Less than 18 months after signing his professional card, Luca Fappani has flown to the top of the ranks and is now an NRHA Million Dollar Rider.

Possessing a surname synonymous with reining excellence, Fappani grew up with a front row seat to the journeys of two reining greats. His mother, Tish, is consistently at the top of non pro competition at major events and is an NRHA Million Dollar Owner, and his father, Andrea, is an NRHA Hall of Fame Inductee and the association’s All Time Leading Rider with nearly $9 million in lifetime earnings (LTE). Their tutelage fostered a love of reining that grew within their son over the years.

“This accomplishment means a lot to me. It is what most every reining fan dreams of as they grow in the sport,” said Luca. “I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by the men in the [NRHA] Million Dollar Rider club, so to now join them in that is a huge accomplishment and symbolic moment for me. I am thankful that this success was in God’s plan for me, and I am beyond thankful for the great horses, owners, family, teammates, and mentors that got me here.”

Luca began his reining career in 2015 at the DRHA Summer Spectacular and earned his first paycheck the following year at the Wild Card Reining Challenge in the Youth 13 & Under class. From there, he continued to show in youth and non pro competition through 2021, earning top finishes in shows across North America.

His show career continued to flourish once Luca began his professional reining endeavor. He officially signed his NRHA Professional Card in 2023 and made the move to Texas to begin working under NRHA $4 Million Rider Casey Deary. Since then, he has garnered more than $600,000 in NRHA LTE.

Luca’s push over the million-dollar mark came during the Million Dollar Competition at the 2024 The Run For A Million. He and the Misty Valley Performance Horses LLC-bred stallion Mr Abracadabra (Gunnatrashya x Nu Magic Cash) ran in the pen as the 14th draw and came out with a 228.5, capturing the reserve championship. The duo earned $100,000 for owner Justine Leedom and etched Luca’s name in the NRHA history books with the outstanding performance.

Other top-earning finishes include:

• 2024 100X Cowtown Classic L4 Open 3rd place aboard Playing With Da Boys, earning $50,000 in NRHA LTE
• 2023 National Reining Breeders Classic L3 Open Champion aboard Dream On Whiz, earning $40,000 in NRHA LTE
• 2023 NRHA L2 Open Futurity Co-Champion/3rd place L3 Open/9th place L4 Open aboard Playing With Da Boys earning $99,052 in NRHA LTE
• 2023 6666 NRHA Derby presented by Markel L3 Open Derby Champion aboard Dream On Whiz earning $33,250 in NRHA LTE
• 100X Reining Classic L2 Open Stakes Champion aboard Gunna Chic Dream, earning $32,000 in NRHA LTE

Read the November issue of NRHA Reiner for more on Luca’s journey to becoming an NRHA Million Dollar Rider.

Success in the show pen at the 2024 The Run For A Million (TRFAM) created additional National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) million-dollar milestones to celebrate.

Jason Vanlandingham made history as the first rider to win TRFAM’s Million Dollar Competition in back-to-back years, earning a place on the prestigious list of NRHA $4 Million Riders exactly one year after crossing the $3 million mark at the same event. Vandlandingham is now the fifth NRHA Professional to reach this milestone.

He earned the 2024 Championship on Gunnabebigtime (Gunnatrashya x Big Time Jazzy), which also propelled the stallion’s sire to $13 million in NRHA Lifetime Earnings (LTE). NRHA Hall of Famer Gunnatrashya is now the third NRHA $13 Million Sire, achieving it within the same year as his previous million-dollar milestone. The 2006 stallion was bred by Katarina Dorminy and is owned by NRHA $3 Million Owner Arcese Quarter Horses USA.

