INCENTIVES: Riata Buckle, Ruby Buckle, Royal Crown Roping, NRCHA Stakes

Metallic Cattack—with his dynamic color, big stop and high-impact moves—started his career in the cutting pen under Wes Ashlock before entering the rope horse business in a big way.

The 2015 AQHA/APHA-registered red roan overo stallion sold at the NCHA sale as a 2-year-old but stayed in training with Ashlock and went on to earn $27,717 in the cutting before current owner Melanie Smith at Solo Select Horses bought “Tic-tac” and moved him to the roping. From there, he won an APHA World Title in the tie-down roping and placed third in the Junior Tie-Down Roping at the AQHA World Show.

“We loved the way he was bred, obviously,” Smith said. “The CD Olenas have been pretty versatile to cut, cow and rope on. We wanted to rope on him because he had such an eye appeal and he’s such a stopper. The color and the splash and all the chrome really helps, too.”

Ashlock thought the horse would have excelled in the cow horse, too, because of his speed down the fence, so Smith bought him into the elite Ruby Buckle barrel horse incentive fund, making his foals eligible for millions of dollars in pay-outs in those events alone.

“The biggest thing we want to let people know is that we’re a team with you guys on this if you breed to our stud,” Smith said. “You’re a partner with us from the time you breed on out. We want to pay him into the incentives so that you can get added value when you sell that colt or when you run for millions at all of these great events. We’re your partners in the business and we try to reinvest back into our breeders by promoting our horse so all of his babies have a lot of value.”