SOLVED. book about the dakota territory [s]

[Diane]

It's about a teenage girl in the late 1800's (before 1889) who lives somewhere in the south, KY or TN. Her father dies, and her stepmother sends her to live with relatives in the Dakota Territory. The girl absolutely loves horses, and the opening chapter of the book is about her making a ring for her best friend out of hair from a white horse, as a going-away present. When she gets to Dakota, she lives on a farm for a while but is either sent away again, or her relatives fall on hard times because she lives in a town after that. There is a wild white horse roaming the area, and she is determined to ride it and tame it - I think she succeeds in the end. She also tries later in the book to avoid getting married to some rich guy her relatives want her to marry.

[M—]

Maybe The Snowbird? Amazon describes it as:

Following the murder of her parents Willanna faces an uncertain future as she and her younger brother move from Tennessee in 1883 to the Dakota Territory where she trains her first horse.

[Diane]

That looks like it's it, thank you! I apologize, I posted this 6 years ago and didn't think that anybody would find it and I had forgotten about it myself. Thanks again!!

[M—]

Fantastic! I'm so glad you came back to check.