We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kathryn King. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kathryn below.
Hi Kathryn, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?
Let me be the only one in the room that looks like me. I work with horses daily at The Medicine Horse Preservation at Valhalla Hill Farm. I am a human, a woman and to a horse, that could be a predator… When standing before me is a magnificent prey animal that is most likely troubled by the environment or the human… It is my desire to have some kind of clear communication and understanding of their language for me to be successful at helping them to understand who this different looking creature is and what they want. First, I need to know what I want. In his space, the horse must find safety, if that means he helps me to lower frequencies, vibration or within myself. That is what he needs and if he ain’t feeling it…He leaves. Not dissimilar to us humans, I am pretty unconventional and have this belief that people do not always see what is before them rather what is different than themselves. Same thing with listening.
How I have learned to be effective is to not be affective. I listen and observe, leaving out emotions of my own to get the truth. I can only judge success by managing expectations… That in and of itself puts me in a room by myself not looking like anyone but me. Horses don’t care about what color your skin is or your accolades or achievements. They are not jealous, envious, hateful or judgmental. They take you as you are. Why can’t we learn from them?
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I grew up in a family of horsemen and women who loved family and the outdoors in the Welsh Hills of Ohio. I developed a deep feeling for horses on my own, when I was about 9. At 29 I began taking on misunderstood horses and at one point paired them with juveniles from the local court system. Hippotherapy and therapeutic riding were happening way before anyone talked about equine facilitated… anything. And so became my path. Now, at 60, I reside with a small herd of rare Nokota® horses that live at The Medicine Horse Preservation at Valhalla Hill Farm. Over the last 30 years I have transitioned from gaited mountain breeds to learning from a herd of Paso Finos then living with a herd of Icelandic horses eventually transitioning to all horses from the Little Missouri National Grassland area in North Dakota. The Nokotas’ are said to have been descendants of the Hunkpapa Lakota peoples’ horses, which were confiscated when Sitting Bull surrendered at the U.S. Army Fort in 1881 in exchange for amnesty for his people. The sum of 350 horses of Sitting Bull were either sold headed to the East Coast while some were sold for ranching operations in the west. One such large cattle operation in the northern plains went under, and the branded horses were released or wandered into what is now the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. That is where this horse’s story began to unfold some 100+ years later. While tracking the wild horses in the Park in the late 1960’s, Leo L Kuntz began acquiring the park and Indian horses because of their ruggedness, stamina and structure to navigate the terrain. Leo passed away in August 2018 but not before forming The Nokota® Horse Conservancy in 1999. Just prior to his death, Leo began The Nokota® Horse Preservation Ranch where his focus was breeding for temperament and personality so as to become a “medicine horse” for therapy. Since Leo’s passing, I have committed myself to the horses that he sacrificed, hoped for their future and committed himself to with unconditional love. His story is depicted in the film “Nokota Heart.”
The beautiful depiction of sacrifice, unconditional love, trust, faith, hope for a fallen world taken on by the Son of God, Jesus Christ my Savior and Lord so much aligns with what we honor here with the land and the horses. My comfort, my safety… What I am passionate about is not my brand, rather being a vessel for God’s redeeming love through the eyes and soul of the horses He has put before me. I share them with anyone willing to come and just be…
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I’m going to quote a few words spoken to me that have been impactful not just to my journey but as an imprint in my heart… “When I accept the whole range of gifts from my Creator, I am ready for the school of life.”
“Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get, understanding.”
What is explored through interactions at The Medicine Horse Preservation are ways to heighten intuitiveness and observations so to see language as well as hear it which in turn makes for more effective communication. That is what needs to be developed and improved…
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
I was the youngest of 4 children to parents that were together until my father’s passing some 20 years ago. I was also the only girl born to West Virginia natives now living in Ohio. My dad was an executive with a large insurance co. My mom was that executive’s wife who was proficient at entertaining later to become an interior designer with a reputation for flower arranging. My parents encouraged me to explore life’s avenues. They enrolled me in dance and gymnastics, though not graceful still, and theater. I took tennis, hated it, and riding lessons, I loved to swim and hunt and fish with my dad. We always had a dog and horses. I was an athlete and, in the choir, the orchestra, a cheerleader and on the drill team. I traveled and went to art school after high school. I moved to the mountains and was a hiking guide on the Appalachian Trail and a whitewater guide until I was in my late 20’s when…I got reconnected with horses much to my father’s delight. I moved back home to work for my mother’s interior design business.
Me telling you all that? My parents allowed me to be…me. Their love kept me safe and allowed me to see the world how I saw it. I knew who God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit were at an early age which has impacted who I am. My parents were entrusted by the Lord to bring me up in a way to honor Him.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.medicnehorsepreservation.love
- Instagram: vhfequine
- Facebook: The Medicine Horse Preservation at Valhalla hill farm
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/RdvcJOZx92k?feature=shared
Image Credits
Kathryn King
