2009 Annual Meeting
This year's annual meeting, held June 18-21, had an international flair as we welcomed guests from Sweden and France as well as from many parts of the United States. As usual, guests were treated to four days of fun and sight-seeing in addition to receiving reports on the business and activities of the conservancy.
Guests who flew into Bismarck were greeted by the sight of a lush, green prairie and farm landscape, bisected by an over-flowing Missouri River. Early arrivals at the ranch were able to watch and participate as Seth Zeigler and crew began moving stallions and mares into their summer pastures, which then became popular destinations for group tours. On Thursday, they also joined as children, enrolled in the annual Horses on the Prairie camp (run by United Tribes Technical College), watched Frank and Leo Kuntz demonstrate horse gentling techniques and later staged a campfire cook-out near St. Michael's Catholic church, which hosted both the camp and the annual meeting this year. On Friday morning as the camper's were folding their tents and heading back to Bismarck, the Emmons County Historical Society opened its doors to private tours of their museum, which features artifacts reflecting the area's rural past. Friday afternoon, visitors to the conservancy's scenic river pasture observed a prolonged stallion fight when occupant Thunder Butte challenged Sharpie, who was released into the pasture with his mares. That night the streets of Linton were closed to traffic as dancers enjoyed the music of DJ John Caruso's Stax of Wax.
The annual meeting got underway Saturday morning, with the Board of Directors holding a business meeting from ten o'clock until noon. Board members present were: Don Becker, Kevin Oien, Hilary Goff, Megan McAndrew, Castle McLaughlin, Shelly Hauge, Butch Thunder Hawk, Leo Kuntz, Seth Zeigler, and Frank Kuntz. Absent were Geoffrey Roehrs and Ann Record. After lunch, Megan McAndrew chaired an open business meeting, during which the board reported on NHC business and activities to attending members and visitors.
The conservancy currently cares for 75 head of foundation horses, with 2 foals reported so far this spring. Frank Kuntz estimated his annual reimbursement for horse care at $560 per horse, which is $300 less than the state average. The conservancy sold its first horse this year, a colt that brought $3500. Reflecting the general economic downturn, sponsorships and donations were down slightly during the past year, and are forecast to remain depressed. Last year, the board approved the use of artificial insemmination, and interested breeders have begun using this new technology. Consequently, the Breed Registry Committee is currently considering the merits and logistics of DNA testing to enure parentage, and resolved to report back to the board by August first. The committee will gather information and consider whether the NHC should begin systematically testing all of the horses in order to develop baseline information on the genetics of existing lines, or whether to continue requesting DNA testing on a case-by-case basis, as part of the registration process. While all agreed that having a DNA profile of existing horses would be ideal, cost will be a decisive factor.
Land acquisition remains critical to ensure the future of the horses. Nokota owner Terry Fuellgraf of Pittsburg has expressed interest in spearheading this effort, which will require dedicated research and fundraising. Ms. Fuellgraf was also elected to the Board of Directors in absentia, and has already scheduled a fact-finding trip to North Dakota. Butch Thunder Hawk also reported that he and his family are interested in bringing some of the horses to their private lands on the Standing Rock reservation, an idea they will discuss in detail with Frank Kuntz later this summer.
In the past year Nokota horses were promoted at the following public expositions: the annual United Tribes International Powwow in Bismarck, Equine Affaire in W. Springfield, MA, the Minnesota Horse Exposition, and Equine Affaire in Columbus, Ohio. Frank Kuntz and Shelly Hauge were also invited to represent the NHC at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, the largest event of its kind, and reported that the event generated 3,000 new hits to the NHC website in the week following the show.
Visitor Francois Marchal reported on his importation of Nokotas to France, and displayed copies of books and documents that he has collected and which relate to the history of the Nokotas, including one inscribed by the son of the Marquis De Mores. He also informed us that De Mores has no living descendants. Francois was accompanied by his lovely daughter Mathilde and by Lisa Pelissier, who became the second Nokota owner in France when she purchased a filly from Francois. They immersed themselves in western life during their four day stay by riding, camping, swimming in the Missouri River, and lingering at Saturday night's campfire until dawn began lighting the sky.
