The Rhodesian Ridgeback World Congress is sort of like the Olympics for the breed: Every four years, Ridgebackers from across the world gather for a conference that includes two days of Ridgeback-specific lectures and presentations followed by an official World Congress Dog Show. It’s a rare chance to immerse yourself in Ridgebackdom and meet all the breed’s global “movers and shakers.”.
The 2016 Rhodesian Ridgeback World Congress convened June 29-30 in Lund, Sweden, for two days to discuss issues of interest to Ridgeback owners, breeders, and fanciers. At the last RRWC over 200 people participated from 29 countries around the globe, it is therefore a regular, recognized meeting of serious fanciers, breeders and judges. At the close of the Congress the attendees approved the following resolution:
“The 2016 Rhodesian Ridgeback World Congress recognizes that breeders are autonomous and are the best arbiters of what should happen in their whelping boxes. To that end, the 2016 RRWC strongly encourages breed clubs to avoid punitive language in their codes of ethics or other official documents regarding the breeding of healthy Rhodesian Ridgebacks with only cosmetic faults, and strongly encourages openness and honesty between breed”
The first Rhodesian Ridgeback World Congress was held, appropriately, in South Africa, in 1984.
1984: Johannesburg, South Africa
1988: Hilleroed, Denmark
1992: Warwickshire, England
1996: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
2000: Garderen, Netherlands
2004: Dallas, Texas, United States
2008: Portumna, Ireland
2012: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
2016: Lund, Sweden
2020: Germany – cancelled due to COVID