Vanlandingham’s top wins pushing him over the NRHA $4 Million Dollar Rider mark:

• 2024 TRFAM Million Dollar Competition Champion earning $500,000 aboard Gunnabeabigtime, bred and owned by Tami Nelson
• 2024 6666 NRHA Derby presented by Markel Level (L) 4 Open 4th place, Tamarack Ranch Open 4-Year-Old Stakes Champion and Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Novice Open Derby Champions earning $61,584 aboard Plus Me Im Shiny, bred by Upstream Inc., nominated by Layla Choat, owned by 2Star Investments LLC
• 2023 NRHA L4 Open Futurity 5th place earning $72,252 aboard Slide Me Sum Shine, bred and nominated by Daniel Beale, owned by Michael Garnett
• 2023 Southwest Reining Horse Association L4 Open Futurity Champion earning $20,500 aboard Slide Me Sum Shine, bred and nominated by Daniel Beale, owned by Michael Garnett

Gunnatrashya’s top earning offspring include:

• Gunnabebigtime (out of Big Time Jazzy), bred, nominated, and owned by Tami Nelson, $862,903 NRHA LTE
• Gunna Stop (out of Stop Little Sister), bred and nominated by NRHA Corporate Partner Toyon Ranch LLC, owned by Amber Gokey, $672,762 NRHA LTE
• Andiamoe (out of Wimpys Little Chic), bred, nominated, and owned by Arcese Quarter Horses USA, $438,139 NRHA LTE
• Ten Thirty (out of Dainty Little Step), bred and nominated by Brooke Wharton, owned by Rancho El Fortin, $418,788 NRHA LTE
• Super Marioo (out of HA Chic A Tune), bred and nominated by Hillis Akin Family Partnership, owned by Tom and Mandy McCutcheon, $338,891 NRHA LTE

Reining is experiencing significant growth in both added money and participation, as evidenced by how quickly these two athletes have reached major milestones. The increasing prize pools and rising number of competitors are pushing the sport to new levels, allowing top riders to achieve career-defining earnings faster than ever before. This surge reflects the growing popularity and support for reining, creating more opportunities for athletes to excel and reach new heights in their careers.

Winning big in Las Vegas took on a new meaning for the National Reining Horse Association’s (NRHA) newest Million Dollar Owner, Tami Nelson.

When the dust settled at the 2024 The Run For A Million, Nelson’s stallion, Gunnabebigtime, and NRHA $4 Million Rider Jason Vanlandingham took home the championship worth $500,000. This propelled Vanlandingham past the $4 million milestone, Gunnnatrashya past the $13 million milestone, and ushered Nelson into the NRHA Million Dollar Owner ranks.

Gunnabebigtime is by NRHA Hall of Famer Gunnatrashya and out of Big Time Jazzy, a mare that Nelson owns. The 7-year-old stallion now has over $862,903 in NRHA LTE, including this year’s The Run For A Million Championship, the 2023 The Run For A Million $100K Shootout Reserve Championship, the 2023 NRHA Level (L) 4 Open Derby Reserve Championship, and the 2020 NRHA L4 Open Futurity Reserve Championship.

Nelson and Big Time Jazzy had their own success in the show pen, including the 2015 NRHA Futurity L2 Non Pro Reserve Championship and Top 5 in the L3 and L4. Out of the mare’s $51,617 in NRHA Lifetime Earnings (LTE), $48,519 came with Nelson at the reins.

“I feel like this has not even soaked in, really,” said Nelson. “We have been breeding horses for over 20 years, so we think they are all special. We raised Gunnabebigtime’s mother and her [Big Time Jazzy’s] mother. It has been an amazing line, and he is so special.”

Nelson’s dream after earning a Master of Science in Equine Reproduction was to work on a big breeding farm. She ended up in the Texas Panhandle, where she and her husband raised their family with no large horse breeding operations in sight.

“When I met my husband, I raised cutters, and he raised cattle,” she said. “We had friends who brought us to the NRHA Futurity for the Open finals, and I watched it and thought, ‘That looks easy!’ Everyone knows the feeling, and it is so much harder than they make it look. Once I started reining, I didn’t want to do anything else.”

After Nelson had success on her first non pro mare, the family decided to start raising horses instead of trying to purchase additional mounts.

“The horses are amazing athletes and give us so much. I just love them – they are the ones who get all the credit for this accomplishment.”

