North American Pudelpointer Society Newsletter
January – March 2022 • Volume 8
It’s the beginning of the NAVHDA Test Season!
Good luck to everyone testing a dog this year!
Don’t Forget!!!
Membership renewals are due
March 31st!
Per the NAPS Bylaws, annual membership dues are due by March 31 each year. If your membership lapses, your account access and member benefits will be suspended until paid. You should have received an invoice via email but you can also click the button below to renew your membership. If you are unsure of your membership status, please reach out and we can let you know if you are current.
First of all, kudos to all of those who participated in the annual meeting at the QHF Ranch in Florida. They pulled off a great event with fun activities and a lot of really good and insightful discussions. I’m sorry to have missed it.
In other exciting news, we will be having a second annual Ohio Pudelpointer Fun Run on Saturday, April 9th. We have renamed this annual event the Pat Saunders Memorial Fun Run in honor of our late former President and good friend. The location will be different this year but the facilities will be every bit as nice as last year. We plan to repeat the timed hunt with similar rules. There will be a lake available and fields to run your dogs in and a very nice clubhouse with all of the facilities. See the flyer below for more information and click the link to sign up.
The fun run is open to members and non-members alike and is a great way to meet new people and dogs. I’m looking forward to seeing all of those who joined us last year as well as many newcomers. I encourage everyone to come out and join us in making more positive memories in this great community.
Also, we are making plans for a training seminar in mid summer. Jeff Rhodes, President of the Buckeye Chapter of NAVHDA, Senior judge and Invitational Judge has agreed to present the seminar. Jeff has done many of these. We will be deciding on a location as well as the subject of the seminar soon. The information on those decisions as well as the cost will be forthcoming so keep an eye on your email and Facebook.
After an upland hunt in late December in Southwest Iowa, I noticed a broken buckle on my hunting vest. First a broken zipper, then numerous rips in the fabric, now a broken buckle. It was getting pretty beat up. I realized I needed a higher quality hunting vest. I didn’t get two hunting seasons out of that worn out vest I was using. A friend and hunting companion recommended Hunt Redi, so I went home and started researching. I knew I wanted a vest that was designed by a hunter, with other hunters in mind. After checking out the website to determine what vest would suit me best, I ordered a Hunt Redi.
The Hunt Redi vest was introduced in 2020 at Pheasant Fest. The vest was designed by a couple of hunting buddies from Missouri. As a Midwest boy myself, I was happy to support them. They wanted a more rugged hunting vest that’s made with a higher quality material. The vests are proudly designed, sourced and built 100% in the USA. They are proud to offer military, law enforcement and first responder discounts per request.
Hunt Redi offers 3 models of hunting vests, with the option to “build your own”. The material is made with 500 Denier Cordura nylon fabric, which has excellent resistance to water and abrasion. Hunt Redi has 4 different sizes with regular and tall options. I ordered a size medium, which has adjustable shoulder, sternum and belt straps for the perfect fit. The Deviate Pursuit model fit my needs best, and weighs in just under 3.5 pounds.
The Deviate Pursuit belt has 2 bottle holders, 1 zipper pocket and a formed pocket with a 1 hand release buckle. I really like the formed pocket with one hand operation buckle. The pocket itself is positioned in a great spot for me to grab shells while holding my shotgun. It has great balance and weight distribution. The large back storage pocket with a small zipper pocket inside is the perfect size for a first aid kit and a multi-tool. The belt itself is a thick material, which helps with comfort for the long days in the field.
The shoulder straps are very comfortable and have yet to get in my way when shouldering my shotgun. You can also run a water bladder and each shoulder strap has a “D” ring, along with webbing to secure your bladder hose. I use a carabiner to attach my Garmin handheld to the webbing on the shoulder strap. The bird storage is plenty big to fit a limit of roosters and I can easily put the bird in the bag myself. Compared to my old vest, the Hunt Redi has excellent breathability. My back is no longer sweaty while in the field.
After hunting for a month with my new Hunt Redi, I can tell you I love this vest. Now, time will tell how it holds up – but I have a feeling it’s going to last me a long time.
Stay HuntRedi.
Our latest quick family get away was spent in the heart of Florida’s wild country in a secluded area of Martin County. The Quail Hunt Florida Ranch, or QHF Ranch for short, consists of 1350 acres of cow pastures, live oaks, native grasses, pine flatwoods, sabal palms and marshes. A great place to run Pudelpointers, kids and adults of all ages. This was the site for the North American Pudelpointer Society’s Annual Meeting.
Many images come to mind when I think of Florida. I grew up spending summer days on the white sand beaches of Panama City getting sunburnt while boogie boarding, playing putt-putt, racing go-carts around a concrete track, riding rides at the Miracle Strip, and eating a steak and fried shrimp at Angelo’s or stuffed flounder at Captain Anderson’s. Those are fond memories, I snuck my first beer from a cooler left unattended by my daddy and his friends when I was maybe 12 or 13. My high school and college days, we spent spring break on those same beaches pursuing other things that young men pursue.
