RR Moonlite Mister (Royce) is one exceptional three year-old. The 2010 brown gelding is by Only In The Moonlite and out of Proud To Be A Mister. At just three years and three days-old, he achieved his AQHA Championship–quite a feat for a horse at any age let alone three! Royce is one of the youngest, if not the youngest horse in AQHA history, to ever receive this award. He is owned by Mark and Nina Baker of Turney, Missouri.
“Patrick Heeley had him in training for Susan Knapp. They had a video of him, and it was love at first sight,” says his trainer, Joni Nelson of Davenport, Iowa when asked where she found him. “Royce is special because he is so pretty–almost black with a big star, very balanced, and a great mover. I think most people don’t realize how young he is. He also has a funny personality. He was tough at first, but he’s finally getting easy–and the easier he gets, the sweeter he is. Though, he’s pretty serious when it comes to his work in the show pen.”
RR Moonlite Mister is currently leading the nation in Open Performance Geldings and Green Hunter Under Saddle, and is Top Ten in Junior Green Trail. The gorgeous gelding has points in five events and is qualified for the AQHA World Show in Junior Trail, Open Performance Geldings, Select Hunter Under Saddle and Amateur Performance Halter. Royce recently won the Mid-Summer NSBA $2500 Junior Green Trail in DuQuoin, Illinois.
In order to receive an AQHA Championship, Royce had to have two Grand Champions at halter, 15 halter points, at least 15 points in performance events with a minimum of five points in two different categories of performance events and a minimum of 35 points. It often takes a lifetime for a horse to achieve those accomplishments.
What is also impressive about this three year-old is that his trainer Joni Nelson thought he would work perfectly for his now owner, Nina Baker, who is a select amateur.
“I thought he would work for the select because his movement is so natural that once he got finished, then, he will be super easy to ride because of his self carriage,” Nelson told GoHorseShow.
Future plans for this talented gelding are to finish out the year strong in the performance halter and hunter under saddle and to compete at the bigger shows including the Big A, NSBA World Show, Congress and AQHA World Shows in the trail, hunter under saddle and performance halter. Next year, Nelson plans to add the horsemanship, western pleasure, and western riding to his routine.
GoHorseShow wishes this up-and-coming champion the best of luck this year. Also, in case you missed it, make sure to check out the feature story below we did on Nina Baker and her daughter, Shayla Cooke, earlier this month.