Attending the meeting from Sweden were riding enthusiasts Helen Thorstensson and Kristina Fant.
Also joining the group was seventeen year old Allan Hafeman of Grand Rapids, MN. Allan is a member of the Minnesota state champion FFA horse judging team, which is advised by Seth Zeigler's former teacher Shawn Linder. As a reward for winning the championship in April, Mr. Linder brought the 4 person team to view the Nokotas. Emma and Seth honored the team by donating a horse they could break, train, and sell to support their trip to the national championships. So Allan was back to put some time into a three year old bay gelding called "El Scorcho." Three days after saddling the colt for the first time, Allan rode him 8 miles to the meeting, turned him out for a day, and then rode him back to the Frank Kuntz farm. We'll be listing this horse in the classified section of the website soon.
After the meeting was adjourned, guests enjoyed Terry Vetter's famous "cream can supper" and were treated to an amazing performance by magician extraordinaire Tim Pearson. The crowd then moved to the Kuntz ranch, where Leo demonstrated his rope gentling techniques on a wily blue roan Nokota filly, with the assistance of the stalwart gelding Halvah. With the summer solstice just hours away, festivities continued at a campfire that reportedly blazed throughout the short night.
By nine o'clock the next morning, griddles were sizzling in Linton's SonShine Park, where the NHC hosted their annual community pancake breakfast, which featured an array of locally-made sausages. Butch Thunder Hawk displayed and sold traditional and contemporary tribal arts, including an impressive array of parfleshe containers, while Hilary Goff and Megan McAndrew at the NHC booth did brisk business selling the latest designs in hats, shirts, tote bags, and other NHC items. Merle Ann Jones, a Nokota friend from Delaware, also joined us for the weekend and gladly signed copies of her children's book, Paul's Gift, a story about a young Native American boy gifted with a Nokota horse.
Guests who flew into Bismarck were greeted by the sight of a lush, green prairie and farm landscape, bisected by an over-flowing Missouri River. Early arrivals at the ranch were able to watch and participate as Seth Zeigler and crew began moving stallions and mares into their summer pastures, which then became popular destinations for group tours. On Thursday, they also joined as children, enrolled in the annual Horses on the Prairie camp (run by United Tribes Technical College), watched Frank and Leo Kuntz demonstrate horse gentling techniques and later staged a campfire cook-out near St. Michael's Catholic church, which hosted both the camp and the annual meeting this year. On Friday morning as the camper's were folding their tents and heading back to Bismarck, the Emmons County Historical Society opened its doors to private tours of their museum, which features artifacts reflecting the area's rural past. Friday afternoon, visitors to the conservancy's scenic river pasture observed a prolonged stallion fight when occupant Thunder Butte challenged Sharpie, who was released into the pasture with his mares. That night the streets of Linton were closed to traffic as dancers enjoyed the music of DJ John Caruso's Stax of Wax.
The annual meeting got underway Saturday morning, with the Board of Directors holding a business meeting from ten o'clock until noon. Board members present were: Don Becker, Kevin Oien, Hilary Goff, Megan McAndrew, Castle McLaughlin, Shelly Hauge, Butch Thunder Hawk, Leo Kuntz, Seth Zeigler, and Frank Kuntz. Absent were Geoffrey Roehrs and Ann Record. After lunch, Megan McAndrew chaired an open business meeting, during which the board reported on NHC business and activities to attending members and visitors.