These days I seek a different version of wild animals while in the Sunshine State. Old Florida is what I look for and that is what my family found at QHF. The broomsage grass and palmettos, the live oak and longleaf pine trees and the beautiful songs by Mr. Bob White are what we basked under for this get away. Once we latched the front gate back so that none of the resident cows escaped, our clocks hands seemed to turn at a different more genteel pace.
We were greeted at the campsite by Mr. Tim and Luca, two of the employees of QHF, they steered us to our camper and made sure everything was in order. As we unpacked Angel checked in to see if we needed anything further. They were all as kind as they could be and very helpful throughout our stay. After our belongings were arranged we followed the sand two track trail out of camp to a field with the tallest broomsage I’ve ever seen to air out our two dogs Syrus and Tito. They were happy to stretch their legs after being cooped up for 6 plus hours. It might have been 200 yards into the field before they both locked up on a solid point, I stepped in front of them and a covey of 20 or so quail erupted in one beautiful flurry of escape. This time I had no gun in hand so the only reward for our two pups was a couple pats on the head followed by some high praise and a release to find the next group of birds.
Back at camp we found more of the Pudelpointer folks congregated and began to shake hands of social media friends that we’d had for years. It’s a funny thing that social media brings to our lives, someone will ask me if I know this person or that person and I feel torn to say that I do because we are friends through Facebook or Instagram or whatever. There is something about meeting others in person that makes that connection so much stronger. That was the point of overcoming the past two year’s limitations on our society, we needed to get back to meeting face to face, even if it were in a hybrid Zoom-In Person format. There are many more out there I’d like to share a campfire, or field, or beer with and be able to say, yes I met him or her and their pudelpointers too. That is where the need for Annual Meetings, Fun Runs and training weekends come into play. In order for these things to happen we need help from our membership. We have the playbook ready we just need the locations and people to make them happen. Bringing the NAPS membership together will only help in starting and continuing conversations on the best path forward for the breeders, owners, potential owners, and the Pudelpointer as a breed.
Somewhere in between the beginning and the end of this weekend, the activities consisted of a Ducks Unlimited pheasant tower shoot where all the pheasants were retrieved by Pudelpointers, a Fun Run that featured 11 Pudelpointers and their handlers as participants, a wild hog blood tracked by a Pudelpointer, training sessions by various groups, food cooked and shared by the attendants, the actual NAPS Annual Meeting, and a pre and post meeting in-person group discussion. Congratulations to Chris Randell and his girl, Foothills Native Heart “Lillie”, for earning the most points in the Fun Run. Chris and Lillie will be headed to New Mexico this upcoming September and we wish you and all other Pudelpointers the best of luck in the NAVHDA Invitational and to all other handlers in their various stages of NAVHDA training and testing.
Many hands took part in making this NAPS Annual Meeting a possibility. Listing them all would be a tall task. Three of our members were instrumental in bringing the participants together, Karen Kucker, Alycia Baird and Chad Bumb and I thank them all. In the end I left QHF Ranch with a satisfaction that comes with a well planned, well run weekend and a greater confidence that there are people like myself that are striving to protect and steer this breed down the best path. Now I can truly say that I’ve shaken his or her hand and met their Pudelpointer and that we are friends.
Annual Meeting Motion M01-22 Voting Results
We had one motion to change the Bylaws this year which was as follows:
Motion: I move to amend the bylaws Article IV., Section 1, with a change to the following statement: “An annual meeting shall be held in January/February of each year and shall consist of”
I propose the amended version to state “An annual meeting shall be held in March/April of each year and shall consist of”.
Reason: To provide more regional flexibility, during months of better weather, in the planning of the Annual Meeting which will allow NAPS to combine the Meeting with Pudelpointer events such as training clinics, fun runs and other competitions.
A link for voting was emailed out to all current 2022 members on February 27th with a deadline of Friday March 4th for voting. We received 37 votes but 1 was past the deadline and was not counted. All votes were in favor. Therefore the Bylaws have been updated to change the annual meeting timeframe from January/February to March/April of each year. We are currently planning to have the 2023 annual meeting in Ohio with a full weekend of socializing, training, and fun!
Chara Bruner
Director of Publications
Brayton Edlin
Director of Marketing
Otto is an 11 year old male located in Texas.
His previous owner passed and he is currently living with a friend. He is registered with NAVDHA and has been hunted extensively in different areas of the country. He is friendly with children and other pets and has no health concerns that we are aware of. His current family says he is a big goof ball. If you would like more information on Otto please contact us at rehoming@pudelpointersociety.org.
One of our biggest goals has been to start building a robust event calendar for Pudelpointer enthusiasts across North America and we have some exciting things in the works.
