FEATURE Legends - Flying W Farms Moonlight Bay

FEATURE
Legends - Flying W Farms
Moonlight Bay
“When Moon was entered in a class, the other drivers were
competing for second place.”
e take you back to the early 1980’s. When “feathered hair” was in style and bell bottom jeans
were worn by almost everyone. At that time in
AMHA’s infancy, driving classes were almost an
afterthought. Only a select few participated in them and
the majority of breeders at that time did not produce a
performance type horse as there were not as many classes
for them to show in. When IMHR merged with AMHA,
one of the horses that became registered was Flying W
Farms Moonlight Bay. As with many of the great horses of
AMHA, it appeared to some that this little gelding came
from obscurity or an unknown background. But in reality,
the opposite was true.
W
The Wagner Family’s Flying W Farm was the breeding
ground for many illustrious show horse careers at that
time. Unofficially, the starting place of literally hundreds
of top show horses. Flying W Farms Moonlight Bay was
foaled there in the spring of 1977. His sire Flying W Farms
Sugarfoot was a handsome bay stallion that looked a lot
like his son, Moonlight Bay. He had a wonderful personality and while never shown could really trot. Moonlight
Bay’s dam, Princess was also a very well bred mare with a
wonderful personality.
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Miniature Horse World 45
We asked Fredericka Wagner of Flying W Farm to tell us
about the first six years of Moonlight Bay’s life and some of
her fondest memories of showing him.
Flying W Farms Moonlight Bay was trained and always driven
by our son Bobby Wagner; Moonlight Bay was the Champion
of all Champions in driving in his day, and perhaps the winningest driving gelding up to that point in AMHA history!
Moonlight Bay won every class he was entered in while owned
by Flying W Farms and driven by Bobby Wagner. They were
such a great team and were virtually undefeated at every show.
He won show after show ending the 1983 season at the
AMHA Nationals in Fort Worth Texas. That year at the
Nationals Bobby drove Bay to victory in Open Single Pleasure
Driving and Open Roadster Driving. He also won Amateur
National Champion in Single Pleasure and Roadster.
Moonlight Bay also was National Champion gelding at halter
that year, again shown by Bobby.
Moonlight Bay was a truly incredible miniature horse! He was
lovely to look at, a stunning mover in harness, and what a disposition he had! Bobby could take him in a pleasure driving
class and he looked as though a child could drive him, he was
so calm and easy to drive. Very obedient, Bay never made a
mistake, he responded immediately to his driver’s commands.
Bobby could then turn right around and take him in open
Roadster and that little gelding would “turn on” and drive like
there was no tomorrow. He had all the qualities of a true champion; that extra “I can do this” attitude and the willingness to
give it all he had and then some. He had that heart that makes
a consistent winner. Bay was a once in a lifetime horse.
with ears pricked forward. The horse should be looking right
straight thru the bridle, not distracted by the crowd, but
rather concentrating on doing his job. Moonlight Bay gave
his all every time he was shown.
Moonlight Bay was thrilling to watch. I can still see our son
Bobby in his blue and white roadster silks, a big grin on his
face. When the judge called for speed I saw him give Bay a
slight signal; I saw Bobby’s lips move, I knew what he said
though I could not hear. Bobby would always say “Bay, GO!”
and Moonlight Bay would shift into high gear and he WAS
GONE! Of course, we loved the pleasure classes too, but the
Roadster was always the favorite class for our family.
Another sweet story about Nationals that year took place after
one of Bay’s driving classes. The class was preceded by a class
for the little children, a halter class for kids; there were maybe
six or eight children entered in that class showing. We always
tried to get the show committees to be sure there was a ribbon for every child in the class, but some argued that it did
not teach the kids anything. So in this class there were only so
many ribbons awarded and there was one little girl that did
not get a ribbon. (I do not remember that child’s name but if
she reads this maybe she will remember and let me know
where she is today) I know her mother was very good friends
with our dear friends, Ed and Lois Fyke. As the little girl left
the ring, she began to cry. I went over to speak to her, to try
to comfort her; meanwhile the championship pleasure driving class was showing in the ring. I heard them announce the
winner, Flying W Farms Moonlight Bay driven by Bobby
Wagner. A minute or two later Bobby drove out of the ring,
and saw us standing with this heartbroken little girl. It only
I remember well that night at the 1983
Nationals. The open roadster class was
crowded, something like 18 or 20 entries in
the ring. When the judge called for speed,
Bay shifted gears and he half tracked the
entire group. He flew around that ring but
even with all that speed he maintained
his action and his reach. He never broke
his cadence, his balance or his rhythm.
