Jason Brown, Sierra Theis, and Mandi Smith were the only local riders in the procession through New Ulm. The ride promotes healing, reconciliation, and education about the Dakota perspective of history.

For Smith, the call to participate came late Monday evening, Dec. 22.

“I received a message from a friend who was helping organize and welcome the Makatoh Reconciliation and Healing Horse Rider group as they made their way to New Ulm,” she said. “He shared that the Dakota riders were asking if members of the community would be willing to ride into town with them as a show of solidarity, and he asked if I would be interested. I didn’t hesitate, I immediately said yes.”

She reached out to horse owners at their barn, and Brown and Theis were able to join.

Jason Brown takes a selfie during the Makatoh Reconciliation and Healing Horse Ride as the group makes its way through New Ulm on Dec. 24. Brown rode his horse Baron in the approximately five-mile procession.

Brown, a Navy veteran and commercial artist at Booth Welding and Fabricating, accepted despite the short notice.

“I felt that it was important to accept the invitation as a matter of respect for the Dakota riders,” Brown said. “It was short notice, so there was a chance that few local people would be able to participate, especially on Christmas Eve.”

He credited his employer for giving him the day off and his friends for providing horse trailer logistics. “Without that support, I wouldn’t have been able to participate,” he said.

Theis said she also felt compelled to join.

“Being able to see how much this meant to the riders, to extend an offering of peace, how could we not support that and offer it back?” she said.

Jason Brown talks with Makatoh Rider Delrae St. Cloud before the New Ulm leg of the ride on Christmas Eve. Brown along with fellow locals Sierra Theis and Mandy Smith were invited to join the ride through New Ulm. Photo by Clay Schuldt

The three local riders met the Dakota participants near the soccer field, where children approached Smith’s mule Banjo and asked to ride.

“Watching everyone smile and laugh was a moment I won’t forget, and any nerves I had quickly faded,” Smith said.

Theis said the moment highlighted the shared purpose of the ride.

“When the littlest kids of the riding group came up and saw Mandi’s mule Banjo and took him for a spin, it made everyone just laugh and realize we all are there for the same reasons,” she said.

The ride began around 12:30 p.m., covering roughly five miles through town and ending near the south end of New Ulm at the Poor Farm bridge.

Mandy Smith on her mule Banjo and Sierra Theis on her quarter-horse Pepper join the Makatoh Reconciliation and Healing Horse Ride just outside of Dakota. The two, along with Jason Brown were invited to join the ride through New Ulm on Dec. 24. Photo by Clay Schuldt

Brown rode Baron, a 15-hand horse he had owned for eight years; Theis rode Peppy, a registered quarter horse; and Smith rode Banjo, her 20-year-old mule.

“Being able to talk with the other individuals while riding and hearing the passion they had for horses, this ride, and what it meant to them was so neat,” Theis said.

Brown admitted he was initially uncertain about how the local riders would be received.

“I was unsure how three white folks from New Ulm were going to be received; did all the Dakota riders want us to participate, or would some feel that we were intruding?” he said. “While riding through town and conversing with one of the participants from South Dakota, I was surprised to learn that the Dakota riders were not sure their presence would be well received in New Ulm.”

Theis said any initial unease quickly dissipated.

Photo by Jason Brown taken of Dakota riders and local participants make their way through New Ulm during the annual Makatoh Reconciliation and Healing Horse Ride on Dec. 24. The ride commemorates 38 Dakota men executed in Mankato on Dec. 26, 1862.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Brown along with Sierra Theis and Mandy Smith were the first local riders invited to join the Reconciliation ride.

“I think at first there was almost an unease as they didn’t know what to expect when opening up the ride, and we didn’t know what to expect of the ride,” she said. “But through being able to talk about horses, a thing we all had in common, the unease soon drifted away.”

For the second year in a row, the Dakota riders stayed in New Ulm for two nights, thanks to a local resident’s offer of hospitality. The horses stayed at the Brown County Fairgrounds, and the riders slept at the New Ulm Community Center, where cots had been set up. They were bused to Vogel Arena to use the showers.

After the ride, the local riders were invited to dinner at the Community Center, where they shared conversation and stories with the Dakota participants. They also visited with Wilfred Keeble, an elder and organizer, who asked them to show his grandsons the stable where the horses were kept.

“To be able to sit down and talk and hear their stories was something nothing short of special,” Theis said. “At dinner, just being able to hear about their life stories, what they do for work, and their home lives, it made it feel like they were happy to include us.”

Smith described the ride as meaningful.

“This ride is a prayer ride. It is about remembrance, healing, honoring ancestors, and reconciliation. To be invited into something so sacred and important was truly an honor, and I will forever carry that experience with me,” she said.

Brown said the ride reminded him of history while also creating new connections.

“The annual Reconciliation Ride is important because it reminds us of an impactful historical event that is easy to forget,” he said. “The events commemorated by the ride are still affecting people’s lives to a degree I was unaware of. It is serving a valuable purpose and creating camaraderie with groups of people that would probably never have met or directly impacted each other’s lives otherwise.”

Theis said they planned to participate in the 2026 ride.

“Hearing that they will be extending the same hand next year to ride, it’s on the calendar for us three next year,” Theis said.

“We were asked to join again next year, and without hesitation, I said yes” Smith said.