Along For The Ride with Andrea Fappani

Episode 53 of Along for the Ride features KOLE PRICE: 2026 RUN FOR A MILLION CHAMPION, with special guest Taylor Sheridan. There are runs you win, and then there are runs that change the standard. I sat down with Kole to talk about his incredible 237.5 on GOLDEN COINS, what went into that run, and the road that took him from leaving home at 16 to becoming one of the top trainers in our industry. Kole has built his career the hard way...working for great horsemen, putting in the years, building Price Performance Horses with Kelsey, and proving himself at the highest level. Today, he has more than $2.6 million in NRHA earnings and is a two-time Run For A Million Champion. And this one was pretty personal for me. That 237.5 broke the record I had held for 19 years. Records are made to be broken, and watching Kole put together that kind of run on that stage was something special. Taylor Sheridan also joins us to talk about the 2026 Run For A Million, what this event has become, and where he sees our sport going from here. Great horses. Great competition. And a conversation between people who understand exactly what it takes to keep raising the bar. Sponsors Bimeda - Gastrobim. bimeda.com National Horse Blankets. nationalhorseblankets.com

Bud Lyon has emerged as a prominent name In the world of ranch riding over the past six years. This talented trainer from Whitesboro, Texas, has amassed an impressive array of world champion titles across several prestigious organizations, including the American Paint Horse Association (APHA), the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), and the National Snaffle Bit Association (NSBA). Among the many exceptional equine athletes in his barn, one standout has played a pivotal role in elevating Lyon's career: Sumac Gunnabeflashy, affectionately known as "Romeo," who was honored as the NSBA's 2023 Horse of the Year. Join us as we delve into Bud Lyon's remarkable journey, his training philosophy, and the bond he shares with his incredible horses. www.alongfortheride.pro Thank you everyone who made the 2025 AFTR Symposium possiple Presenting Sponsor: Bosque Ranch Supporting Sponsor: Bimeda Carol Rose/Carol Rose Tim Anderson. Rick Clark Foals R Us Profit Equine Tom Balding Classic Equine Markel Nutrena Eric Storey Q Stallions Cinch Clinton Anderson/Downunder Horsemanship NRCHA Platinum Performance World Reining/XCS Ranch Tenda Horse Products/FarmPaint Elite Equipment National Horse Blanket Shorty's Caboy Hattery Jimmy Nichols Diane Yoder Spooks Gotta Spark Spooks Gotta Whiz Arcese Quarter Horses Pacific Coast Journal World Ranch Horse Association Steve Ross Academy

Adán Banuelos embodies a true cowboy and leader in the performance horse industry with $6,820,458.00 LTE NCHA. Growing up in a large Mexican-American family, he was instilled with the values of family, hard work, and horsemanship. His father, Ascension, an NCHA Hall of Fame Rider, and his mother are the foundation of his successful career as the leading NCHA Open rider in 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Adán emphasizes the significance of family and the teamwork required to thrive as a leading horse trainer in the NCHA. He also expresses his aspiration to restructure his business to enhance his quality of life and to spend time with family, friends, clients, and his girlfriend, Bella Hadid. 12:34:00 Adan's mom; "All right. So I know a little bit about your family, but we need to give our listeners just a little background. You already started and this is great." 15:51:00 Adan's dads story coming to the USA; "All right. So I know a little bit about your family, but we need to give our listeners just a little background. You already started and this is great." 22:45:00 Adan's mentors and his beginning as an Open Rider;"So you've always been around, just your family. You've never, you've never gone anywhere, even when you're younger to ride with other people. mainly it was, it was your dad and uncles that you work for and you learned most of it." 1:00:31 Andrea asks Adan about; ""The one thing that you're saying that you're modifying the program just a little bit to make it, are you talking about just less numbers to where it's just a little bit more manageable or is that what you're saying in the next couple of years maybe?" 1:10:14 Andrea & Adan discuss the "Horse Market": "Let's talk about that for just a second because that's one thing that I noticed in the cutting. I mean, everybody knows that cutting horses, the good cutting horses are definitely way more expensive than any reiners, any cow horses or any other really quarter horses, I would say other than probably race horses. But is it getting even more now?" 1:16:06 Andrea asks Adan about partnerships, percentages of breedings; "And tell me something about your business. Do you get involved with a lot of the, do you partner up with people so that you have part of the skin in the game as far as some of the horses that you ride, or do you have different deals to where maybe you get a percentage of the breedings if you sell the stud later because you're involved. Like on the business side of it, do you mainly just make your money on the winnings and the training or are you pretty involved with some of your customers and your horses?" 1:22:55 Bella Hadid: "So you have to tell us a little bit because the people want to know how things going with Bella and how long you've been dating and sounds like everything's going great, right?"

