Nearby ranches offer reward for saddles stolen Monday night

Ranchers and horse-barn owners are hoping a $2,600 reward will help catch the thieves who have swiped saddles worth thousands of dollars from two southern Indiana ranches.\nFive businesses chipped in for the reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the robberies at Up-N-Over Stables and Stone Creek Ranch.\nLast week, thieves hit Up-N-Over Stables, making off with mostly English riding gear, ranging from a custom Pullman Roping saddle to bridles.\nThen, late Sunday or early Monday about $25,000 worth of saddles, including pricey custom-made ones, were taken from Stone Creek Ranch, said owner Wayne Allbright.\nHe believes the thieves are knowledgeable about different saddle types because they took only the more expensive varieties and left behind some lesser-valued ones.\nAllbright said the thefts occurred even though three of his employees live very close to the barn that was targeted.\n“They were very brazen. With all this lighting around, and with people here onsite, they were very brazen,” he said.\nAllbright has warned other farms in the area about the thefts. He said sheriff’s deputies suspect that whoever robbed his ranch had visited it or driven past it to scope things out.\nHe has notified local pawn shops to be on the lookout for someone trying to cash the saddles in for a quick turnaround, and he has someone checking eBay.