Usually home to rockstars, performers, and rodeo legends, Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, transformed on Saturday, July 19, 2025, into the ultimate battleground for Western performance horse excellence. Twenty-four of the top reining, cutting, and cow horses took center stage, each aiming to earn their share of the thrilling $1 million prize pool. 

The 2025 American Performance Horseman event brought together elite athletes and their horses, showcasing the very best under the big lights. Legends like Austin Shepard, Boyd Rice, and Andrea Fappani squared off against dynamic duos such as the Chris and Sarah Dawson, cutting sensation Adan Banuelos, and legendary team Casey Deary and Down Right Amazing, who were aiming to win their third consecutive American Performance Horseman title. 

The atmosphere was electric as the sport’s biggest names competed in a night to remember. 

Team Results: 

In the team format an athlete from every association (NRHA, NCHA, and NRCHA) are partnered together to combine their scores for a chance at team glory. The highest scoring trio not only claim the championship title but also earns a generous $33,333 bonus for each member. 

This year, Team Purple, featuring cutter Austin Shepard, reiner Trevor Dare, and reined cow horse rider Veronica Swales, emerged victorious, each earning their first-ever TAPH championship ring. Their combined performance set them apart in a fiercely competitive field. 

See the Breakdown of Prize Money and Final Results

The Legend and the Queen: Austin Shepard and Kittenish 

Austin Shepard and his exceptional mare, Kittenish, are no strangers to the TAPH pen, but this year marked their first time stepping onto the podium. The 2016 mare, sired by Kit Kat Sugar out of Sweet Lil Gal, added this championship to her already impressive resume, which includes the 2024 Run for a Million Cutting Horse Challenge Championship and the 2023 NCHA Horse of the Year title. 

“She’s incredible,” Shepard said of Kittenish. “I’ve had her since she was a late 2-year-old, and she’s truly a once-in-a-lifetime horse. I’ll probably spend the rest of my career trying to recreate her.” 

All eyes were on the pair as they entered the pen, confidently working through the cattle. Shepard shared his strategy: “I just wanted to get cows cut clean and give her an opportunity. When I saw a chance to go for a big score, I took some risks.” 

Their bold approach paid off. Shepard and Kittenish finished second in the cutting with an impressive score of 227.5, boosting Kittenish’s career earnings to over $800,000. 

The 2018 stallion, typically seen with Cade McCutcheon aboard, has long caught Dare’s attention. When the opportunity came to ride Varsity Blu, owned by Clark Reining Horses, Dare didn’t hesitate. 

“I’ve watched the horse over the years and always told Cade, ‘I really like that horse,’” Dare shared. 

Though still getting to know one another, the new team stepped into Dickies Arena with a focused plan. They delivered a strong performance, scoring a 222 and earning third place in the reining. 

“We always show to win, but I told myself to be smart,” he explained his plan. “The horse has been very honest over the years—a really good show horse. So, I kept telling myself, the horse is going to do his job, I have to do my job.” 

Girl Power for the Gold With Spanish Nights and Veronica Swales 

The boys on her team may have set the pace early in the evening, but when Veronica Swales and Spanish Nights stepped into the arena to close out the cow horse portion of the night, all eyes were on them. 

“She’s a very intense cow horse, and I know when a cow comes out, she’s going to take a hold of it. So it was basically just try to stay out of her way and not mess it up,” Swales said. 

The 2019 mare, sired by Metallic Rebel and out of Lil Bit Reckless, has been a standout for Swales. The pair has already claimed major wins, including the 2024 NRCHA Stallion Stakes Open Derby Championship. 

“Right from the beginning, she just felt very special,” Swales said. “Every time I take her out, no matter what I ask, she’s just like, ‘yep, I got you.’” 

That connection showed in the arena. They scored a 218 in the rein work and followed it with a 220 down the fence, earning a 438 composite — good enough for second in the cow horse and a major contribution to Team Purple’s overall victory. 

Individual Results: 

The top eight athletes from the NRHA, NCHA, and NRCHA went head-to-head at The American Performance Horseman, chasing not only team glory but also individual honors. Just qualifying for TAPH is a major accomplishment — winning an individual title against the best in the sport is on another level. Each of these elite competitors added $100,000 to their lifetime earnings and left the arena as champions. 

Three Peat Victory 

All eyes were on NRHA Five Million Dollar Rider Casey Deary and Down Right Amazing as they entered The American Performance Horseman with two major goals: win their third reining championship and make ‘Amazing’ the first reining horse to earn $1 million in lifetime earnings. In front of a packed Dickies Arena, they accomplished both. 

As the second draw of the evening, the pressure was on, but with a commanding score of 229, the duo set a standard no one else could touch. 

“That horse has always been golden-minded,” Deary said. “He’s a soldier and he’s always been that way. He’s never been the horse that came out and spooked or shied at stuff.” 

The 2017 stallion and his lifelong trainer left the arena to thunderous applause, marking a milestone moment in reining history. 

Debbie Good of DAV Ventures, LLC, has owned Down Right Amazing since he was just three days old and has watched his journey unfold alongside Deary. 

“I was holding my breath with every maneuver,” Good said. “He was doing it so perfectly, but you also know anything can happen out there. Still, he came in there and laid it down like he always does.” 

Really Nice Work Babe 

“If I were to describe what I wanted in a cutting horse, it’s her.”  — James Payne

James Payne’s words rang true as he exited the TAPH cutting pen with Nice Work Babe — and a score of 229. The 2019 mare impressed both Payne and the crowd at Dickies Arena with her precision and presence in the herd. 

“I felt really good,” Payne said. “The run built as we went, and the mare was spot on. I was excited and happy with the score.” 

While Payne, a NCHA Six Million Dollar Rider, is no stranger to success at TAPH, it was Nice Work Babe who stole the spotlight in her debut. Sired by WR This Cats Smart and out of Just U Babe, the talented mare added a major victory to her résumé, pushing her lifetime earnings past $500,000. 

“I made the maturity finals on her and had a really strong 4-year-old year,” Payne recalled. “Her five-year-old season was solid, but this year, she’s just reached a whole new level.” 

Looking ahead, Payne is hopeful that Nice Work Babe’s excellence will carry into the next generation through her future foals. 

The pair ranked second after the rein work, but a standout performance down the fence secured them the top spot with a composite score of 444. 

“I’m just trying to be the best horseman and the best showman,” Rice said. “It takes a lot of hard work, a lot of hours doing it… it just all worked out for me.”

Already a legend in the cutting world with over $4 million in NCHA earnings and a place in the NCHA Hall of Fame, Rice was inducted into the NRCHA Hall of Fame in 2025. This latest TAPH Champion title joins an impressive list of honors, including Snaffle Bit Futurity Champion and World’s Greatest Horseman. 

“There’s so much that goes into it, and tonight, for some reason, I got the perfect cow and worked it good,” Rice said in a post-event interview. 

— H&R —