The Ohio Equine Affaire, held annually in Columbus, OH, was conducted April 8-11, 2011. And while attendance numbers were not what have been experienced in the past, we were blessed with many periods of brisk 'business' at the booth and stalls. There were nine Nokota® horses there to represent the breed and participate in the demo, which was scheduled strategically to precede a John Lyon's clinic ...
needless to say the stands were packed!! There was much excitement generated about the upcoming Nokota® Young Horse Handling clinic scheduled for September 15-18, 2011 in the Columbus, OH area. More information regarding this event can be seen at http://jacklieser.com/calendar.aspx. Be sure to click the 'Additional Information' link for more details. Also learned at this year's Equine Affaire ... the Nokota® will be the featured horse at the Delaware (Ohio) All Horse Parade on Sunday, September 11, 2011. Plan to attend the LARGEST ALL HORSE PARADE east of the Mississippi!
Attending Equine Affaire from the Conservancy's North Dakota base this year were Leo Kuntz, Frank Kuntz, and Shelly Hauge. Also participating in the festivities were Felicia Rocholl and daughters Destiney and Fate and good friend, Maddy, along with six horses from the Rocholl Ranch in Minnesota. From Ohio, MANY thanks go out to Jorja and Carl Mottayaw, who arranged and coordinated all aspects of the Nokota® presence at this year's show and brought their Nokota® gelding, Jingle Hawk to the event. Also, we are indebted to Kathy King-Raedeke and her entire family for hosting a house (and camper AND paddock) full of EA vendors and friends, both 2- and 4-legged. Kathy also generously donated a portion of the proceeds of her wonderfully unique and beautifully hand-crafted rhythm beads, necklaces and boot bracelets; helping man the booth throughout the weekend. Elise Leveque attended with her mild-mannered Nokota® stallion, Blue and Marci Todd was in attendance with her stunning blue roan gelding, Thunder Heart. What a FABULOUS group of Nokota® supporters (and their Nokota® horse companions) and a WONDERFUL turnout to help promote these uniquely important horses.
Many thanks to those of you who sought us out and made a point of seeing the horses and expressing your interest. You make it all worthwhile!