09/01/2026
It is pretty cool when your dog gets in a calendar, thanks Brandon Smith at Evergreen Gundogs for such a great dog.
September is here and hunting seasons for various upland birds are opening across North America. Hopefully you’ve taken time to prepare your sidekick and yourself to get out and enjoy the upcoming month’s afield. NAPS Pudelpointer Calendar Spotlight for this month is on Evergreens The Heart Won’t Lie “Reba” owned by Steve Kinzner of Oakville, WA. NAPS hopes you enjoy this story and a few trips of you own this fall.
To be honest, I wasn't originally looking for a black Pudelpointer. However, Brandon Smith of Evergreen Gundogs insisted this was the one. Since he'd spent the most time with the litter, I trusted his judgment—and he was absolutely right.
Reba was incredibly easy to train, often picking up new concepts after just one or two repetitions. In the house, she's calm, laid-back, and an absolute pleasure to live with. The moment a sh***un or training collar comes out, though, that easygoing companion transforms into a focused, driven hunting dog that's ready to go to work.
Reba came from the outstanding first litter between VC Ripsnorters Shoot and Miss and Cedarwoods Fearless Diva, a pairing that earned a NAVHDA Utility Breeders Award. Throughout her career, she has successfully hunted pheasants, quail, Hungarian partridge, chukar, sharp-tailed grouse, ruffed grouse, sage grouse, and a wide variety of waterfowl.
Her drive is perhaps best illustrated by a winter morning on the Columbia River. Reba had been retrieving every bird we shot. A hunting partner who had brought his own dog wanted to give his pup a chance to work, so we tied Reba to an old tree. Not long afterward, we dropped a few ducks, but the other dog stopped short of the retrieve. Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly saw Reba dragging the entire uprooted tree toward the river in an effort to get to those birds herself. I reached her just in time to prevent complete chaos. That moment perfectly captured who Reba is—a dog with an unstoppable desire to work, yet one that remains exceptionally biddable and cooperative. She is the kind of dog that 99 percent of hunters would love to own.
Reba's natural ability was evident from an early age. She passed her NAVHDA Natural Ability test at just five months old. At 17 months, she earned a Prize II in the Utility Test, later improving to a Utility Prize I. She ultimately passed the NAVHDA Invitational, where this calendar photograph was taken.
Today, Reba's legacy continues through her offspring, all of whom are in excellent hands. Several of her pups are on track to complete Utility testing around the time this write-up is published, and I am excited to see what they accomplish in the years ahead. If they're anything like their mother, the future is very bright indeed.
