The people behind Spirit Wind Horse Rescue
We have no paid staff. This is a labor of love that we put our heart and soul into.
Beth Keenan
Bio Coming Soon
Vee Stockdale
Vendla Stockdale (Vee) was born and raised in South Africa, world traveler, finally settling on Fruitland Mesa in Crawford, Colorado and one of the founders of Spirit Wind Horse Rescue. Now 12 rescue horses claim her pastures as home. Always a fighter for the equines that need rescuing, owner of many dogs, two horses and two donkeys she loves lazy afternoons just hanging with the horses with perhaps a glass of wine or two.
Paige Smith
Paige has always loved horses and after personally intervening in two cases of severe horse neglect in WY, these experiences galvanized her passion for helping horses in need. She joined the Spirit Wind Horse Rescue Board of Directors in 2020 as Vice President. In addition, she and her husband personally adopted a donkey, hinny mule and an unrideable horse rescued from the livestock auction in Ft. Collins, CO where they would have otherwise likely ended up in the slaughter pipeline to Mexico. Paige boards all three equines at a boarding facility in western Delta County.
How it all Started.....
As remembered by Vee Stockdale
It was warm but not hot, so it must have been around spring time as I remember the leaves were still that light bright green which makes the trees look like they are sparkling, parking in the shade still offered enough cool air to leave a dog in the car. It was 2006 and Beth and I were on our way to our first horse auction in Delta, Colorado.
As we walked up to the sale barn we noticed a young girl with a tub of puppies with a big FREE sign next to them. Both of us looked at each other in horror and immediately walked up to her and told her we would take all 6 puppies, it was just a given, we both knew it was the right thing to do and there was zero discussion, just an immediate reaction. She seemed somewhat relieved and somewhat shocked but definitely more relieved. We scooped up the 6 balls of fluff and immediately walked back to the car and put them in. I then looked for the only available tree and managed to find parking underneath it for shade. We left the windows down a little in the Tahoe and quickly went back to our mission for the day.
It was truthfully through the local dog and cat rescue that we were both part of here in the North Fork Valley that brought us to the sale barn that day.