INCENTIVES: Royal Crown Roping, ARHFA Top Gun Stallion Incentive

CFR Arete Gun has proven his mettle as a rope horse, not only banking money for his owners Jared Crain, Buddy Wacaser and Jack Bogart, but providing invaluable assistance as a helper horse as well.

A son of $9 million sire Gonnatrashya and out of a daughter of Tribeca Tucker, Arete has enjoyed success as both a tie-down and heel horse at the AQHA World Show with Cody McCartney, Jared Crain and Steve Orth along with wins at the Royal Crown and Red Bud Classic with Dakota Kirchenschlager.

The stallion earned the 2023 AQHA Senior Tie-Down Roping High Point award and returned in 2024 for a top-10 finish. He now has lifetime earnings of $68,000 with 419 AQHA points and growing.

In addition to his own winning record, Arete has been one of the most used helper heel horses in the budding rope horse futurity game, helping his partner head horses and their riders win $60,000 at the 2024 ARHFA World Championships and AQHA World Show with Kirkenschlager in the saddle.

While his first foals arrived in 2024, Arete is still competing and having success with riders of all levels. Coming from a reining background, the stallion has proven to be versatile and steady, yet user-friendly.

“I got to take him home this summer and, once he got done breeding, I took him to jackpots myself as an amateur all summer and just had a blast and won quite a bit of money, “ Crain said. “Then he gets back in the hands of Cody and Dakota and is competitive as ever at the World Show. Arete is such a solid horse—good-minded but also has the athleticism to do the job in each discipline. With Arete, you’ve got it all.”