About
Family Legacy
West 12 Ranch has been part of the Butterworth family since 1972, when Mary Ann Butterworth founded it with a vision of raising Thoroughbred race horses.
After her passing in 1987, her son Matt and his wife Barbara continued the ranch, seeing it through many challenges and decades of raising and rehabbing Thoroughbreds, guided by hard work, integrity, and faith literally tested by fire. The initial development of the studio happened while Sarah was away to college. That transition was around the same time they shifted away from breeding Thoroughbreds.
In 2024, daughter Sarah officially chose to carry on the legacy as the third generation, solidifying the decision to continue the Studio, and conserving Kiger Horses.
The Animals
Bokeh
We got Bokeh from the Modesto Shelter, the same year we started the photo studio. Her mom looked like a Border Collie potentially crossed with a McNab. While she's slowing down in the passing years, in her heyday she had tons of energy and loved to hunt gophers, squirrels and be quite the little photobomber.
Brodie
Brodie is a Border Collie who joined the Ranch in early 2023 and takes very seriously his duty to follow us everywhere, approve all guests, and catch gophers. He's a shy boy who can occasionally get nosey - just tell him "NO" and send him home if he's too curious. He dislikes hearing sirens on the highway or other random loud noises or objects out of place. If he barks, it's typically one of those three things.
Tex
A registered Quarter Horse under the name "Hot as a Pistol", Tex is our photo horse and he's all about that pose. He is a traditional palomino (golden coat with creamy mane and tail).
Cupcake
Cupcake is a mini-pony and her color is described as a "Palomino Pinto". She moonlights as our mini-unicorn and is especially gentle with the little ones. She shares a paddock with mini-mule Sven and both of them look like fluffy little teddy bears in the winter.
Hawk
Hawk is a registered Paint Horse and the "old man" of the ranch. He retired from riding about 10 years ago and enjoys life as a social butterfly in the Pepper Tree Pasture, walking into photos at his leisure and grazing the day away. He loves to be scratched!
Mesa
A sweetheart Kiger, you'll often find Mesa in with Hawk or out and about with Melanie. Mesa's color is "dun" and you can see her "tiger stripes" on the legs, just above the knees. If you see her with a screen looking mask on her face in the summer, that's her fly mask. She is more sensitive to flies than other horses on the ranch, so the see-through mask gives her relief from them bothering her eyes.
Meet the cats of West 12 Ranch.
Most of these cats wandered onto property and decided to stay. We get them spayed or neutered, then release them back to their area of the ranch where they help us control the rodent population. The cats are territorial so like to stay in their zones on the ranch.
Don’t let the empty food bowls fool you. These kitties get regular meals, but if we leave their food out during the day the chickens get into it.
How to tell Pixie and Trixie apart: Pixie’s nose is all pink, and her right cheek is orange. Trixie has spots on her nose and chin, and both sides of her face have dark grey.
We do not want more cats, we already have too many but try to be good stewards and spay/neuter who we can so they don’t add to local population.
Chickens rule the roost and are committed to slowing traffic, looking cute for corn, and hiding broods until they’re hatched.
Bring quarters with you if you want to feed the chickens. There is a gumball machine that dispenses cracked corn for a quarter. The chickens are friendly and will eat out of your hand or you can sprinkle it on the ground for a great photo op of the flock with clients.
