Welcome to Westwind Barn's Website!

Westwind Barn is a historic facility owned by the town of Los Altos Hills and operated since 1977 by a non-profit organization, Friends of Westwind, Inc.

A variety of equine programs and interests are based at Westwind Barn. It is the home of school horses used in the Year Round Riding Program offered through Los Altos Hills Park & Recreation. Westwind 4-H Riding for the Handicapped resides at the barn, along with the Pacific Ridge Pony Club. It is also a boarding facility for privately owned horses. Los Altos Hills residents have priority in leasing a stall or pasture space when one becomes available.

Additional community activities at Westwind include annual Earth Day celebrations, a 5-K Run/Walk, Horse Shows, Ohlone Nature Day Camps in the summer, and more.

Westwind Barn dates back to the 1940s. Hungarian Countess Margrit Bessenyey (d. 1984)  purchased the property in 1971 as home to a world-class breeding farm and training center for her Hungarian horses, including lines rescued during World War II by the US Cavalry.   Her horses include M. Brado, H. Csardas, H. Hadur and others described by the Hungarian Horse Association of America. The Countess worked at Westwind with Linda Tellington-Jones, a world-renowned horsewoman and trainer, whose work with people and their horses continues today in Montana.  Among many equine accomplishments, the Countess competed in the grueling Tevis Cup 100-mile one day ride in the Sierras and founded and sponsored the Bitterroot Competitive Trail Ride from 1965 to 1978 in Montana.  She moved to the United States in 1946, after serving as an interpreter and a leader of resistance efforts against Nazi control of Hungary. The Countess was known as a humanitarian and contributed to many charitable projects in both Hungary and the United States.

Countess Bessenyey donated the Westwind site to the town of Los Altos Hills in 1976. This was planned to complement the earlier donation of 55 acres, known as Byrne Preserve, by Dr. Albert Byrne. The barn's 15 acres are adjacent to Byrne Preserve and together they form a priceless treasure now in the stewardship of the town of Los Altos Hills.