the WHO and the WHY
Cody Jensen
Cody is a third generation cattle rancher, born and raised in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains northwest of Calgary. He is an accomplished team roper and a proud family man, married to Kari.
Kari Jensen
Kari is a dental hygienist and was born and raised in the Water Valley area. She grew up spending time with her grandparents' horses and now, together with Cody, they are raising their young sons on the Jensen family ranch.
Kendra Watt
Kendra owns a real estate business and was raised on a large cattle and horse farm in Manitoba. She rode trail, western pleasure and barrel racing but left the world of horses once she started university. She lives in Cochrane with her rescue dogs.
The "WHY" - Aja's Story
In 2021, we heard about a horse that went through an auction listed as “mare - 14 - blind”. The highest bidder was the meat man which meant this poor, scared horse was about to spend hours crammed on a trailer with several other terrified horses, only to be dropped at a slaughter facility. She, like thousands of other horses, would end up slaughtered, their new destiny being served as meat for either human consumption or for dog food.
Kendra was immediately determined to save this particular horse and through the efforts of our partner rescue, Horse Heroes Alberta, the mare was purchased back and immediately sent for surgery to remove a ruptured eye. Luckily her other eye was okay and after two surgeries and several weeks of healing, Kendra was able to bring her home. After getting to know her personality and connecting with her more, she was given the name “Aja” (Aja is a West African spirit, known as the healer of the forest and the animals within it).
As we learned more about the desperate plight of horses like Aja and the existing horse rescue groups and individuals who support them, we decided we would resolutely join the fight for the welfare of horses. It was decided that a small section of Cody’s family ranch would be the perfect place to build the facility and the group would slowly and quietly start creating Jensen Ranch Rescue Society.