Good Morning Everyone!
Wow! What a day I had yesterday! IT WAS A GIRLS’ DAY with my California friends coming to Kentucky to celebrate my birthday! The pictures are getting downloaded and I will share them with you next week!
We had a great, great time! And YES…my cake had some fabulous frosting!
On another note, I was honored for getting the WILLIAM H. MAY AWARD recently. A horse has NEVER received this honor before…I am the first! I AM REALLY SO PROUD!
Read about it by clicking HERE!
I truly want to THANK EVERYONE WHO WORKED SO HARD to HELP ME be acknowledged for this AWARD!
Happy Saturday!
With Love,
Hugs to All~
Z
S (in san diego)
Wow what a heart breaker for the Wildcats. Bet lots of your LE friends will be a bit somber tomorrow..but they have you around and that will cheer anyone up :) @Kari very nice post, I also remember when UTUBE only had a few videos. Last night I spend hours just watching all of the races and videos of our girl to celebrate her birthday. I laughed, cried and enjoyed every minute. I had the honor of seeing Z in Del Mar, Hollywood Park and Santa Anita and attended her farewell party at HP. Each time I was just in awe of her. (and I have had some pretty great and successful horses that I loved dearly, but she has/is something special.) A gift.
Kate Wheeler
I didn’t get a chance to send a postcard in time, but just wanted to say to you, Zenyatta, that you showed up big time and ready to fire for every single race your whole career, and your only lifetime loss was by inches. You tied or broke records for consecutive wins, Grade l wins and earnings. Your racing performance was phenomenal.
What has been even more phenomenal, however, is what you have done for thoroughbred racing. You brought crowds, new fans and unprecedented and glowing media attention. You brought goosebumps and thrills, joy and, on one occasion, heartbreak. And you never stopped dancing. You were the horse of the year. You are the is the horse of the decade. YOu are, so far, the horse of this century. And we will never forget you.
Amanda Gilliland
My 2nd post. Going back and reading the previous posts after mine I wanted to tel
@Karen R- I greatly appreciate your kind words.Zenyatta is so special to me.
@ NIK-Thank you for your comment & for sending a prayer for my 85 y.o.cousin. I sat with him & his wife again today. His breathing is shallow and he is slowly slipping away tonight or tomorrow. I’m praying for God to be merciful in his departure and he goes in his sleep for his wife’s sake.
Kate Wheeler
I didn’t get a chance to send a postcard, but I still want to share with you, your connections and your other fans what I think of you, Zenyatta.
You showed up big time and ready to fire for every single race, not only last year but in your whole career, and your only lifetime loss was by a few inches. You tied or broke records for consecutive wins, Grade l wins and earnings. Your racing performance through the years was phenomenal.
What has been even more phenomenal, however, is what you have done for thoroughbred racing. You brought crowds, new fans and unprecedented and glowing media attention. You brought goosebumps and thrills, joy and, on one occasion, heartbreak. And you never stopped dancing.
You were the horse of the year. You are the horse of the decade. You are, so far, the horse of this century. And we will never forget you.
Sue M
Zenny, you (and your connections) deserve every award you get!
Amanda Gilliland
@Kari B- I love your very beautiful tribute to Zenyatta. My feelings exactly! I feel God created Zenyatta as a lifeforce with a spiritual reverence that reaches toward heaven and brings back to earth a powerful magical force that fiils our hear & soul. It is just so wonderful to experience what Zenyatta can do.
Janice
Zenyatta, sure miss seeing you on the track. You made racing so exciting and well there just hasn’t been anyone to fill your shoes. Now all the excitement is about you getting back in foal. Can’t wait to see who attended your birthday party in Kentucky. I start laughing out loud every time I think of people asking if we know that you are a horse. Yes, I can just see you sitting at the keyboard:) But I really do believe that Dottie has captured your spirit and it is the closest thing we will ever get to actually talking to you. Stay healthy. Did you get any Guinness Stout at the party?
