Brookson Farm Emergency Recovery

Dear friends, family, teammates, and beyond,

 

I am sad to be sharing the devastating news that my farm (Brookson Farm) owned by my friends Scott and Nancy Winfield, took a direct hit from the tornado/derecho that hit Ottawa yesterday afternoon (May 21st, 2022).

 

All buildings on site were damaged, including the indoor riding arena which completely collapsed leaving a massive amount of debris and further damaging other buildings. The roof of the second barn was ripped off. The farmhouse where Scott's parents reside suffered a direct hit, losing much of its shingles, two chimines, back deck/pergola, the roof was crushed by a broken power pole damaging the side and barn debris fell directly through the roof into house. The hay storage barn slipped off its footings and the equipment storage shed lost the back wall and 1/3 of its trusses. The horse shelters were damaged with one losing its entire roof and trusses. Thousands of linear feet of fencing were flattened including gates by wind and over fifty downed trees. A recreational vehicle was flipped upside down and cars onsite were also damaged with one being completely written-off.

 

The staff onsite acted quickly and managed to keep all horses safe as well as all clients much of which at the time were young children. For that, we are forever grateful.

 

Brookson is home to 31 horses most of which are school horses or farmed owned show horses that require care. Brookson is a second home for many of our riders, younger children and parents. After a tough two years of adapting their business during COVID-19 to help the lesson barn survive, this hit was catastrophic.

 

A difficult situation lies ahead for Scott and Nancy, along with the whole Brookson Farm family. We are unsure what the total costs will be to repair the damages and get the business back up and running. We are also unsure of what the insurance company will cover; however over $15,000 is expected as deductibles alone plus upfront costs to restore fencing, power, and addressing urgent structural issues.

 

I am reaching out to you, friends, family, teammates and partners in the equestrian world to help my barn family.

 

Yesterday was an unimaginable loss. We have received countless messages offering help and sharing kind messages of support. At this time, we are waiting on heavy machinery to help move the big pieces of debris, metal, etc. however, to help cover costs of repair (fences, stalls, shelters, etc.) in order to get the horses back in their paddocks, any donation would be SO appreciated.

 

Gabrielle