absolutely beautiful liver-nosed female.  Much to my surprise, she came back a finished Champion in less than a month, including taking several Best of Breed wins from the classes.