On July 12, 2019, Alison West, horse trainer and ranch owner/manager of West Orton Ranch, fell 15 ft off a hay stack shattering her leg and fracturing a vertebra. After 3 hours of surgery to reconstruct the multiple fractures in her leg, she is now faced with a 12 day inpatient intensive rehab stay at St. Mary’s hospital followed by months of recovery. Compounding this tragedy, as a result of her hospitalization, her husband Rich had to be admitted into a nursing home. Alison had been his sole caregiver; Rich is wheelchair bound and is in severely declining health.
The West Orton Ranch and its 20 horses have been surviving since her accident due to the efforts of the small staff increasing their work hours and friends volunteering. For decades Alison has done the bulk of the work on the ranch including the horse training. The reality is that Alison will be unable to work for many months. Therefore, it is imperative to hire additional staff. So this fund is set up to keep the ranch functioning and to offset the inevitable medical expenses Alison will be faced with once released from the hospital.
Please donate! If possible, volunteer to help on the ranch, and/or let us know if you know of someone who is available for hire on the ranch. If you know of someone or can volunteer, leave a comment below on this page, or click the envelope on the upper right (next to "West Orton Ranch") to send an email.