LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A stretch of Highway 20 proved deadly for three prized horses early this week when the trailer they were riding in went down an embankment.

The crash took place on the evening of Sunday, Feb. 16, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office.

The CHP said the crash occurred on Highway 20 near Watertrough Road, east of Clearlake Oaks.

A Redwood Valley family was returning from a high school rodeo in Corning when they were involved in the wreck.

CHP Sgt. Josh Dye said they were driving an RV towing a horse trailer and for reasons still under investigation lost control.

“When the RV overturned and slid to the edge of the embankment, the horse trailer became detached and went down the embankment,” Dye said.

Dye said it is a very steep embankment and quite a ways down from the highway.

He said two horses were killed and a third was severely injured and was dispatched by the driver and owner of the horses.

Along with the CHP, Dye said Northshore Fire responded to the scene.

The people in the vehicle were unhurt, Dye said.

A GoFundMe has been organized by Kirstin McCready to assist the family who lost the horses, identified as Shasta Jameson-Green and Nick Gradek and their children Emerald, Willow and Juniper.

The horses who died were named Poco, 45 and Doug.

“These animals were more than just horses—they were family, deeply loved by their owners and their children, with countless irreplaceable memories shared,” the GoFundMe page explains.

“These horses meant everything to this family. The love, time, and financial investment they dedicated to their children's dreams were taken from them in an instant,” the online fundraiser explained.

As of early Saturday morning, the GoFundMe page had raised $31,490, with a goal of $45,000.

Other fundraisers are also being held for the family, including the “Give Back Barrel Race” that Lake County District 1 Supervisor Helen Owen is hosting at her ranch in Middletown on March 2.

Dye confirmed that the wreck occurred in the same area of Highway 20 where there have been two previous wrecks involving livestock.

One of them, a year ago this month, involved a big rig full of 36 cattle traveling from Orland to Arcata that rolled onto its side.

In October 2023, a double-decker livestock trailer with 79 head of cattle on board and traveling from Fortuna to Tennessee flipped over after taking the turns in that stretch of highway too fast, according to the CHP.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.