Saddles stolen from ranch

Clara Garcia News-Bulletin Staff Writer; cgarcia@news-bulletin.com

A reward is being offered for information leading to the return of several saddles which were stolen from a ranch located on the foothills of the Manzano Mountains. Pete Cordova, co-owner of Cordova Ranch, is offering a $1,500 reward for the return of several saddles that were stolen last week. The rancher said that, on two different occasions last week, someone trespassed on the property, broke into the saddle room and took a total of five saddles. "The first time, they stole two saddles," Cordova said. "One of the workers discovered the break in on Wednesday. The next day ... Thursday, I went out to the ranch to herd some of the cattle when I noticed that someone broke in again." Cordova said this time, the thieves made off with another three saddles and numerous farrier tools. He estimated that, in all, the burglars took about $6,500 worth of saddles and tools. "Not only did they steal my saddles and tools, but we were able to track them and found that they ran over our fences and took out about 17 posts in one area," he said. "It appears they somehow twisted off the latch where the lock was." Cordova said while all the saddles were basic working saddles, one was particularly special to him. His father, whose family purchased the 6,000-acre ranch in 1925, gave him one of the stolen saddles years ago. "They were just regular saddles; they weren't fancy or anything, but they were ours," he said. "I had the one my father bought for me for at least 30 or 40 years. It's special to me." According to Cordova, he followed tire tracks from the ranch to the east end of Meadow Lake where he lost the trail. He believes that the person or people who stole his property entered the ranch from the southern end near the John F. Kennedy Campgrounds. Anyone with information about the whereabouts of the saddles and who may be involved in the burglary is asked to call the Valencia County Sheriff's Department at 866-2415.