ABOUT US

My name is Diane Stratton and my partner Matt and I currently live with our 5 ridgebacks on our beautiful property near Gawler in the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges, near Adelaide in South Australia.  We live on the Southern borders of the famous Barossa Valley wine region and where we both work within the Wine Industry.  I graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science (Wine Science) in 2006 and have worked for many years producing sparkling wines.  My partner Matt is involved in the growing industry of screw cap wine closures, providing technical support to the industry.  

We have built a small guest cottage on our property and are currently working hard to build our main house which we are building as owner builders on our 40 acre property.  We love living on our property which affords our Ridgebacks plenty of space to run and play...especially in the creek which flows every winter.  Photos of the dogs having fun can be seen in our photo album.  All our spare time is devoted to showing, tracking and most importantly enjoying living with our wonderful Ridgebacks.                                                                                                                                                 

 I first became involved with this wonderful breed in the United Kingdom in the late 80's when a good friend of mine purchased a female from a kennel in Pangbourne.  I feel in love with their tremendous character and personality, their strong will and their deep sense of loyalty towards their pack and with that first encounter became truly hooked on this fantastic breed.  Many years later and after emigrating to Australia I was ready to purchase my first Ridgeback.  I was very fortunate to acquire my foundation bitch, Roedey from Cyndy Burton of Starridge Rhodesian Ridgebacks in 1998.  Roedey, a true ambassador of the breed has brought to Kushika excellent bloodlines from Australia, Sweden and the UK and has been instrumental in our success.