Sneak Peak: Echoes of the Nokota by Julie Christen

 

Join the Nokota wave! Click here to order your copy today.

Author’s Note

This book is a memoir. It reflects the authors’ present recollections of experiences. As time passes, memories are echoes of events. Some names and characteristics have been changed to protect privacy, some events have been compressed, and some dialogue has been recreated; however, the tone and emotions experienced remain true.

Nokota® is a trademark breed name developed by Frank and Leo Kuntz and the Nokota Conservancy in Linton, ND.

 ***

This is a success story. It may not seem like it at times, but I assure you, it is.

This is Frank Kuntz’s story. It is about how he and his family came to save the native horse – the Nokota®. It is my way of putting together a comprehensive collection of his memories and the events that led him to become the unsung hero he is today.

I have done my best to share both his story and the horses’ story in a way that helps people learn, understand, and empathize. What might look to one as a life of sacrifice and strife is, in truth, a story of love and faithfulness. It is about allowing passion to drive your choices in life.

Since I am, indeed, not Frank, I have taken some creative license (with Frank’s blessing) to fill in some gaps and bring his story to life. I have written in such a way that will allow you to walk next to him as you discover the man and the horses I have so dearly admired for over twenty years. Please allow a little grace and creative latitude should you encounter some muddy gaps or misaligned details. Know that, whether it be for loss of memory over the decades, purposeful omission due to emotional pain, or ensuring certain individuals are not painted in a negative light, the story runs true to that which I have learned from Frank and the few trusted individuals he encouraged me to seek out.

And sometimes, we must accept the fact that every person’s story deserves a resonating tone of mystery. We don’t need to know it all. Where would the magic be in that?

It is also worth stating that this book was written from Frank’s memories, Frank’s perspective. The opinions and attitudes expressed here are his. This is the way he sees things. This is his side of the story. He has a right to that as we all do.

Everyone knows you don’t accomplish great things alone. Many people have played a role in the preservation of the Nokota breed, and still do. Rightfully, they deserve their own story someday.

This is Frank’s story.

He saw something special in the native horses doomed for extinction in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. He has spent over 40 years loving them and trying to find a way to help them. And even though the quest for a permanent home for his herd still goes on, the fact is, the Nokota® horse is here to stay because of Frank and his family. Maybe, just maybe, you and I can play a part of our own in helping Frank’s promise come to fruition.

Being a man who is kind, humble, and generous to a fault, Frank’s perspective is often hidden in the shadows. It is time for his story to be heard. He is, in my eyes, one of the greatest unsung heroes. So here, I will sing.

Prologue

June 4^th, 1949

Standing strong on a prairie plain inside the fences of the newly dedicated Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park, black as a starless night, a wild stallion cleaves the spring air with his clarion whistle.

A blustery wind swirls the stallion’s mane up into a maelstrom of wildfire. His senses press out to the far reaches of the land. He is searching – always searching. His little band of mares and yearlings graze quietly below his overlook. They are safe, fed, and together. He makes sure of it.

The stud tosses his head and flares his nostrils. He seeks what he cannot take for himself – others like him. His ancestors. His family.

He cries out again. This time his call is threaded with lament – a cry for help.

He searches for one who would hear him. One who would fight for him. One who would make his family whole again.

 

April 4^th, 1951

At the Kuntz family homestead in Saint Michael, North Dakota, a cry rings out from the upstairs bedroom in answer to that call. The fourth child, in the fourth month, on the fourth day, at 1:04 in the afternoon.

Frank Kuntz’s journey begins.

Follow Frank and the ponies on their journey from the beginning.