More Buckles On the Horizon

Known for his dark palomino color and stunning long white mane, Reliance Ranches’ reining-bred stallion Show Me The Buckles had progeny in 2025 prove him even further as a top roping sire.

His 6-year-old son RR Buckles Clubhouse raked in $110,458 last year under Trevor Brazile—culminating with a win at the Gold Buckle Futurity in November—to bring his total futurity earnings to $254,801. Plus, the sorrel colt RR ILikeBigBuckles earned $49,206 heading steers as a 4-year-old. Another 4-year-old, Chics Golden Buckle, earned $43,214 last season under Jade Corkill. And, in 2024, the buckskin A Big Vintage Buckle, “Blade,” wrapped his futurity career with $49,322—including the win in Intermediate Heeling at the 2022 ARHFA World Championships.

Of course, the first baby by “Buckles” to turn heads was Tuckin Away Buckles, “Dagger,” Brazile’s buckskin that raked in $103,827 starting at the 2021 roping futurities. That was when Relentless Remuda still owned Buckles, which they’d purchased from Rebeca Martin of California. Brazile and Miles Baker were looking to make horses that “will listen to you in the heat of the battle.” They hit pay dirt with this bloodline, and retained some breedings after selling Buckles to Reliance Ranches in 2022.

The flashy stud standing at the Lazy E Ranch throws a lot of buckskin and palomino color, with enough speed and size that most of his get have become head horses. Buckles himself is a talented reiner, having earned $162,400 on the pattern, including splitting second at the 2011 NRHA Futurity. But it wasn’t his ability to spin that caught the eye of team ropers. They found that reiners have “a different kind of cow” than what trainers were seeing out of cutters.

Whereas cutting-bred horses potentially over-react when they get near a cow, the Relentless crew wanted quick-footed colts that would just go to the cow. Buckles’ offspring are trainable and cowy, plus sturdy enough to rope both ends and level-headed in the box. In fact, Buckles babies have earned more than a half-million dollars from the roping boxes.

The stallion is by $12-million reining sire Wimpys Little Step out of Sunset Whiz (she’s by Topsail Whiz out of a Doc Olena granddaughter). Wimpys Little Step is a grandson of Nu Cash, the only Snaffle Bit Futurity champion to sire three more Futurity champs. Just for the record, Joseph Harrison heeled on another grandson of Nu Cash—the quick-footed, athletic and cowy Heel Horse of the 2025 BFI—to the tune of $345,453 in earnings by the time the horse was 6.

Too, Buckles has crossed well on a variety of mares. Dagger and Blade were both out of the same foundation-bred granddaughter of Hollywood Dun It. “Clubhouse” is out of a Shining Spark granddaughter, while ILikeBigBuckles is out of a Gray’s Starlight granddaughter.

One of the greatest gifts from the reining world to team ropers, the Buckles line is only getting more press. Fans are in for a treat if they get a glimpse of the 2027 futurities, because Baker and Brazile are in the middle of starting ten—yes, 10—colts they bred by Show Me The Buckles that are coming 3 this spring.

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