Target, a Traditional herd stallion who was rather effectively combating the Park's introduction program until his final removal in 1991.

The history of the Nokota horse is contentious to say the least, but also part of the mystery that makes this rare breed so enticing. The prevailing theory begins with the Spanish introduction into the New World of Iberian strains of horses, but a small fraction dissents from this opinion either asserting that horses, which actually evolved in the Americas, never became entirely extinct or that they were reintroduced by Scandinavian peoples long before the arrival of the Spanish. Either way, many of the Native Americans of the Northern Plains were unparalleled riders who possessed a wide variation of types of horses long before direct encounters with caucasians.

Various pieces of literature, artwork, and early photographs give us a relatively clear image of the Lakota people's horses. For example, Sitting Bull himself is quoted as stating "My father was a very rich man and owned many ponies in four colors: roans, white, and grey" (North Dakota History 1962 in McLaughlin 1989). Photographs and artwork also make apparent more complex characteristics, like the overo and sabino genes, the heavier build of the Northern Plains horse relative to other early American horses, and the unmistakably low set tail.

Not surprisingly, the Northern Plains ranch horses, being largely descended from Native American and closely related wild stock, where similarly distinctive. Lakota culture and all that it entailed would soon collapse, but the same rugged little horses with unbeatable endurance, agility, and resilience would continue to form the nucleus of northern herds, although increasingly intermingled with outside blood. The wealthy in particular concentrated on crossbreeding Native ponies in an attempt to increase their size, sprint speed, and appearance (McLaughlin 1989). First and foremost among these was the Marquis DeMores, a French noble turned frontiersman who, despite his cultured background, had an eye for horseflesh and enough moxie to do something exceptional. Not only did DeMores found the town of Medora, North Dakota, but he also purchased 250 of the horses taken from the Lakota who surrendered with Sitting Bull and then range bred them in semi-wild stallion bands in the very area that would later become Theodore Roosevelt National Park. There appears, as would be expected, to have already been some wild horses in the area, most likely of a very similar type and origin as the Lakota horses, and only the most wild and fit bands would ultimately persist through the next century. The unparalleled results of this Native and domestic interbreeding that was ubiquitous on the northern frontier struck Frederick Remington in 1888 when he wrote "The cayuse is generally roan in color, with always a tendency this way, no matter how slight. He is strongly built, heavily muscled, and the only bronco which possesses square quarters. In height he is about 14 hands; and while not possessed with the activity of the Texas horse, he has much more power" (Remington 1960 in McLaughlin 1989).

Tragically, these once innumerable horses would soon be persecuted to the verge of extinction. Wild horses compete with cattle and were themselves a demanded resource free for anyone to pursue, and their capture and sale was often not only profitable but also central to plains cowboy culture. Meanwhile, modern breeds specifically bred for work on small farms and in corrals, not on wide open and peril packed ranges, quickly replaced the rugged and long winded but often less beautiful, by modern standards, horses that had opened the way for settlement. Thus, when the perimeter fence of the recently formed Theodore Roosevelt National Park was installed in the early 1950's its builders inadvertently enclosed the last wild horses on the Northern Plains on Park lands (McLaughlin 1989). The Park Service considered these trespass livestock and for years attempted to remove and eradicate them, at one time pushing the population as low as eighteen individuals (McLaughlin 1989), but could never get the last incredibly wild and wary few and actually strengthened the breed by ensuring the reproduction of only the most wild, intelligent, and fit. As the foremost point in case, during the famous 1954 roundup the Park attempted to remove all trespass livestock, which had traditionally ranged in different areas than the wild horses, and succeeded in capturing roughly 125 horses, 99% of which were branded. In contrast, as former ranger Bob Morey stated, "as far as I know not many (if any) of the 'wild bunch" were corralled" (McLaughlin 1989). Thus human interference, although it drove the horse numbers precariously low, actually helped ensure the preservation of the original wild horses even when outside horses were prolific and prevalent.

Then came the growing public sentiment for wild horses of the sixties and seventies. The Wild and Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971 extended protection to all horses on public lands, but National Parks are not included. Theodore Roosevelt National Park did, though, accede to public sentiment and reverse its policies by declaring its wild horses a "historic demonstration herd" and accepting their presence in the early to mid seventies. This should have been the final assurance of survival for a beleaguered historic horse that had existed in the area for decades. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is entrusted to represent the early American west that helped to sculpt this great leader, and T.R. himself had written that "Our outfit may be taken as a sample of everyone else's. ...All our four-horse teams are strong, willing animals, though of no great size, being originally just "broncos," or unbroken native horses, like the others" (Roosevelt 1981 in McLaughlin 1989). The new found protection allowed the Park's herd to increase, but unfortunately the Park Service would soon revert to erasing its heritage.