Linda in NJ
Hi Zenny: Congratulations on being the first horse to receive the WILLIAM H. MAY AWARD. This is such an honor! Zenny you may be retired, but your contributions live on because you left a huge hoof print on the industry. Love, Linda
S (in san diego)
@Janice…SAY IT’S NOT SO!! Zen doesn’t have a hoove size key board to go with her desktop in her stall? lol…and I agree Dottie is incredible. She has motivated so many of us to push forward, give more, become better people and has created this community that comes together daily for the love of a horse. ZENYATTA. Zenny deserves all and more of the awards …Dottie deserves a humanitarian award herself.
Holly Zemba
Congrats on receiving the award. Can’t wait to hear about your visit and see pictures of you California friends visit.
Karey R
@S(in San Diego): YES! Dottie most assuredly deserves a humanitarian award,
a kindness/generosity/patience award, a ‘horse-speak’ award, a community-building award, and the list goes on. Queen Zenyatta has beautifully powerful women in her royal court, doesn’t she? It seems that forces far greater than any here on Earth have come together to orchestrate the magic of Zenyatta.
Karey R
@Amanda Gilliland: Many caring thoughts are being sent to you, your cousin, his
wife, and all who are going through this important time of transition.
LOU IN TX
SO happy for you Queen Z that you got your special family as visitors on your birthday. Can’t wait to see all the pictures. Know you enjoyed your cake with lots of frosting. Hope you and your gal pals had a great day after your family had to leave.
No one but you deserved the very special award. Congratulations! I am soo proud of you. Love ya lots…Lou
Paula Higgins
Zenyatta, I bet you had a great time with your California visitors. I know they loved seeing you on your birthday. I just watched all your Breeders Cup races in your honor. You were magnificent in every one, and your greatest, was your last. After Secretariat’s Belmont, the greatest race I have ever seen.
Gloria Jeanne
Happy Day Zen! Glad you visitors for your special day. Cant wait to see the photos! Congrats on the Award :-) Hugs
Trina Nagele
@Amanda Gilliland–Sending wishes of consolation and courage for you, your cousin’s wife, and the others who will mourn your cousin’s passing as he “slips the surly bonds of earth and touches the face of God.”
Pamela J Hebert
TOO CUTE sweet girl!!!!! So glad you had a wonderful birthday & I can’t wait to see who your California girls were. Hope you took alot of pictures. Have a wonderful weekend Zenny!!
Maria K.
Congratulation Queen Z. You deserved that award! I love to see your birthday pictures. I bet you had a great day. Luv you!
Shema
Sign of the Times – I enjoyed reading about the drapes over the horses hips in starting gate. I’ve never noticed that. That’s really interesting. Calming down their prey memories rubbing on the gate may trigger. wow, I had no idea!
Could somebody fill me in about Mo and Maria’s budding relationship! I must have missed the original post. Sounds really CUTE … as Zenny would say!
Goodnight everybody. You gals are becoming my pals! I never had much of a horse friendship community before. As a kid …. situations prevented me from fully maturing my love of horses and horse racing ….
That’s what I shared in my postcard to Zen. She’s helped me (and all of YOU TOO!) fill that hole that was left as a kid. It’s just a great feeling!
Dawn Conrad
Dearest, Zenyatta. The diary posts yesterday were all absolutely wonderful!! :) Wouldn’t it be amazing if the love that was felt and expressed for you on your special day was the same love that all of mankind felt for one another, everyday. Just imagine what a wonderful world this would be, Zenny. How fantastic that your California family came to share their love for you on your birthday. I know how much you miss one another, so I am sure everyone had a very happy heart. Lots of pats and praise, hugs, kisses, tears, laughter, talks, walks and jumps for joy. Along with the assorted peppermint, pear, banana and carrot; you had birthcake and frosting to satisfy your sweet tooth. YUMMY!! Did your great gal pals nicker “Happy Birthday” before sharing the goodies? Maybe Sophie visited too? What a fun day for all!!! So, looking forward to the pictures and hopefully video. For now, Zenny, sweet dreams. Hugs and kisses. XXXOOO
@TO EVERYONE OF MY AMAZING Z FRIENDS, HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY AND BOUNTIFUL BLESSINGS! LOVE, DAWN. :) :)
@Deana Dameron – Loved your fantastic Old Friends campaign kick-off idea for donations to help with the additional land purchase. What a great way to honor Zenny’s spirit of generosity by supporting the truly remarkable work done by Old Friends. Hooves crossed, it florishes!!
