Saddle mystery solved

Sixth-generation Petaluma rancher Doug Dolcini was sure he'd never again see the custom-built saddle his father won at a 1964 Reno Rodeo competition and that he'd cherished as a young cowhand. Then, more than six years after it was taken during a burglary on his family's ranch along Highway 37, Dolcini got a call from Jay Palm of Jay Palm's Saddle Shop in Penngrove. “Come on down, I think there's something you'd like to see,'” Palm told him. A Sonoma man had brought in the saddle to get it repaired and appraised for consignment sale. Palm recognized the saddle and told the man he'd need a few weeks to work on it. The man left. Palm phoned the sheriff's office and then Dolcini. “I walked in and said, ‘Holy smokes,'” Dolcini said. “I didn't expect to see it again.” The dark brown leather was worn in the seat, but otherwise the trophy saddle was in fine condition, its ornate hand-carved flowers and Reno Rodeo logo unscuffed...more