Some people thought the class was judged
on speed. That is not true at all. Yes, speed
mattered but form mattered just as much
and the judge was looking for form, style,
obedience to driver, as well as speed in that
class. The judge also wanted to see the
horse immediately come back down from
speed to working trot when asked, without
resistance and Moonlight Bay did that perfectly. A slight signal from our son, a soft
word and Bay was right back to a working
trot, and happy as could be. Equally
important, the judge looked for the horse
to exhibit a show ring presence, a natural
self carriage, a bright, happy expression
We will never forget Moonlight Bay; he is
truly a living legend in his time and a
Legend for All Time.
46 Miniature Horse World
August/September 2008
The perpetual trophy given in Flying W Farms Moonlight Bay’s
honor to the High Point Driving Horse at the World show each year.
took Bobby a second to realize why the child was crying, he
pulled up right next to her and said “Hey, you forgot this, they
called your name but you had already left the ring.”
Bobby held out the beautiful NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
RIBBON and said, “Here, Honey, this belongs to you and your
little horse.” Everyone’s jaws dropped. The little girl, who was
about five years old, broke out in the biggest smile you ever
saw! She took that ribbon and ran off to show it to everyone.
Her mother was speechless, Lois was beaming and we were so
very proud of our son. After that, it became a practice with
Flying W Farms to watch for little children coming out of classes with no ribbon and my husband or Bobby would give them
one of ours. Eventually the rules changed and shows began
giving every child in the class a ribbon, much to our delight!
Showing should be fun!
Then in 1984, when Moonlight Bay was a 7 year old, he was
sold to close friends of the Wagner’s, Bob & Sandy Erwin of
NFC Farms. The price paid was a staggering $10,000. This
was the highest recorded price paid for a gelding up until
that time. During the years that followed Moonlight Bay
attended many local shows and was brought with the rest of
the NFC showstring to the Nationals each year. After his
consecutive wins in 1983, 1984, 1985 and the National
Grands he won in 1986 he became the horse everyone had
heard about and anticipated watching in the driving classes.
Recycling that cliché “A horse way ahead of his time” is the
only way to describe this plucky little gelding. Moonlight
Bay took the “Flying” part of his name very seriously. The
little bay gelding with the legs of a small thoroughbred left
his competitors wondering what happened when he competed against them. When Moonlight Bay was entered in a
class, the other drivers were competing for second place. It
was a foregone conclusion that he would win hands down.
After watching Moonlight Bay win yet another High Point
Driving Horse title, the then editor of Miniature Horse
World, Barbara Ashby wrote a tribute about this wonderful horse.
“I will never forget the first time I saw Moonlight Bay- it was a
driving class at the 1983 National Show. Having never had a set
of reins in my hand and knowing nothing about driving, I knew
what I was observing was unusual but I didn’t know why. So I
asked someone near me who was very knowledgeable about driving if “that bay horse was not something very special.” The reply
was, “he sure is- look at the way he extends those front legs as compared to the other horses.”
I still do not know about driving but I thoroughly enjoyed watching Moonlight Bay “do his thing.” Some people say it is impossible
to have a Champion Pleasure Driving Horse and a Champion
Roadster Horse, but Moonlight Bay has disproved that. He won
both the National Grand Championships in Open Single Pleasure
and Open Roadster classes at the 1986 National Show.
I asked Joe Spino, the person who has driven Moonlight Bay the
most, to tell me what makes this horse so special to him“Moonlight Bay is a horse that will give you as much as a big
horse. I never force him to do anything; he has been trained to give
all he can. His gaits have become natural with him; he knows
when to use the gaits required to move on or set back and collect. I
do not use anything on him but a split snaffle bit and never get
into his mouth with heavy hands. He drives just as if he were a big
Saddlebred or Morgan horse.
To be a Champion driving horse the horse has to love what he is
doing. It is obvious to all of us who watch him that Moonlight Bay
finds pleasure in performing to a crowd, and the crowd certainly
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Miniature Horse World 47
finds pleasure in watching him perform. Congratulations
Moonlight Bay, you are one of a kind!”
