Spooky Whiz

Andrea Fappani – Getting the Most From Your Horse

/ Megan / Leave a comment

(From the January 2017 Reiner Magazine)

Andrea Fappani Spooky WhizThe surprise wasn’t really that Andrea Fappani had won the Lucas Oil NRHA Level 4 Open Futurity, but the surprise was what horse he won it on, and how he did it.

Spooky Whiz joined the Fappani training barn at the end of his 2-year-old year after Fappani purchased him through agent Eduardo Salgado for Rancho Oso Rio, an NRHA Million Dollar Owner. While the dark bay gelding was a bit on the small size, Fappnie could tell, even at an early age, that he had exactly the mind he was looking for.

“What I liked was his mind,” recalls Fappani. “As a 2 year old he was very mature, and you could tell he took different things that he wasn’t used to and handled them well. That’s what I’m looking for when I train young horses.”

WorldChamp07-Open

Learn more about how Fappani got the most out of Spooky Whiz, and why he chose to break tradition and ride in romal reins: Trainer Talk: Getting the Most From Your Horse

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Getting the Most from Your Horse

/ Megan / Leave a comment

I just returned from a trip to Oklahoma City for the 2017 NRHA Derby, the aged event that celebrates 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old reining horses. It’s always fun to see the horses that competed in the prior year’s Futurity, as well as returning Futurity champions all in one building. I’ll post some photos from my trip later, but first, I thought it’d be good to learn how to get the most from your horse in the reining pen from the 2016 NRHA Futurity Champion (and NRHA Four Million Dollar Rider) Andrea Fappani and the NRHA Reiner.

The surprise wasn’t really that Fappani had won the Lucas Oil NRHA Level 4 Open Futurity, but the surprise was what horse he won it on, and how he did it.

Spooky Whiz joined the Fappani training barn at the end of his 2 year old year after Fappani purchased him through agent Eduardo Salgado for Rancho Oso Rio, an NRHA Million Dollar Owner. While the dark bay gelding was a bit on the small size, Fappani could tell, even at an early age, that he had exactly the mind he was looking for.

Andrea-romal

Read more on the PDF:

Trainer Talk: Getting the Most from Your Horse with Andrea Fappani

Scenes from the 2016 NRHA Futurity

/ Megan / Leave a comment

Once again I had the opportunity to attend the National Reining Horse Association‘s marquee event: The NRHA Futurity & Adequan North American Affiliate Championships.

I was doing coverage of the NAAC for the NRHA Reiner, and, as always, the experiences did not disappoint.

Sometimes the Futurity isn't just about the horses. This 5-month-old Kangaroo joey is named Rosie Roo, and she was attending her first Futurity with her owner.

Sometimes the Futurity isn’t just about the horses. This 5-month-old Kangaroo joey is named Rosie Roo, and she was attending her first Futurity with her owner.

That moment when you hear, "THE SCORE...." during the Open Finals. Andrea Fappani won the Level 4 on Spooky Whiz with a 225.5.

That moment when you hear, “THE SCORE….” during the Open Finals. Andrea Fappani won the Level 4 on Spooky Whiz with a 225.5.

Just doing some daydreaming of my next reining horse....

Just doing some daydreaming of my next reining horse….

Casualties of the dirt

Casualties of the dirt

The final breath... The final "whoa".... The final slide... The Finals

The final breath…
The final “whoa”….
The final slide…
The Finals