- Saturday April 9, 2022 – The 2nd annual Ohio Fun Run which we have renamed in honor of Pat Saunders, the first President of NAPS who tragically passed away in April 2021, will be held at Lake Hill Hunt Club in Ostrander, OH. Price per dog/handler team will be $40 for members and $50 for non-members.
- July 2022 – We will be holding a one-day training clinic with NAVHDA Senior and Invitational Judge, Jeff Rhode of the Buckeye Chapter. This event will also take place at Lake Hill Hunt Club in Ostrander, OH. The topic of the training will be preparing for the NAVHDA Natural Ability Test. The morning will be a sit down lesson on what to expect during the test, how to prepare and, judges’ perspectives and expectations. Cost will be $40 for members and $50 for non-members. We will send out a separate email with further details when we have exact dates.
- March/April 2023 – In light of the passage of the Motion to move the Annual meeting dates to a more weather friendly time-frame, we will be holding the 2023 annual meeting in Ohio, exact location TBD. We are currently looking at having a Fun Run style as well as a one day training clinic during that weekend.
- May/June 2023 – Location and training topic TBD, though we are looking at the Pacific Northwest and either Steadiness and Backing or Duck Search and Force Fetch with Kyle Hough of Schwarzwald Kennels. Kyle is an outstanding trainer and handler who has achieved multiple NAVHDA Versatile Champion titles. He trains at the NAVHDA Natural Ability level through the Invitational level testing as well as AKC Master Hunter testing. He is also one of the nicest people you will ever meet.
- Quarterly starting in April – Member round table discussions. The First Topic will be “What to Expect with Your New Pup”! You will be receiving an email survey for topical suggestions later in March. Please join us for some great educational discussions about Pudelpointers.
New Alternate NAPS Logo designed by fellow Pudelpointer owner Greg Gunter and his team at Rave Communications.
We’ve been wanting to provide some variety in our swag and had a new logo developed to do just that! Greg Gunter and his team at Rave Communications in Idaho were awesome to work with in designing the logo and we will soon be adding mugs, stickers, water bottles and more to our swag shop with the new logo design.
We will also be restocking our severely depleted t-shirt supply in the coming weeks with some new colors and styles so keep an eye out.
If you have any ideas or requests for future items feel free to reach out to me anytime. Thanks for supporting NAPS.
Matt Morgan
Swag Manager
NAPS would like to donate some Pudelpointer swag to some of the NAVHDA chapters out there running tests this season. If your NAVHDA chapter holds a raffle at your testing events and you are interested in having some swag donated, please click the button below and fill out the form.
Chuck has served on the breeders committee for 2 years with Chris Randell and Mike Baird and they have all been a huge asset to our program. Chuck has gotten busier with work and grandkids than expected lately and is taking a well deserved break from the committee. We would like to thank everyone on the committee for all their hard work and contributions to NAPS. We are excited to welcome Amanda on board as we start exploring new ways to serve our breeders to the best of our ability.
Amanda resides in the great state of Maine working as a Neuroscience Lab and Research Coordinator at Colby College. She met her husband Andy in 2014 while attending her first NAVHDA event. Together, they eat, sleep and breathe upland and waterfowl hunting, NAVHDA, and training their 4 dogs. Amanda has served on the board at the Sebasticook Chapter of NAVHDA as Director of Communications for the past 8 years.
Amanda grew up with pointing dogs and has early memories helping her father train their english setter. As an adult, she owned and hunted over a lab, but wanted to get back into pointing dogs so upon researching versatile breeds, she discovered the pudelpointer and has been hooked ever since. She got her first pudelpointer, VC Cricket in 2014 and has run her up through the NAVHDA testing system and they earned her NAVHDA Versatile Champion title in 2019. She got a second pudelpointer, Wren in 2020 and she just earned her NA 112 this past September. Amanda also helped to get her father hooked on pudelpointers and he recently earned a NA 112 with his first, Raven. When training season is over, Amanda spends her free time up at their cabin in Northern Maine hunting grouse, woodcock, and the occasional rabbit, or downeast Maine hunting ducks and Canada geese. She has also enjoyed hunting in the Nebraska Sandhills for prairie chickens and sharptails and looks forward to hunting in other parts of the country in the future.
She has an appreciation for all hunting breeds, but realizes that there is something truly special about the pudelpointer, and is very excited about the opportunity to help NAPS by serving on the Breeder Committee.
We would like to welcome Sarah Bullock and Windy Sage High Roller, aka “Rikko” with our newest stud listing on our Breeder’s Page. Rikko earned a UT 204 Prize 1, has OFA Excellent rated hips. Go take a look at his profile!
As many of you know, our old Member Map was clunky and not very user friendly. We have found a new map tool that is much better. We hope you will find this tool useful in meeting fellow members in your area to train and/or hunt with. We have also listed all of the breeders and stud dogs on our Breeders List and will soon be listing all of the NAVDHA chapters as well.
If you’re not on the map, please go sign up so that we can help you find resources in your area!