Moonlight Bay changed hands yet again in 1992 when he
was sold to Patricia Parker Crosby of Rattlesnake Bayou
Miniature horses. She and her daughter Cheryl Griffin
owned Moonlight for several years, allowing him to just be
a horse, enjoying the retirement that he surely deserved.
Over a seven year span, he accrued a spectacular show
record that is as brilliant as it is astounding. An incredible
show record that unofficially records him as the winningest driving gelding ever. At some point, he developed
an eye infection and eventually lost an eye to complications. But he still he thrived, totally enjoying just being a
horse.
When Mrs. Parker-Crosby retired from raising miniatures
and disbursed her herd, she and her daughter were distraught about what to do with Moonlight Bay. Who would
want an elderly one-eyed gelding who was way past his
prime? Hearing this, Ann Dwyer and Polly Weisberg
offered to let him retire at Los Arboles Miniatures in
Mineola, Texas. Knowing his record they considered
Moonlight a piece of AMHA history and they were honored to have him reside at their farm.
Beginning in 1998 Mrs. Crosby decided to dedicate a perpetual trophy in Moonlight Bay’s honor to the High Point
Driving Horse at the World Show each year. This large trophy is proudly displayed at the AMHA office, and a smaller replica is given to the winning horse each year. How fitting that this year will be the tenth year the trophy will be
awarded? Los Arboles graciously agreed to continue this
wonderful award upon Mrs. Crosby’s retirement.
In 2006, at the grand old age of 28, Polly and Ann decided that Bay should attend the World Show one more time
to present in person the Flying W Farm Moonlight Bay
Perpetual Challenge Trophy. The old man was thrilled to
feel the excitement of the show and announced his arrival
loudly as he stepped off the trailer. Groomed and made
up just like all the best halter horses, he all but dragged
Ann into center ring when his turn came and he thoroughly enjoyed the whole process.
Now a robust 31 year old, Bay rules the roost at Los
Arboles, spending his days lounging under the shade
trees and spinning yarns for a group of admiring brood
mares. He is still feeling great and looks forward to every
meal. He has choked several times but was luckily saved
each time. His diet now consists of Equine Senior Soup
which he loves and devours with relish twice daily. At his
31st birthday party in March, he enjoyed his slice of carrot
cake and all the attention showered over him. In Ann and
Polly’s eyes, he is still a very special horse. Go Bay Go!
Show Record
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1983 National Champion Geldings
1983 National Champion Open Single Pleasure Driving
1983 National Champion Open Roadster Driving
1983 National Champion Amateur Single Pleasure Driving
1983 National Champion Amateur Roadster Driving
1984 Top 5 Senior Geldings
1984 Reserve National Champion Gentlemen’s Roadster Driving
1984 Reserve National Champion Open Roadster Driving
1985 National Champion Driving Horse
1985 National Champion Open Single Pleasure Driving
1985 Top 5 Ladies Single Pleasure Driving
1985 Top 5 Gentlemen’s Single Pleasure Driving
1985 Reserve National Champion Timed Roadster Driving
1985 Top 5 Ladies Roadster Driving
1985 National Champion Gentlemen’s Roadster Driving
1985 National Champion Open Roadster Driving
1985 National Champion Single or Double Viceroy
1986 National Grand Champion Pleasure Driving
1986 National Grand Champion Roadster
1986 National Champion Senior Geldings
1987 Reserve National Grand Champion Open
Single Pleasure Driving
1987 Reserve National Champion Open Single Pleasure Driving
1987 Reserve National Champion Gentlemen’s Single Pleasure Driving
1987 National Champion Single Pleasure Driving Geldings
1987 Reserve National Champion Ladies Roadster Driving
1987 Top 5 Gentlemen’s Roadster Driving
1987 Top 5 Ladies Single Pleasure Driving
1987 Top 5 Open Roadster Driving
1987 Top 8 Hunter
1987 Reserve National Champion Amateur Single Pleasure Driving
1988 National Champion Single Pleasure Driving Geldings
1988 National Champion Gentleman’s Single Pleasure Driving
1988 National Champion Ladies Single Pleasure Driving
1988 National Champion Open Roadster
1988 National Champion Gentlemen’s Roadster
1988 Reserve National Champion Amateur Single Pleasure Driving
1988 National Champion Amateur Roadster
1990 Top 10 Open Roadster
Continued on page 52
48 Miniature Horse World
August/September 2008