Horses get global attention

The Nakota horse is often described as a pioneer ranch horse and currently there are less than 50...  More »

The Nakota horse is often described as a pioneer ranch horse and currently there are less than 500 in the nation. 400 of those live east of Linton on the Kuntz Ranch. And not only is the herd of horses becoming a major attraction throughout the nation-but also across the globe. Five people from all parts of the worldliving under the same roof-all because of the Nakotas. Emma Zeigler made the move all the way from Sweden to Linton to be with the Nakotas. Emma Zeigler / From Sweden: North Dakota is a very special place I think. I really, really like the prairie [and] the rolling hills. When the sun is going down it gets this golden color on the green hills. It is just so pretty, it is just a good atmosphere. People are very friendly, very open. But little did she know what was suppose to be a short stay-would introduce herto her future husband. Emma Zeigler / From Sweden: I came in May last year. I was only here for a week I guess, but then I met Seth who has been volunteering for the North Dakota horse conservancy for 8 years. After I saw Seth, I couldn't really see any horses anymore. Her time here also brought others to the horses. During her stay Emma wrote an article describing the horses and their history. That article was published in a Sweden magazine and is what brought Helen and Isabel to America for a three week stay at the ranch. Isabel Westman / From Sweden: We mailed to Shelly and she wrote this really nice letter back to us and we said yeah, we are going, so we took our backpacks and came. To say the least they have been keeping busy. So far they have been training five horses. And they have made some progress Helen Thorstensson / From Sweden: We have been building some fence, we work with the horses and Leo has showed us how he works with the horses and then we worked the same way we do in Sweden, which is better because we feel more comfortable with that. For Helen and Isabel they aren't sure how permanent their stay will be. And it doesn't sound like our North Dakota cold will scare them away. Isabel Westman / From Sweden: I really like my place back home in Sweden too, I like the snow, but I hear there is alot of snow and cold here too so who knows. Helen and Isabel say working with the Nakota horses is easier than working with the horses in Sweden because they say the horses are calmer.  « Less