The $7.8 million sire Gunners Special Nite—who himself earned $235,000 in the reining—is the first horse to sire both heading and heeling high-call horses in the Open division of the American Rope Horse Futurity Association World Championship.
The 4-year-old gelding One Nite Special and Joseph Harrison hold a 2.48-point over the second-place team of Canteburys Cherry and Hunter Koch—setting Harrison up to vie for his fourth ARHFA heeling championship. Meanwhile, on the head side, Trevor Brazile will rope for his long-eluded title on the Relentless Remuda’s RR Gunners Affair, also by Gunners Special Nite.
“To be honest, Miles (Baker) had good luck a couple times with Gunners Special Nites,” Harrison said of the stud owned by Turnabout Farm Inc.. “Steve Orth had a buckskin and had good luck. I had said something in an interview that maybe I hadn’t rode a Gunners Special Nite, and I wanted to.”
Arizona’s Chris “Gucci Man” Young heard the interview, and he called to tell Harrison about a 3-year-old bay he should try.
“He sent him to me, and here we are,” Harrison said. “He’s the first one I’ve ever rode. Miles told me they could be a hair immature minded. I noticed right away with mine, that he plays all the time. He’s playing when you catch him, he’s playing while you saddle him, he’s always playing. He’s playing when you school on him and ride him at the house. But when you get to town, he’s not playing.”
Brazile pointed to the skills of the small herd of Gunners Special Nite horses that have found their way into the Remuda string over the last few years, including Gunners Nite Train who Baker’s shown the last two years, and RR Gold Starr, who Baker showed for the first time this week.
“They naturally want to have their butts down and their shoulders up,” Brazile said. “That comes easy for them.”
Gunners Special Nite is the No. 8 all-time leading reining sire with $7.8 million, and he’s No. 50 on QData’s all-time leading rope horse sire list with $201,744.
Harrison will first go for the 4-&-Under Heeling title at 2 p.m., followed by the Open finals at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18.
“He’s had a touch of bad luck,” Harrison said of the horse who placed at the ARHFA Sun Circuit this March and second at the Royal Crown in Guthrie. “I should have won way more on him than I have. I’ve messed up on him from second or third high callback or better. He’s just a good horse. He’s big enough, he’s strong enough. All of Miles’ have been good bodied, strong. They’re all big, strong, pretty horses.”
Harrison has had the help of Clay Smith, while Brazile will count on Wesley Thorp.
