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Chris Talley and Fast Forward. Photo by Sally Spickard.
The eventing world knows the name Windfall well. The Trakehner stallion owned by award-winning breeders Tim and Cheryl Holekamp became one of the most prominent eventing stallions, known for his record dressage tests, accurate show jumping rounds, and clean cross country runs at some of the biggest events in the world, including the 2004 Olympic Games. Additionally, Windfall has sired numerous notable eventers, including Tsetserleg, Boyd Martin’s Olympic mount, and Vandiver, Doug Payne’s Tokyo Olympic mount.
Now, Windfall’s legacy of greatness extends to the next generation of eventers, one such being Fast Forward, Chris Talley’s up and coming young horse. Owned by Patricia Luttgen “Rascal”, a 7-year-old gelding (Windfall – First Flight Romance), has made quite an impression in his young career. Starting his eventing career in 2022 with Diego Farje and Boyd Martin, he was produced to Training level before Chris Talley was paired up with the horse.
Chris Talley and Fast Forward. Photo by Sally Spickard.
“I was at [the USEA] Convention last year, and happened to be at a table with Tim Holekamp. We started chatting about horses, and he had a friend, Patricia Luttgen, who was a part owner of Rascal,” Chris stated.
“Rascal had an amazing start to his career with Diego and Boyd, but he was a bit small – only 15.3 as a three-year-old. Although there were high hopes for him, being half brothers to Tsetserleg, there were some questions with his size. He was listed for sale at one point.”
Chris, who’s had experience with small upper level horses, including his 14.3 superstar Tucan Tango and his 5* horse Unmarked Bills, was curious and interested to see what Rascal had in him.
“He’s come on even more than expected!” Chris exclaimed. “He’s great to work with,” Chris said. “He’s trainable at home… just easy. He doesn’t have a bad day. He’s respectful, but likes the attention, and really puffs up at shows. We call him The Little King, which suits him!”
His personality helps him shine with Chris. Although this is just their first season together, Chris and Rascal have finished in at least top five in the majority of their competitions, with six wins under their belt so far. Notably, they finished in fourth it the CCI2*L at VHC Eventing in May.Their impressive year so far has landed Rascal at the top of the USEA Preliminary Horse Leaderboard, and most recently the pair was crowned Preliminary Horse champions at the USEA American Eventing Championships this weekend.
Chris has been excited about how Rascal has been feeling throughout the season. With Rascal going so well, Chris decided to aim for the Area 3 Championships at Bouckaert Farm earlier this summer. “We knew [Bouckaert] was going to be the best of the best in the area, and put him in there just to see how he did. The Championship course would be a bit harder, which was perfect with a planned Intermediate move up soon,” Chris stated.
Chris Talley and Fast Forward. Photo by Sally Spickard.
“He just shined all weekend,” Chris reflected. “He ate up the cross country: this was the first time he was quite confident, taking things so out of stride. Going into show jumping, they did reverse order, which left me quite nervous! I wanted the win for the owner. But when I’m nervous, Rascal grows and shines through with the cockiness he often brings to events,” Chris laughed.
The Area 3 win rocketed Rascal up in the Preliminary standings. The duo continued their exceptional record at the level with their win in the Preliminary at the AECs, and additionally made their first attempt at the Intermediate/Preliminary level at Ocala earlier this month, finishing third after two clear jump efforts.
Chris Talley and Fast Forward. Photo by Sally Spickard.
“We might do an Intermediate or 3*S this fall. But he’s quite careful, and being so little, we don’t want to overface him. I think he’s going to be a world class horse, so I don’t want to rush anything. We’ll let him decide that,” Chris explained.
In addition to Chris and his team being on an exciting trajectory with Rascal, Chris has a few more Windfall babies coming up through his program.
“I have Tsetserleg’s full sister, who’s already 16.2/16.3 hands as a three year old, then I have Rascal’s full brother, owned by Matt and Ashley Boyd. He’s a stallion that we’re planning to present at the end of this year.”
“I’ve never worked with Windfall babies before this year, but they are all such triers – very brave, bold, and confident. Show them a trailer, water… any question once, and they’ll get it the next time. They’re sensitive, and like to have a solid program, but when you can become a team with them, the emotion becomes one. They want to fight for you, and give it their all,” Chris described.
As the year progresses, and we head into future seasons, we’ll be keeping an eye out to see the impressive Windfall legacy develop through horses like Rascal, Tetona, and Falkor. These partnerships are proving to be packed full with talent.
