$25K reward for fillies stolen from pasture in Southwest Ranches

Two fillies were stolen early Friday morning from a pasture at World Class Equestrian Center in Southwest Ranches, and there’s a $25,000 reward for whoever returns them.

A worker woke up Friday morning to feed Milagro, 9 months old, and Venus, almost three years old, their grains and found they were missing from the grassy area in the back of the property located in the Rolling Oaks community, said Elina Blaquier, a schooling rider at the center who cares for the fillies.

It isn’t clear what time the fillies were taken. The center lost power some time over night, rendering several cameras across the property useless, Blaquier, 24, said.

The theft is believed to have happened in the early morning hours. A Davie Police detective was developing leads Monday, Det. Peter Patton, a police department spokesperson, said in an email.

Police have not recorded any other horse thefts in the Davie area in the last year, Denise Stockdale, Davie Police Department records supervisor, said in an email Tuesday. MiamiDade Police investigated the theft of two horses in a southwestern part of the county earlier this year that were later found dead near a canal, WSVN-Ch. 7 reported.

Miami-Dade Police spokespersons did not return an email Monday afternoon seeking information about the outcome of that investigation.

When the animals are young, they typically sleep outside. Venus and Milagro were left near a wooden gate behind the barns, a dark part of the property at night.

Blaquier said she has no doubt someone took them, considering the wooden fence “was broken from the outside to the inside.” In the 20 years the facility has been there, Blaquier said they’ve not had any animals stolen.

Aside from the broken fence, they found fresh hay lying nearby on the ground and footprints tracked in the mud. Blaquier said both animals are accustomed to people and would not run away if approached.

“We know someone approached with hay in their hand so they would come to them,” Blaquier said.

Milagro’s owners moved to the U.S. from Argentina, Blaquier said, and brought Milagro’s mother, Canela, with them. The owners did not know the mother was pregnant, and the baby was named Milagro, the Spanish word for miracle.

Milagro is the pet of a 9-year-old boy who doesn’t understand what happened and has been asking how long she will be gone, Blaquier said. The filly’s mother remains at the center, along with 20 or so other horses.

“He’s a kid,” she said. “He wants his horse back … The other owner is a woman who works in the facility. She’s been working a lot to have that horse for herself, and she’s devastated.”

If Venus and Milagro are returned, Blaquier said no one will seek charges. The facility is now working to add solar-powered security cameras and motion detector lights.

“We’re not going to ask anything,” she said. “We just want them home.”

Blaquier said the facility contacted Animal Recovery Mission, an animal rights nonprofit, about the theft. In a news release, the nonprofit said it is offering the reward.

Davie Police ask anyone with information to call the department at 954-6938200 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.

ELINA BLAQUIER PHOTOS Two fillies named Milagro, left, and Venus, right, were stolen from pasture early on Friday.