RF BACK FOR THE CASH
2025 Stud Fee: $2,000
Contracts available beginning September 1, 2024
Owned By: RF PERFORMANCE HORSES (Ryan & Fonda Melby)
Contact Info: (701) 210-0979 - fonda556@gmail.com
Standing at: MILESTONE EQUINE - Backus, MN
ELIGIBILITIES: Young Guns League, Royal Crown, Blue Collar Breeders, Diamond Classic, Future Fortunes, Select Stallion Stakes, Colorado Classic, MN Futurity, Grid Iron Futurity, Homegrown Classic
The highest earning son of RC Back In Black
LTE $120,000 +
PEDIGREE
JUDGE CASH
RF BACK FOR THE CASH
MARY MITO
NINETY NINE GOLDMINE
DASH FOR CASH
RC BACK IN BLACK
RABBIT REDUX
“Heatwave has all the pieces that make a great barrel horse. He is the fastest, most athletic horse I have ever ridden. He can stay focused before a run and when you ask for the gas pedal, he’s all there. It’s not just the runs and wins that make him special to me. We have a connection and bond. His colts are just getting started but they all have that sensitivity and desire for human connection like their daddy. After you have one of his babies in your life, you need another because not only do they have what it takes to be winners, but they also have a spirit within them that makes every day with them a blast! ”
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The American Contender Round CHAMPION
Multiple Arena Record Holder
Rafter 4M Arena Record Holder 2022-2024
MN Equestrian Center Arena Record Holder
MN Futurity CHAMPION - 2021
Grid Iron Futurity CHAMPION - 2021
Badlands Circuit Finalist
2022 & 2023
WPRA Rodeo CHAMPION
Killdeer, ND 2022
Belle Fourche, SD 2023
2024 Placings
Clearwater, MN PRCA - 4th
Rapid City, SD PRCA - 4th
Pink Buckle Young Guns League Derby - 1D 3rd in Round 2
SC Productions Horse Hair Analysis 5D - 1D CHAMPION
Let me tell you about RF Back For The Cash—our winter warrior and the legend behind his barn name, 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦.
Picture this: it’s winter in Minnesota, the wind is howling at 1000 miles per hour (give or take), and there’s RF Back For The Cash, without his winter blanket, yet again. Every single blanket we put on him? DESTROYED. While he happily stood out in the pasture, no winter coat, living his best life in the freezing tundra.
We even tried bringing him into the barn under the heater. What did he do? Broke a sweat like he was on a tropical vacation. The horse was literally 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥. So, the name stuck.
RF Back For The Cash, aka 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦: the horse who laughs in the face of winter and has no time for blankets.
Do you ever wonder about what happens 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 you see futurity horses at the big races?
Here’s the story about how Heatwave got his start—
Ryan started him as a long two-year-old that December, alongside two other colts. Out of the trio, Heatwave was by far the easiest to get going. He settled in, saddled up, and rode off like he’d been doing it forever. No drama, no fuss—just a natural.
Ryan wasted no time putting Heatwave to work in the roping pen, and by the time he was four, he was hauling to team roping jackpots. Barrels? Not really on the radar—at least not at first.
It wasn’t until the summer of his four-year-old year that we sent him to the barrel pen. And honestly? We weren’t sure if he’d be ready for the futurities as a long four- or five-year-old.
But then, something wild happened.
His very first jackpot run? He won it. By a full tenth. To make it even sweeter, a gal who had made the NFR was there, running both her good horses. That’s when we knew—Heatwave wasn’t just good. He was special.
And just in case we needed more proof, that winter, he barely tipped a barrel to miss breaking an arena record. Then, he turned around and snagged the Reserve Champion title at the Greg Olson Futurity in Buckeye.
From a laid-back, easygoing colt to a jackpot-winning, record-breaking, futurity-champion of a stallion—Heatwave was living up to his name.. and then some.
