Descendants of the herds surrendered under terms of treaty by Sitting Bull and his Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux in the mid 1880's, these horses survived and thrived for decades in the harsh climate and challenging conditions of the Little Missouri River Badlands. Accidentally confined by the fences of The Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the 1950's,  the 1970's found the Nokotas, with their "Indian Pony"appearance, the specific targets of a planned removal of wild horses from the park. Frank Kuntz and his brother, Leo attended these round-ups and recognizing the difference between these park horse and modern breeds purchased a few. Savy horsemen, they appreciated the bone structure, strong legs, feet and endurance of these horse and their original intent was to cross-breed these horse with their own stock. Their plans changed when, impressed not only by their physical attributes, the Kuntz's noted these horses were extremely intelligent and tended to form strong bonds with humans.

From those beginnings a small but growing group of Nokota owners and supporters, in connection with the Kuntz's and The Nokota Horse Conservancy (www.nokotahorse.org), works to protect and preserve this historically significant, distinct and deserving breed. Recognized as the "Honorary State Equine," of North Dakota in 1993, today, just 10 years from the formation of The Nokota Horse Conservancy, ten Nokota Horses competed in the breed's second appearance in the Breed Classes at Dressage at Devon. An entry of 10 is quite an achievement given there are less than 1000 Nokotas existing world-wide at this time and Frank Kuntz will be there to present the awards and ribbons to the class.

Peaceful Valley Equestrian Center, located in Harveys Lake between Beaumont and Centermoreland, currently has fourteen Nokotas–that's the largest "herd" of Nokota's east of Linton, ND and, together with the support of the non-profit organization, Peaceful Valley Preservation Nokotas, that number will increase through carefully planned, Conservancy sanctioned breedings, of foundation stock over the next few years.

In addition to the preservation breeding program, Karen Orloff-Yatsko, Peaceful Valley's senior clinician and trainer has developed a program of gentling and training Nokotas, taking these unique horses, rough and ready from their native Northern Plains and refining them, readying them for the disciplines suited to their proven intelligence, sound temperament, structure, and versatility.