Trying to unload stolen horse tack at Equi-line in Falcon is not a good idea. On Aug. 20, employee Tami Davis assisted in the arrest of criminals who were trying to sell stolen saddles. Davis said the owner of the stolen saddles had called the store with a description of the saddles. A few hours later, a young man came in, asking Davis to appraise three saddles. She noticed the high quality of the first two saddles, and the third had a silver Pikes Peak Range Riders Latigo Keeper (a piece of leather attached to the saddle to keep the excess latigo ñ or leather strap ñ from getting in the way of the horse). She recognized the latter saddle from the description of one of the stolen saddles. As she closely examined the other saddles, she recognized those, too, as ones the owner had reported missing that morning. ìI texted Mary and asked her to call the police,î Davis said. Mary Watson-Cone, owner of Equi-line, said she received Davis’ text and tried to call the store. Worried that Watson-Cone did not answer the phone, she contacted the police.Meanwhile, Davis said she knew she had to stall the man trying to fence the goods until the police arrived. Davis said he wanted to sell the saddles directly to the store, but she said they would take them on consignment only. Thinking quickly, Davis told the man that she knew of a customer who might be interested in purchasing the saddles directly, and she would call the person. ìHe said he needed to check with his friends if that was OK,î she said. As Davis watched him go to the truck, she took down the license number and make and model of the vehicle. When he came back in, the saddle seller filled out the consignment form and then left with the others. They called back frequently to check if Davis had contacted the potential customer, Davis said. When the El Paso County Sheriffís deputies arrived, Davis relayed the story and then contacted the saddle robbers and told them the people who wanted to see the saddles were at the store. Davis laughed when she said, ìWhich is the truth ñ the police were interested in talking to them about the saddles.îThey returned to the store and the deputies arrested them. Davis said the police told her later that more than one of them had pending charges because of other crimes. ìI felt good because the lady who owned them started crying when she came in to identify the saddles,î Davis said. The saddles were not only quality saddles, but also carried sentimental value for the woman’s family.Watson-Cone said this wasnít the first time the store has assisted in the recovery of stolen tack. About three months ago, another man called in to report his custom saddle had been stolen. He asked the store to be on the lookout for it. Later that day, another alleged thief brought the manís saddle into the store. Case solved!Grinning, Watson-Cone and Davis said, ìDon’t mess with the Equi-line posse.î
