Southstar Golden Retrievers are bred by Diane Blackman, who has been in the breed since 1996. She has also been training dogs for over 25 years and holds the IACP-CDTA/PDTI and CTDI certifications. Ms. Blackman has competed with her dogs for over 15 years in conformation, obedience, Rally and agility trials and has participated in over 500 therapy dog visits. Ms. Blackman is currently training to compete in obedience trials and retriever hunt tests.