When On Tour won the RMRHA Summer Slide Open Futurity on July 11, 2026, with a score of 226, it was proof of Luca Fappani’s belief in his physical ability, unshakeable mindset and royal bloodlines.
The win put the first $7,148 on the record for the stallion, who’s bred and owned by Nieberger Performance Horses LLC, Fappani’s in-laws.
“He’s the most broke I’ve ever had a 3-year-old at this point, just because he’s so talented and good-minded at the same time,” Fappani said. “That it makes it really easy. There’s no reason this horse isn’t the best horse that I’ve been around.”
With how far reining breeding has come in the last few decades, it makes sense that every generation takes another step in the athletic-yet-trainable direction. Where things differ for Fappani, though, is how On Tour’s story has unfolded for both owners and trainer.
On Tour, called “Jay-Z,” is by Spooks Gotta Whiz and out of Trashy Dreams (Gunnatrashya). Trashy Dreams was known as “J-Lo,” and grew into Fappani’s first real open-level horse before passing unexpectedly from colic on March 1, 2025, at 7 years old.
Trashy Dreams: The Dark Horse
The Nieberger family bought Trashy Dreams as a young horse with a plan already in place: she would eventually become a non-pro mount for their daughter, Payton.
But as a futurity and eventually young derby prospect, illness seemed to follow Trashy Dreams. She was what a cattleman might call a “poor-doer,” taking longer than other horses to acclimate to being stalled and in regular work. According to Payton, they were never able to exactly determine what held her back.
Trashy Dreams was started at Casey Deary’s before going to Fernando Salgado’s for a stint. Salgado took her into the show pen a few times and she marked in the low 70’s—not a reflection of Salgado, just a horse that hadn’t bloomed—yet.
At the same time, Fappani had turned in his non pro card and started working for Deary. He’d also been dating Payton, his eventual wife.
“The conversation came up; ‘With Luca dating Payton and riding at Casey’s, do you think that we should try [Trashy Dreams] with Luca?” Fappani recalled. “Fernando was super supportive and said, ‘Absolutely.’”
The mare that had marked 70s as a 5-year-old was a different animal in another year.
“That mare exceeded any other horse that I’ve shown as far as mentality in the pen,” Fappani said. “She turned 1+ both ways. She circled unbelievabley because of that mentality. She didn’t heat up at all when she showed. I didn’t have to put that extra work into her to get her to show right.”
As the partnership between Trashy Dreams and Fappani developed, so did the scores. As a 6-year-old, She marked a 215 in her first real start at the 2024 Cactus Classic, a 224.5 a month later at the NRBC.
By the end of 2024, the pair posted a 228.5-point run at the 100x Derby in Tulsa, pushing her lifetime earnings to $76,480, according to QData.
“That run was just so spectacular to me because she ran as fast as I’ve probably run a horse in the finals and she remained so quiet and calm,” Fappani said. “There was room [to improve, too]. There are not hardly any mares out there that can mark above a 230 on their best day. The fact that if I would’ve shown her perfectly, she would’ve marked above a 230 just showed me how much horse she was.”
But in March 2025, an overnight colic took her life.
“We just lost our best brood mare,” Payton said. “You can’t find a mare that’s marking a 228. If you do, they’re not for sale.”
Trashy Dreams’ legacy lives on in her six foals:
- On Tour, 2023, S, by Spooks Gotta Whiz
- 2024, S, by All Bets Are Off
- 2024, S, by Americasnexttopgun
- 2025, M, by All Bets Are Off
- 2025, S, by Spooks Gotta Whiz
- 2026, S, by Patriot
On Tour: From a Feely Bronc to a Superstar
On Tour was born early in the pasture, and aside from a initial vet checkup, was left outside to grow up. When the Niebergers decided to move their opperation from Texas to Arizona in 2024, the then-yearling was still pretty feral.
“I couldn’t catch him with a halter just like normal,” Fappani said. “So I had to rope him, and I thought I could get him haltered before dark, but when I didn’t, I had to cut my rope the first time I touched him.”
The next day, Fappani said On Tour was haltered in a quarter of the time, pointing to the young horses’ intelligence.
Two weeks later, at four in the morning in sleet and mud, it was time to haul to Arizona. Fappani’s father-in-law Todd was leading On Tour across the pasture toward the trailer when something spooked the colt.
“Todd looked like he was behind a surf boat on water skis, just hanging onto this horse,” Fappani laughed. “That’s one of the most heroic moments I’ve seen in my life.”
Starting him under saddle was no easier. Fappani calls him the most difficult horse he’s ever started, not because he was mean, but because he didn’t trust anyone and it showed.
“You never knew if he was going to get on and be perfectly quiet or if something spooked him the wrong way, he might break in half,” Fappani said.
Aside from some riding by an assistant trainer, Fappani’s done all the riding himself.
“Now that I have his trust, he is just like his mom,” Fappani said. “He’s so sweet, quiet, takes care of anybody, never wants to run on his own. He’s mentally just like his mom. Getting through that start was just another thing that makes his story so memorable for me.”
Payton has listened to the journey firsthand, asking Fappani about his horses nearly every day.
“I don’t think I’ve heard Luca come home and say anything negative about that horse,” Payton said. “Luca telling me, ‘I’ve never felt a stop like this.’ He says the next day he works on something he completely understands. And he just reminds him so much of J-Lo.”
Building to the Win and What’s Next
Fappani had been eyeing the RMRHA Summer Slide for months, ready for the first opportunity to test On Tour’s mettle.
“He felt so ready to show, more ready to show than any three-year-old I’ve ever had,” Fappani said. “So if there’s a problem, we’ve got to find it now. If my hopes are going to be crushed, I want them crushed now instead of later.”
He didn’t ride On Tour the week because he was at the Woodside Slide in California. Instead, he hauled in Sunday night for the Wednesday prelims, a quick turnaround for a young horse.
In the first go, a small mistake in the opening turnaround and rollbacks still produced a 223.5. In the finals, Fappani cleaned those runs up and marked a 226, catching bad ground on the final stop and coming out of it.
“I don’t know many 3-year-olds in my life that I’ve watched that can go and mark a 226 going 3/4 speed and missing the last stop,” Fappani said. “That just tells you what a nice horse he is.”
Fappani was considering the Quarter Horse Congress futurity, but has decided to stay closet to home, planning for the High Roller Reining Classic next.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that he could handle [going to Congress], but skipping is more for my sanity,” Fappani said.
For Payton, watching Trashy Dreams’ legacy unfold with her husband in the saddle and parents as the owners of On Tour is full of tentative hope.
“[My parents] have been in the industry for a good amount of time, but they’ve had nice horses, they’ve never had a winner,” Payton said. “They’ve spent a lot of time, money, energy, care, love for horses, and I pray every day that this can be a horse that truly works out for them. It was a big letdown losing J-Lo. We were like, ‘Where do we go from here?’ [On Tour] is been a little bit of hope that her story isn’t over, and hopefully Luca could continue to carry it on.” Even if winning the futurity doesn’t happen, we know the horse, we know what he is, we know the talent and the mind that he has.”