Significant performers owned by Nelson:

• Gunnabebigtime (Gunnatrashya x Big Time Jazzy), bred, owned, and nominated by Tami Nelson, $862,903 NRHA LTE
• Big Time Jazzy (Shine Big Time x Skippin Whiz), bred, owned, and nominated by Tami Nelson, $51,617 NRHA LTE
• Plus Me Big Time (Shine Big Time x Skip The Hick O Lea), owned and bred by Tami Nelson and Jan Fleet, $50,800 NRHA LTE
• Mr Masota Star (Wimpys Little Step x Cee Another Masota), bred and nominated by Carol and Geroge Bell, now owned by Andrea Weekley, $99,384 NRHA LTE
• Crackerjac Sailor (Cee Blair Sailor x Crome Plated Jackie), bred by David Connor, now owned by Wagman Ranch Inc., $13,027 NRHA LTE

The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) recognizes the youngest dam to reach the NRHA Million Dollar Dam milestone, Shesouttayourleague, who reached this accomplishment three years faster than any previous dam and with only five NRHA money earners.

Shesouttayourleague is a 12-year-old mare by NRHA $4 Million Sire Walla Walla Whiz and out of NRHA Hall of Famer Wimpys Little Chic. She was bred and nominated by NRHA’s only $3 Million Owner, Arcese Quarter Horses USA. The Arceses also bred and owned Wimpys Little Chic, who passed earlier this year, and called her “Lexi.” Shesouttayourleague was lovingly called “Little Lexi” by their family.

Her illustrious show career made her original mark on NRHA history with $252,470 in NRHA Lifetime Earnings (LTE). Shesouttayourleague earned both the 2015 NRHA Level (L) 4 Open Futurity Championship and the 2017 NRHA L4 Open Derby Championship with NRHA $4 Million Rider Casey Deary at the reins.

Her owner, DAG Ventures LLC, also owns her top-earning offspring, Down Right Amazing (by Gunner). After finishing third in the L4 Open Finals at the 6666 NRHA Derby presented by Markel, the stallion became NRHA’s No. 1 leading horse of all time with more than $949,000 NRHA LTE, including 2024 The Run for a Million earnings.

“This has not been a planned journey, and all of my greatest gifts were those I didn’t dare to dream,” said Debbie Good of DAG Ventures LLC. “She was part of that. Part of it is having the opportunity to say yes when an opportunity crosses your path. Both Shesouttayourleague and Down Right Amazing were those opportunities, and I am lucky Rob [Curtis, former owner of both horses] gave me that opportunity.”

“Amazing” boasts a third-place finish in the NRHA L4 Open Futurity, two L4 Open wins at the National Reining Breeders Classic, an Open Shootout Championship at The Run For A Million, and back-to-back wins at The American Performance Horseman.

“It was really important to me to keep him and keep her,” said Good of Down Right Amazing and Shesouttayourleague. “She has more foals to come—four beautiful foals this year—and is still producing.

“They are a family of champions and heart,” said Good.

Shesouttayourleague’s Top Earning Offspring:

• Down Right Amazing (by Gunner), bred and nominated by Curtis Performance Horses LLC, owned by DAG Ventures LLC, $874,134 NRHA LTE
• Need I Say Mor (by Gunnatrashya), bred by Curtis Performance Horses LLC, nominated by Brooke Wharton, owned by Ixtul Quarter Horses LLC, $87,451 NRHA LTE
• All Eyes Adore Her (by Gunnatrashya), bred, nominated and owned by Arcese Quarter Horses USA, $22,311 NRHA LTE
• Shesnaleagueofherown (by Inferno Sixty Six), bred and nominated by Curtis Performance Horses LLC, owned by Jen Pamer, $11,328 NRHA LTE
• Hesouttayourleague (by Gunnatrashya), bred and nominated by Curtis Performance Horses LLC, owned by DAG Ventures LLC, $5,003 NRHA LTE

Read more about Shesouttayourleague’s journey to a million in the October issue of the NRHA Reiner magazine.