The conservancy currently cares for 75 head of foundation horses, with 2 foals reported so far this spring. Frank Kuntz estimated his annual reimbursement for horse care at $560 per horse, which is $300 less than the state average. The conservancy sold its first horse this year, a colt that brought $3500. Reflecting the general economic downturn, sponsorships and donations were down slightly during the past year, and are forecast to remain depressed. Last year, the board approved the use of artificial insemmination, and interested breeders have begun using this new technology. Consequently, the Breed Registry Committee is currently considering the merits and logistics of DNA testing to enure parentage, and resolved to report back to the board by August first. The committee will gather information and consider whether the NHC should begin systematically testing all of the horses in order to develop baseline information on the genetics of existing lines, or whether to continue requesting DNA testing on a case-by-case basis, as part of the registration process. While all agreed that having a DNA profile of existing horses would be ideal, cost will be a decisive factor.
Land acquisition remains critical to ensure the future of the horses. Nokota owner Terry Fuellgraf of Pittsburg has expressed interest in spearheading this effort, which will require dedicated research and fundraising. Ms. Fuellgraf was also elected to the Board of Directors in absentia, and has already scheduled a fact-finding trip to North Dakota. Butch Thunder Hawk also reported that he and his family are interested in bringing some of the horses to their private lands on the Standing Rock reservation, an idea they will discuss in detail with Frank Kuntz later this summer.
In the past year Nokota horses were promoted at the following public expositions: the annual United Tribes International Powwow in Bismarck, Equine Affaire in W. Springfield, MA, the Minnesota Horse Exposition, and Equine Affaire in Columbus, Ohio. Frank Kuntz and Shelly Hauge were also invited to represent the NHC at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, the largest event of its kind, and reported that the event generated 3,000 new hits to the NHC website in the week following the show.
Visitor Francois Marchal reported on his importation of Nokotas to France, and displayed copies of books and documents that he has collected and which relate to the history of the Nokotas, including one inscribed by the son of the Marquis De Mores. He also informed us that De Mores has no living descendants. Francois was accompanied by his lovely daughter Mathilde and by Lisa Pelissier, who became the second Nokota owner in France when she purchased a filly from Francois. They immersed themselves in western life during their four day stay by riding, camping, swimming in the Missouri River, and lingering at Saturday night's campfire until dawn began lighting the sky.
Attending the meeting from Sweden were riding enthusiasts Helen Thorstensson and Kristina Fant.
Also joining the group was seventeen year old Allan Hafeman of Grand Rapids, MN. Allan is a member of the Minnesota state champion FFA horse judging team, which is advised by Seth Zeigler's former teacher Shawn Linder. As a reward for winning the championship in April, Mr. Linder brought the 4 person team to view the Nokotas. Emma and Seth honored the team by donating a horse they could break, train, and sell to support their trip to the national championships. So Allan was back to put some time into a three year old bay gelding called "El Scorcho." Three days after saddling the colt for the first time, Allan rode him 8 miles to the meeting, turned him out for a day, and then rode him back to the Frank Kuntz farm. We'll be listing this horse in the classified section of the website soon.
After the meeting was adjourned, guests enjoyed Terry Vetter's famous "cream can supper" and were treated to an amazing performance by magician extraordinaire Tim Pearson. The crowd then moved to the Kuntz ranch, where Leo demonstrated his rope gentling techniques on a wily blue roan Nokota filly, with the assistance of the stalwart gelding Halvah. With the summer solstice just hours away, festivities continued at a campfire that reportedly blazed throughout the short night.
By nine o'clock the next morning, griddles were sizzling in Linton's SonShine Park, where the NHC hosted their annual community pancake breakfast, which featured an array of locally-made sausages. Butch Thunder Hawk displayed and sold traditional and contemporary tribal arts, including an impressive array of parfleshe containers, while Hilary Goff and Megan McAndrew at the NHC booth did brisk business selling the latest designs in hats, shirts, tote bags, and other NHC items. Merle Ann Jones, a Nokota friend from Delaware, also joined us for the weekend and gladly signed copies of her children's book, Paul's Gift, a story about a young Native American boy gifted with a Nokota horse.