Auction of neglected horses cancelled

This weekend's planned auction of 10 rescued horses is on hold while a court looks into a man's claim of ownership.

The horses have been nursed back to health and are in the care of Triple R Ranch, a Yuma horse rescue program, since being found abandoned at a home near Somerton.

Christina Taylor of Triple R Ranch said 12 animals were to be sold at Saturday's auction: the 10 neglected horses, another horse and a donkey.

While the 10 neglected horses won't be for sale, Taylor said, the other horse and the donkey still will be.

The auction will still be taking place at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Yuma County Sheriff's Posse Grounds on Avenue A near County 14-1/4 Street.

Ed Hermes, spokesman for the Arizona Department of Agriculture, said a Yuma man, Kurt Voss, contacted the agency last week saying he owned the horses, although he did not have any documents proving his ownership at that time.

"He turned in some documents on Monday of this week and some additional documents on Tuesday," Hermes said Wednesday. "They raise a doubt on ownership so until it can be verified, we need to stop the auction."

Since the ownership of the horses has now been brought into question, Hermes said the agency will be filing a case in Yuma County to have a court resolve the matter.

"It was enough information for (the department of agriculture) to put it on hold until he gets his day in court," said Christina Taylor, co-founder of Triple R Ranch. "It will make sure the process is fair for everyone."

Hermes said the horses will remain in the care of Triple R Ranch until a court resolves the matter. "If he can prove the horses are his, he will need to pay a $25 impound fee on each animal and the cost of the hay they have been fed."

If the individual's ownership claims aren't verified, Hermes added, the ranch will still be able to reschedule and conduct the auction - just not this Saturday.

Taylor said she is familiar with Voss because he has come to the ranch a few times to see the horses.

"He mentioned he was making payments on some of the horses, but I don't know if he was," Taylor said. "I told him he needed to contact the sheriff's office or the department of agriculture because all we did was care for them."

Voss could not be reached for comment for this article.

Yuma County sheriff's deputies found the 10 horse plus one other horse on Feb. 27 after being dispatched to a residence in the 6700 block of Hope Avenue in reference to a neglected animal case.

The horses were without water and hay when deputies arrived. Interviews by deputies of neighbors led them to conclude that the horses had been neglected after their reported owner, Roberto Robles, was deported to Mexico as an illegal immigrant.

One of the horses had to be euthanized, while the other 10 were turned over to the Triple R Ranch, a contracted holding pen for the state agriculture department.

The department had planned to transport the horses to Phoenix for sale, but state Sen. Amanda Aguirre of Yuma convinced state officials to allow the animals to be auctioned locally. As a result, Triple R was given permission to conduct the sale of the horses.

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James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.