In 1981 the Park began to introduce domestic horses under the auspices of benevolently attempting to alleviate inbreeding, even though BLM Range Conservationist Milton Frei, who then led the BLM horse program in Nevada, upon assessing the Park's herd in person replied that

"it is my opinion that inbreeding does not constitute a significant problem in wild horse populations. If the wild horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park are compared to those on BLM administered lands, it is obvious that the TRNP National Park horses are much superior in terms of conformation and condition. ...Inbreeding itself is not harmful. What inbreeding does is to increase rapidly the homozygosity of the population and bring to light any recessive genes which may have been carried in a heterozygous state.

Inbreeding does not create weakness or defects: it merely brings them to light. Crossbreeding, on the other hand, does not eliminate them; it merely covers them up while still carrying them along..." (Frei 1977 in McLaughlin 1989)

Some instead assert that the Park in actuality sought to "upbreed" their understandably almost too wild to be seen historic horses to fit modern standards that could better impress both Park visitors and potential buyers when the surplus animals were rounded up and sold. Naturally, these introduced horses could not effectively compete with the locally adapted and evolved original Park horses, and thus the Park Service very selectively culled during roundups and even directly eliminated competing wild horses, especially stallions. This policy has resulted in a herd that is now almost entirely crossed with modern domestic breeds and far less representative than the Nokota horses of the true frontier of Theodore Roosevelt's era and prior. A casual observer can now walk directly through the midst of a THRO wild band while readily identifying outside influences. The true Nokotas are not quite extinct in the Park, but are too surrounded by part bloods to have any significant chance of producing pure offspring, and they probably will be extinct in the wild within a few decades.

Leo and Bad Toe, his first Nokota, competing in a Great American Horse Race. Bad Toe did very well for years, in addition to proving himself both at home on the ranch and in the Rockies. Photo by Dr. Castle McLaughlin.

Luckily, the insanely passionate Kuntz family took it upon themselves to save these horses from annihilation. They originally only wanted a horse with enough wind, brains, and bone to either excel in or produce domestic cross offspring who could excel in the Great American Horse Race, a traditional western competition run over a mile and a half of exceptionally trying terrain, but they eventually could not resist digging into the then relatively unknown history of the Park horses. They simply became curious how such a unique type had ever come into existence. After uncovering some of the horses' history they attempted to convince the Park Service of the value of its historic yet still very useful horses, but to no avail. So, they instead purchased as many of the most important horses as possible from each roundup, especially in 1986, when they bought every single horse except one, Nocona. Unbelievably, this dominant, unsurpassably wild, and massive blue roan stallion was purchased by a young woman. Of course, Nocona seemed to be far more than a match for almost any horse-person, and Leo approached the buyer, Castle McLaughlin, after the sale. She was certain that Leo and Frank were simply kill buyers, but they soon had her convinced of their intentions and she sent Nocona back to their ranch. To add to this initial surprise, Castle was at that time commissioned by the Park to research its horses and produce an unbiased report on their history. She had begun this project with basically no prior knowledge of this specific population but later became assured of their importance. Thus, Castle soon became one of the staunchest Nokota supporters and a very effective one at that, as she has since worked her way through the academic jungle to become Dr. Castle McLaughlin, Associate Curator of North American Ethnography at Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethnology. Her support of the Nokota horses has since subjected her report to intense scrutiny, which it has withstood.

This early group of Nokota supporters went on in the early nineties to win recognition of the Nokota as a distinct breed. They then pushed the state legislature to recognize the Nokota as the honorary equine of North Dakota. Sadly, the Park continued to and still today refuses to substantially change its policies. The Kuntz family ranch has instead become the closest semblance of a Nokota sanctuary possible, and Leo and Frank have dedicated their entire lives to the breed. The not-for-profit Nokota Horse Conservancy was formed and began to provide essential support in 1999, but the horses are still in a very perilous position. Numbers are increasing, but remain dangerously low, and resources from feed to fuel to physical help are always in short supply. To learn more or to help please visit http://www.nokotahorse.org.

McLaughlin, Castle. The History and Status of the Wild Horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Theodore Roosevelt Nature and History Association. 1989.