Tap O Lena, arguably one of the greatest cutting horse performers and producers ever, has died at age 25.

Bred by Phil Rapp, whose father bought the mare’s dam for him to ride when Phil was a teenager, Tap O Lena won 17 major NCHA championships. She produced earners of $596,000. And her daughters produced earners of $1.4 million.

“I was pretty green when I first started showing (Tap O Lena’s dam),” said Rapp, who was 15 at the time. “I’d get her in binds that I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to get horses into. At some weekend shows, I’d cut for darn near two minutes on her.

“Tap O Lena has all her mother’s guts, and Doc O’Lena put the finesse on her.”
Even as early as her NCHA Non-Pro Derby win, Rapp recognized Tap O Lena’s special qualities.

“She’s as good as I’ve ever had,” he said in 1994. “I don’t think I’ll get another one like her. We said that about Playboys Ruby, but this one’s awfully good. She takes care of me.”

Rapp took care of the mare, too.

“I go to bed very few nights when I don’t go check her,” he said in the midst of the mare’s brilliant career. “Mary Ann says, ‘You want to bring her into the bedroom, maybe?'”

Tap O Lena bred true and the bloodline has given Rapp a steady stream of champions including Horse of the Year Dont Look Twice, and the 2015 Super Stakes Champion Dont Stopp Believin.

Tap O Lena’s Major Wins