Wyoming
Memorial Day: Wild mustangs help veterans heal through Wyoming ranch program
JAY EM, Wyo. – While Memorial Day is a time for remembrance, it can also be a difficult period for many veterans, particularly those struggling with mental health.
A program in Wyoming is helping to address those challenges by pairing veterans with wild mustangs in a unique approach to healing.
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Operation Remount takes place in Wyoming. (Kennedy Hayes/FOX News)
According to data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from 2001 to 2022, veterans are more likely to be diagnosed with PTSD, depression and anxiety than civilians. Each year, approximately 6,000 veterans die by suicide.
At some point in their lives, 7 out of every 100 veterans (or 7%) will experience PTSD, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
In the small town of Jay Em, Wyoming, a nonprofit called Operation Remount Corporation is offering a form of equine therapy that serves not only veterans and first responders, but also the mustangs—many of which come from traumatic backgrounds.
Karen Alexander, co-founder of Operation Remount, says some mustangs also experience trauma and anxiety, making the program a form of reciprocal healing.
“These are mustangs that went through three adoptions and were not accepted or not adopted,” Alexander said. “When the mustangs first come, they are very afraid of humans. It’s really neat to see when that animal finally says, I can trust you.”
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Veteran Sean Walker is one of this year’s participants at Operation Remount. He says joining the program and meeting his horse, nicknamed Spirit, was needed after serving in the military.
Walker, who completed two tours in Iraq and one in Bosnia with the Kansas National Guard, says just a few weeks with his horse, Spirit, has already made a significant impact.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs from 2001 to 2022, veterans are more likely to be diagnosed with PTSD, depression and anxiety than civilians. (Kennedy Hayes/ Fox News)
“We call him Enduring Spirit Wind,” Walker said. “He’s taught me probably more than I could have possibly taught him.”
After retiring from the military, Walker said reintegrating into civilian life was difficult. Like many other veterans, he experienced mental health challenges.
The program recently added a new red cabin to house participants during the six-week course. It was built in honor of Marine Corps Sgt. B.J. Shepperson, who served two deployments and struggled with the transition back to civilian life in Wyoming.
Shepperson said his brother B.J. loved horses and would have really appreciated what this program is doing to help other veterans.
PTSD is slightly more common among Veterans than civilians. At some point in their life, 7 out of every 100 Veterans (or 7%) will have PTSD. (Kennedy Hayes/ FOX News)
“After two deployments and coming back to Wyoming, he had a hard time re-adjusting,” said his brother, Baxter Shepperson.
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Program leaders say they’re working to construct more cabins, allowing additional veterans and first responders to stay overnight during the program as they experience the therapeutic bond with a horse.
“It’s like when you found a connection that you’ve lost,” Walker said. “It allows you to have that reconnection and Spirit has been that.”
Operation Remount allows the veterans and first responders to keep the wild horse after completing the six-week course. The nonprofit holds sessions in both spring and fall.
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The team at Operation Remount is now working toward building an indoor facility so they can offer the program throughout the year, even during Wyoming’s harsh winter months.
Wyoming
Wyoming Supreme Court upholds 125- to 175-year conviction for Steven Marler after child sexual abuse trial in 2025
CASPER, Wyo. — The Wyoming Supreme Court has upheld the 2025 conviction of Steven Randall Marler, 52, who was sentenced to 125 to 175 years in prison on eight felony counts of sexually abusing two girls under his foster or adoptive care at his home on Casper Mountain. Marler was also convicted of five misdemeanor batteries and a count of child endangerment. He was found not guilty of sexual abusing another two other minors in the family, including the one who had first brought forward allegations in 2016.
The Supreme Court opinion noted that discrepancies in her testimony from previous statements were revealed at trial.
The appeal claimed that the Natrona County court where the trial was held improperly admitted testimony about physical abuse and Marler’s insistence that the children give him massages, which they said he referred to as a “daddy tax.”
The massages did not result in charges, and Wyoming courts are strict in disallowing evidence of “prior bad acts” for uncharged conduct that might color the opinion of the jury about whether the defendant is guilty of the actual charges.
The opinion released Friday and written by Justice Robert C. Jarosh noted that the Natrona Court, under Judge Kerri Johnson, had multiple hearings before the trial about whether the state should be allowed to introduce that evidence. It can only do so under specific circumstances, such as establishing a course of conduct relevant to “grooming behavior” and illustrating the power Marler held over the children and his ability and motivation in carrying out the abuse.
“The “daddy tax” massage evidence demonstrated a predictable, recurring pattern of behavior that directly illuminated Mr. Marler’s motive and systematic course of conduct,” the opinion reads. “The “daddy tax” massage evidence demonstrated a clear behavioral pattern and provided relevant context about how Mr. Marler targeted and groomed the children by exploiting his parental role and initiating abuse through seemingly innocent touching — all as a means to gratify his sexual desires.”
The opinion also noted that the jury had been properly instructed not to infer guilt based on the testimony about uncharged behavior they might find off-putting.
The appeal attorneys also argued that evidence of punishment in the form of spanking, exercise and withholding food was not relevant to the charged crimes and unfairly prejudicial to Marler.
“However, we agree with the district court this evidence was relevant to show Mr. Marler’s intent and motive to gain submission by the victims,” Friday’s opinion said.
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