Big Money Horse Shows! Nick Dowers and Andrea discuss the changes in the horse show industry with high dollar purses and additional show dates. An open discussion on the possible changes required to pursue the Big Money Shows, training, care, strategies, logistics and communication with the owners. Andrea and Nick review Andrea's first trip to the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity including training ideas and how Cow Horse and Reiners differ as athletes. 100X Shows sponsored the podcast, Andrea Stillo came on to explain their 2024 events.

Sarah Dawson NRCHA Million Dollar Rider, 2022 Leading NRCHA professional with $376,819. 2020 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Open Champion. Sarah's husband Chris is also a NRCHA Million Dollar Rider making Dawson Performance Horses a real powerhouse in the cow horse industry. Sarah is the daughter of Richard & Cheryl Winters, Richard is a well known clinician and horseman.

Wes Ashlock from Abilene, TX. NCHA 2YO trainer with numerous NCHA Western Bloodstock high selling 2 year old prospects. 2022 High seller Hot Twice selling for a record $1,500,000.00 Wes has a NCHA LTE in excess of $500,000. His wife Lindy is also a very talented Non Pro with 2 Futurity finalist in 2023 and over $2M LTE with NCHA

Tim McQuay, NRHA Hall Of Fame, 11 years as NRHA's All-Time Leading Money Earner, First $3 Million Dollar Rider in the NRHA, along with playing a fundamental role in the Reining breeding industry He has devoted his time to educating numerous professionals and serving on committees in the NRHA as a judge, professional, owner & rider. Tim has developed a reputation as an innovative clinician and works closely with aspiring professionals and amateurs to foster the next generation of horsemen.

Shawn Flarida & Andrea Fappani talk about the finer points of Horsemanship. With 14+ Million in NRHA earnings between the two of them this conversation gets into how these two riders communicate/understand their horses at the highest level of performance. Enjoy this unique conversation about the importance of horsemanship and how the very best learn and train their horses. This topic will get into greater detail with demonstration at the Teton Ridge "Along For The Ride™" Symposium in Las Vegas Feb. 25, 26 & 27. More info at www.alongfortheride.pro

Billie Bray - Chief Marketing Officer and co-owner of the well know equine company Equibrand from Granbury TX. Equibrand represents Classic Equine, Classic Ropes, Rattler Ropes and Martin Saddlery. Bray is well-positioned to grow the Western industry while simultaneously Billie hopes to have an influence on other families to support the cowboy way of life. "I hope I have encouraged parents to raise their kids to be cowboys or cowgirls, to be leaders and not followers Cinch cinchjeans.com. Discount Code 20% off. FAPPANI20

Taylor is a screenwriter, director, actor, 5 time nominee for Academy Award, co-creator of Yellowstone and creator/producer of Run For A Million, as well as extremely passionate about horses. Taylor sits down to update us on developments on his many Film/TV projects (Yellowstone & Last Cowboy) and plans for the up and coming RFTM in August. Gina Maria does a quick interview as the only Non Pro & female qualifying for 2021 RFAM.

Take a listen as Andrea and Steve Ross (NRHA Judge, NRHA Professional, Horse Broker, Event/TV Commentator) review and discuss the NRHA Reining events slated for summer and fall 2021, the influx of larger purses and the major events. The conversation gets into the "trickle down effect" and how and why it has increased the value and scarcity of quality show horses. With an expanding event schedule they discuss the logistics and strategy in training and preparing for all these big events from the East Coast to West Coast of USA.

Jason Martin & Charlie Cole own Highpoint Performance Horses in Pilot Point, Texas. Highpoint Performance Horses specializes in training all around horses. They trail and compete in many events from western pleasure and trail to jumping and even barrel racing. At High Point they keep approximately 45 - 50 horses in training and travel between Florida and California, showing at the major shows each year. They have trained over 100 World AQHA Champions and 200 Congress Champions. Charlie Cole has been involved with horses for over 35 years and has trained more than 50 AQHA world champions. Jason Martin has won 34 AQHA World Championships. Jason has won the leading exhibitor at the AQHA World Show 5 times. Sponsors Cinch 20% off at www.cinchjeans.comhttp://cinchjeans.com> code FAPPANI20 QStallions at www.stallions.comhttp://stallions.com> Travis Stillson Custom Leather & Silver FaceBook Travis Stillson 940-641-0495 Walla Walla Whiz www.arcesequarterhorses.comhttp://www.arcesequarterhorses.com>

Troy Heikes– NRHA Professional Trainer/Coach - Troy's journey of becoming a well respected horse trainer and proud owner of the 4M AQHA Stallion "Jacs Electric Spark" is quite complex. His openness and discovery regarding his own personal challenges which included a rather abnormal introduction to becoming a trainer, to battles with mental health, and lack of confidence became a roadway to many successes. Troy's first hand experiences are brutally honest with the intention of helping others to find their way through treatment to living a happy and full life. Accomplishments include being an Open Finalist of NRHA Futurity, Derby, NRBC, AQHA and Congress Futurity as well as an APHA World Championship title.