By Jennifer Paulson, Managing Editor

Next week, be sure to check-in at our Facebook page for a new monthly series with NRHA $3 Million Rider Andrea Fappani, sponsored by Cinch Jeans. We’ll follow Andrea and his roster of futurity prospects to see what they’re working on; how they’re coming along; and, ultimately, which mounts he ends up showing at the 2013 NRHA Open Futurity in December.

The first installment focuses on the priority Andrea places on getting a horse’s mind to focus on him during the early training process and how that makes the rest of the horse’s pre-futurity schooling go much more smoothly and builds the horse’s confidence for the pressure he’ll face in the show pen.

Born and raised in Italy, Andrea and his wife, Tish, and their two boys now live in Scottsdale, Arizona. Andrea’s won every major NRHA event–at least once–and Tish is also a big winner, earning the 2010 NRHA Non-Pro Futurity title.

From Andrea’s own Web site, here are 11 things to know about his training program. Learn more by clicking here.

1. I put a lot of emphasis maintaining a strong 2-year-old program
2. I like to ride my 2-year-olds a lot myself, so that I know what they are really like
3. I prefer to start my horses anywhere between January and April
4. I ride my 2-year-olds five times a week, and my 3-year-olds six times and turn them out once a week
5. 2-year-olds get sliders, but no front shoes as long as they are sound
6. I want solid groundwork so that they are safe and quiet; this takes more time in the beginning but saves time later
7. My program is very consistent in every aspect
8. Very important: Pressure and release
9. I want to keep in mind from the beginning that I will have to show with one hand
10. A horse has to perform the maneuvers on his own
11. A horse needs to know to respect you and know the difference between ?right and wrong