The NHC Archives
Our New Look
Our new website and brochure designs were inspired in part by our colorful new logo, created for the NHC by brothers George and Butch Thunder Hawk of Standing Rock, N.D. The logo, based on a Lakota medicine wheel, honors horse nations of all colors and directions.
We are honored to have been given this graphic by these Lakota artists, whose Hunkpapa ancestors owned the blue roan war horses from which Nokota horses descend. Thank you, George and Butch.
We also gratefully acknowledge Dr. Pamela Gerardi for volunteering to help design the brochure, and Susan Haldeman for donating her professional skills and working tirelessly to create the new web site.
In Remembrance (January, 2006)
The Nokota horse community lost three valued members in 2005: Jean King, Joshua Bernhardt, and the Reverend Floyd Schwieger.
Jean King, of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, had been confined to a wheelchair since contracting TB several decades ago. In response, she founded Independence Dogs, Inc., a non-profit organization that specialized in training service dogs for the disabled. In her 70s, she forged an utterly remarkable relationship with Bright Cloud, a blue roan Nokota, training him to work at liberty and sharing tea with him every afternoon. Their amazing bond, and her dedication to helping all Nokotas will remain an inspiration for all who love horses.
Joshua Bernhardt, who also struggled with chronic illness, shared Jean’s belief in the transcendent power of the human-animal bond. He was devoted to helping his parents, Dave and Debie Bernhardt, promote Nokota horses, and he and his Nokota gelding, Scud, were virtually unbeatable in barrel racing and pole bending competitions throughout central North Dakota.
Reverend Schwieger was a prime mover in saving the Pryor Mountain wild horses, and we will always remember his kind encouragement of our own efforts when we had the opportunity to spend a few days with him in 1999. All three used their life energies to make a difference for horses, and we remember their lives with gratitude.
2005 Massachusetts Equine Affaire - Sara Gruen
Flying Changes, the brand-new book by best-selling author Sara Gruen, was just released on November 1st. Apparently, Sara's fans have been eagerly waiting for the sequel to "Riding Lessons", because it is literally flying off the shelves. This time, the hero is "Smoky Joe" - a blue roan Nokota! Sara generously donated a large inventory of both books to the Nokota Conservancy and she signed them at the NHC table at Equine Affaire in W. Springfield, MA November 10-13, 2005. The books sold out before she could finish her scheduled appearances. She now embarks on a book-signing tour - get your copy while they last! Books are available at www.saragruen.com and at Amazon.com.
"Flying Changes" Flies off the Table at Equine Affaire!
7th Annual Meeting - June 18, 2005
Yet again the 2005 Nokota Horse Conservancy Annual meeting has proven to be the largest ever. Support and interest just continues to grow every year, testimony to the effectiveness of both the Nokota advocates and the horses themselves. Thus we owe a big thank you to all who are helping to spread the word. This year we had newcomers from upstate New York to California.
Board of Directors: Geoff Roehrs, Seth Zeigler, Hilary Goff, Frank Kuntz,
Shelly Hauge, Castle McLaughlin, Michelle Warren, Louann Hart and Leo
Kuntz. Several board members not pictured.
The official meeting itself was quite different than usual, as it was held on Saturday and in a nearby church hall. The switch from Sunday allowed those who travel far to hit the road home, if necessary, much earlier, and the church hall proved far more spacious and less muddy than the usual training barn, especially in light of the unrelenting rain we have been getting here in North Dakota. The meeting was also different in that specific committee meetings were held afterwards and thus shortened the general meeting.
The meeting was typical in that much of it was devoted to reviewing the past year's progress and planning how to improve it even more over the coming year. One of the first major topics was Team Nokota! and a review of the incredible progress it has made during its relatively short existence. We also spent large amounts of time on the breed registry and the horses under the Conservancy's ownership, which have increased to more than forty individuals. As to the registry, a proxy will be sent out to those on the Breed Registry Committee that may allow the Conservancy to better encourage preservation breeders and track important bloodlines.
Seth Zeigler, Breed Registrar, discusses the breed registry at length.
After the meeting most visitors migrated the mile and a half to the Kuntz Ranch for a relaxing bonfire which, although punctuated with a few peanut fights, always seems to be a perfect wind-down from a relatively intense meeting. As always, a small bar was set up to benefit the Conservancy.
Sunday began with a very successful Art in the Park in the gorgeous Seeman Park, just outside of Linton. The Nokota Horse Conservancy served eggs, sausage, pancakes and refreshments as a fundraiser and also had a booth full of merchandise, as did a number of local artists and vendors. The turnout was surprisingly large and the opportunity to further relations with the community of Linton was greatly appreciated.
Horse stick presentation to Blair Fleischmann, center, by Butch Thunder
Hawk and Frank Kuntz.
Sunday afternoon was then dedicated to pasture tours and goodbyes to many of our visitors, although many came sooner and stayed much later. All in all there were visitors here for more than two weeks, and it is obvious that the network of Nokota supporters has been ballooning. Thank you all and we hope to see many more new faces and the same familiar friends next year.
MD Horseworld Expo and the First Blizzard of 2005 (February, 2005)
The forecast was gloomy while preparing for a long weekend at the MD State Fairgrounds in Timmonium. With nerves of steel Pam Pew, Jill Bowen and myself, Susan Pizzini ventured south on Wednesday, January 29 the day before the expo opens to set up the Nokota Horse Conservancy booth, 1607 in the Cow Palace. Pam, created a fabulous display as she always does while Jill and I assisted. About noon we gathered anything that wasn't to stay and headed for our trucks to find a slippery, wet snow had already fallen. Driving home was a headache to say the least. The next morning I headed back to the expo to man the booth. It was a good day for a Thursday but not exceptional and Friday, Hilary and Jesse Vanderhoef, Jill Bowen, Joy Cully came to help. Hilary stayed most of the day, while everyone else had to go home and tend to their critters.
Okay, now Saturday is when the big snow was expected but we had hoped that it was one of those weatherman exaggerations. No such luck they were right on the money. There were enough brave or crazy people who either lived close enough or were already staying in a local hotel that we actually had a line of people waiting to come inside. It wasn't a huge line and it was not the usual packed house that this expo usually brings in. After a full day at the expo I got to see why people didn't attend as usual. My truck was covered with snow and the parking lot wasn't plowed. What a mess, I'm surprised anyone showed up. All I can say is horse people are tough, they came to the expo though few in number. This is what makes America great, the undefeatable attitude in the face of difficult circumstances. Sunday morning was quieter yet and really didn't pick up, but despite the predictable low turn out I believe we met some very interesting people and introduced Nokota horses to a new area and a fresh group of people who agree with our cause to preserve the native horse of the Northern Plains.