KERNVILLE, Calif. (KERO) — What used to be a manicured pasture for horses, is now rough land with debris and sand deposited on it.
- Jake's Place is a ranch in Kernville that trains and boards horse, along with providing riding lessons.
- Their property was heavily impacted by the flooding in March of 2023, with the flood waters destroying fences and wiping out four pastures .
- There around around 40 horses kept at Jake's Place.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
This is what the pastures at Jake’s Place looked like on March 10 of 2023.
“We were down there when it broke loose so we ran to start getting halters when it broke loose, because it came that fast,” said Stacy VanRensselaer.
Ranch Manager at Jake’s Place, VanRensselaer said she scrambled to evacuate horses and save property as the river rose.
“When it hit full on. I was bringing up the last horse up the road to put in the arena. So it was scary.”
Jake's Place is a business off of Sierra Way in Kernville that boards and trains horses, along with offering riding lessons.
As Manager VanRensselaer does everything, including making sure the horses that are board there are fed, get their exercise, and if needed, take their medication.
“She comes from a rich family of horses and knowledge,” said Beth Neihaus.
Niehaus has boarded her horse Sunday at the ranch for over five years now and says she trusts VanRensselaer– she’s no the only one.
“We probably have about 40 heads of horses,” VanRensselaer estimated.
However, the amount of horses they can board has decreased since last year.
“The flood that happened on March of ‘23 that hurt us, because we lost all of our pastures,” VanRensselaer said.
All four pastures that they used to board horses were destroyed - comprising an area of –
“Roughly 8 Acres,” VanRensselaer said.
With large amounts of debris piling up on their property.
“Shovels, we found jackets back here,” VanRensselaer said, “This picnic table came from Frandy I believe.”
And all the fencing around the pastures was destroyed - barbed wire is now embedded in the soil.
“About 200 feet of chain link fence between us and Frandy – gone.”
I spoke with the Owner Richard Jacobsen, who started the business with his wife in 1990 over the phone, and he said he received $25,000 estimate to fix just the fence between the ranch and a nearby campground
He said the profit margins at Jake's Place are tight, and he doesn’t have the capital to replace that fencing.
“We've had local friends bring their tractors in and help us, but it's just it's so much down there.”
And without being able to board horses in the pastures, there’s less money being made that can go towards repairs.
“Because within pastures down you know, we're losing money every month,” Niehaus said.
Owner Richard Jacosben said he talked with Philip Peters Office, as well as Shannon Grove’s Office and FEMA, but couldn’t find help from any of them.
Over a year later, they’re still not sure exactly what they are going to do.
“It's all up in the air. It comes down to money, you know, in donations, and we just don't have it here,” VanRensselaer said.
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