NRHA Horse, Rider and Owner Simultaneously Cross Significant Earnings Milestones

With the dust settling on the 2024 summer performance horse show season, riders, owners and horses alike are witnessing significant growth in their rankings and earnings. One top horse, rider and owner team has used this growth to each reach significant career milestones.

The world of performance horse events is experiencing a growth like never before, and reining is no exception. All year long, riders, owners and horses have drastically increased their lifetime earnings due to higher payouts and larger events than the industry has ever seen.

The end of the summer has seen a select group of industry leaders cross their next major finish lines – some worth millions of dollars.  

These specific accomplishments were partially propelled by The Run for a Million, a performance horse event held since 2019 each summer at the South Point Arena and Equestrian Center in Las Vegas that boasts the title of the richest event in the history of reining.

 In 2024, Jason Vanlandingham and Gunnabebigtime claimed the title of TRFAM Million Dollar Reining Competition champion, earning $500,000 towards each of their lifetime earnings. The win pushed Vanlandingham over the National Reining Horse Association $4 Million Riders mark and Gunnabebigtime’s sire, Gunnatrashya, over the $13 million in NRHA lifetime earnings mark as Tami Nelson, Gunnabebigtime’s owner and breeder, officially joined the ranks of NRHA Million Dollar Owners.

Jason Vanlandingham, $4 Million Rider

Vanlandingham is no secret to success in the show pen. In fact, his 2024 TRFAM win secured him a spot in history as the first back-to-back TRFAM reining champion, as he also claimed the title of champion in 2023. Earlier this year, Vanlandingham also finished in the top five of the L4 Open Derby at the 6666 NRHA Derby, held in Oklahoma City; he also finished in the top five in the L4 Open Futurity at last fall’s NRHA Futurity.

Gunnabebigtime

Gunnabebigtime (Gunnatrashya x Big Time Jazzy), a 2017 chestnut stallion, has a total of $862,903 in NRHA Lifetime Earnings and ranks as one of the top earning offspring of Gunnatrashya, the third ever NRHA $13 Million Sire. Gunnatrashya (2006) is owned by NRHA $3 Million Owner Arcese Quarter Horses.

Tami Nelson, NRHA’s Most Recent Million Dollar Owner

Nelson, much like the company she keeps, is far from a stranger to success in the show pen. She and her mare, Big Time Jazzy, claimed the L2 Non Pro Reserve Championship at the 2015 NRHA Futurity; Nelson alone has contributed $48,519 to the mare’s Lifetime Earnings. Nelson has been raising horses for over 20 years and has owned multiple NRHA high achievers, including Gunnabebigtime and Big Time Jazzy, as well as Plus Me Big Time (Shine Big Time x Skip The Hick O Lea) and Mr Masota Star (Wimpys Little Step x Cee Another Masota), each with well over $50,000 in LTE.