OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Just 18 months removed from achieving Two Million Dollar Rider status, Andrea Fappani cemented the next step of his legacy by becoming the latest National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Three Million Dollar Rider. Fappani hit the $3 million dollar milestone while at the 2012 NRHA Derby, where he rode Tinker With Guns, owned by Rancho Oso Rio LLC, to the NRHA Derby Level 4 Open Reserve Co-Championship.

Helping to seal his fate at the NRHA Derby was a fourth-place finish in the Level 4 Open division on Lil Joe Cash (owner Russell Giles) and top 10 finishes in the Level 4 Open division on Smoking Whiz (owner Silver Spurs Equine). Fappani also won the Level 4 Open 7 & Up division, riding Dreamy Little Sailor (owner Morris Kulmer). A total Derby paycheck of nearly $75,000 pushed Fappani’s current NRHA lifetime earnings to nearly $3,022,000.

A strong showing at the 2012 National Reining Breeder’s Classic (NRBC) also helped him reach his milestone as the Level 4 Open Reserve Champion on Tinker With Guns, along with and top 12 finishes in the Level 4 Open division on Lil Joe Cash and Smoking Whiz.

At the 1997 MECWF & WCEF Spectacular Reining Futurity in Rancho Murieta, Fappani earned his first aged-event paycheck, riding his own horse, Best By Tari. In 2006, Fappani landed in the NRHA record books as the first European rider to become an NRHA Million Dollar Rider.

Fappani, formerly based in San Marcos before relocating to Scottsdale, Ariz., is a perennial finalist at the NRHA Futurity, NRHA Derby, NRBC and other NRHA major competitions. He earned the 1997 NRHA Futurity Limited Non Pro championship, claimed the 2000 NRHA Futurity Intermediate Open championship, became the only European rider to win the NRHA Futurity’s Open division in 2001 and won the 2007 NRBC Level 4 Open division. From 2009 to 2011, Fappani has taken the NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open championship along with other big wins, such as the 2011 NRHA Derby Level 4 Open championship and 2012 NRBC Level 4 Open Reserve Champion title.

This NRHA Top 20 Professional resides in Scottsdale, Ariz., with his wife Tish and two sons Luca and Jeremy. Fappani manages the training, breeding, and showing program for Pat and Jim Warren at Rancho Oso Rio, LLC.