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Learn more about the Nokota® horse.

My Quick Pitch: This is a classic coming of age story about a girl who packs up her faithful dog and horses and goes to work on a ranch in North Dakota. There, she discovers an extended family she never knew existed, and she learns about the rare, historic Nokota horse - North Dakota's state horse. It doesn't take her long to realize she has a very special connection to them, as well as the people there. It's a feel good story that reminds us there are good people doing good things all the time. Sometimes in the simplest ways. And we can be one of them.

History and Research: My love affair with the Nokota horse began in 2010 at the MN Horse Expo during the "Breed Demonstration". Seeing these horses fly around the colosseum, and their girls riding bareback, then hearing their heartbreakingly inspiring story made me want to be a part of their world in a very real way. I learned everything I could about them through the Nokotahorse.org website, I read articles and watched old newscasts featuring the founders of the breed - brothers Frank and Leo Kuntz. The mission is breed preservation and awareness. I immediately learnmed the vision is to maintain this breed and to remain as biologically close to their Sitting Bull war pony descendants as possible for future generations.

Then, some random, anonymous quote popped up on my Goodreads homepage that read: "You can always research what you don't know. Write from your heart."

And I started writing Paisley Noon's story.

By 2012, I signed up to audit the "Nokota Experience" clinic out in Linton, ND where I would get to meet Frank and Leo and roam thousands of acres with them among the herd. I got to watch them, Jack Lieser (that year's clinician), and other clinic participants round up, catch, gentle and train about 20 untouched 2 - 3 year olds to be saddled and ridden. All within 5 days. I got to interview both Frank and Leo (who has recently passed) about their story and how they founded this breed and saved them from extinction. I told them, and myself, that I would be back some day to participate in the clinic, and that I would be going home with my own Nokota horse.

Then I finished Paisley Noon's story. 

In order to be true to the breed and its history as direct descendants of Sitting Bull's war ponies, I dug in and did additional research on Lakota language, values, sayings, traditions, ceremonies and stories. Here are a few of the resources I found very helpful.

Lakota Pronunciation Glossary

Native Languages.org

Lakota Stories

In 2021, my husband and I participated in "The Nokota Nexus" clinic with clinician Anna Twinney. This time, we came home with two of Frank's geldings out of some of his most honored sires.This makes us a part of Frank Kuntz's family now. We also adopted an older one who needed a home and a friend. Now we have our own little herd of Nokota horses.