@Amanda Gilliland – What a very special lady you are! Your posts are always beautiful, heartfelt and supportive. I am so sorry that the plans you had for Zenny’s birthday did not happen, but she was there with you in spirit; just as she is for so many of us when we need her. The love within you had it’s purest expression by the time you spent with your cousin. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Irene Caty
Hi Zenny, who came to see you from California? Glad you had a great time and also was happy to hear that you had alot of frosting on your cake. You certinley had a exciting weekend with your Birthday and the award and all. Let us know more. Stay happy and love you very much.
myrna miller
Happy Birthday again, Z. Judy Maass Gadwood posted this April 1, 2011 horoscope from the LA Times on your facebook page. Thanks Judy! It is right on and amazing! “You show up and deliver – and though you’re constant as a machine, you give from the heart and put the full force of your personality into your contributions.” That’s you Zenny – all the way! LOts of Love and Hugs to you Sweet Queen.
Dona
Soooo happy you had a great Birthday Party.
Can’t wait to see your pictures.
Bet your visitors had a good time too. They have to miss you as much or probably more than we fans due but it’s gotta be close. lol :)
Valeria Cannon
Z, you’re totally awesome, and you deserve every award and more! You may not be aware of the tremendous impact that you have on the track and off. More horses have facebook pages and websites :) than in the history of facebook and they’re interacting with their fans. :) :) Even your sire and dam have facebook pages!! :) To the young fillies, they want to be just like you, and for the colts they want to stand in for ‘your Bernie’. :) And for the humans, you have crossed over in heroism. You have paved the way for the young ones and they are jumping on the boat, to be the best that they can be and take us along with them on a magical carpet (horseback) ride. And they’re not forgetting those who came before, either. They’re learning about their ancestry and interacting with one another as well as supporting one another in competition. You are most definitely a ‘Trailblazer’, and a ‘sHero’ to horses and humans everywhere! You not only touched your own, but across every species in the animal kingdom. You’ve shown us humans that we’re not that much different from you, and in so many ways you’re better, because you have compassion and love for all. To the horse charities and rescues, you’re a guardian angel! You’ve become the voice of the helpless ones and they love you for it. You may not know this but many of these helpless ones got a chance to join in the celebration of your Birthday, because your gifts were shared around the world. For at least one day, they got to have a party/sweets, too. (I know at least two groups did) :) :) You, lovely queen have done what not even a modern day human has ever done, you’ve gotten people to care and have compassion for the animals we share this planet with. You were an April Fool’s Day baby/foal, but you’re the wisest of us all. Thank you, for being the voice of the unwanted, neglected, unloved, unseen, ignored, abused, misused, uninspired, and disenchanted. You did without even knowing, by just being YOU! You made others believe that if Zenyatta can, then just maybe…..
I know one little horse that you have helped more than you know, his name is DynaKing, and he’s a fighter, and because of you, I along with many others are helping him to fight the fight and to never give up! He got the chance to help celebrate your birthday as well as his sire’s (DynaFormer), yesterday! So you see, your birthday party was really country-wide! :) :) :):)
Hugs and Kisses
Valeria
Leslie R.
Hi Zenny, I’m glad you had a great birthday! You said it was a girl’s day, so I’m guessing Ann and Dottie visited but not Jerry and John. Frosting definitely makes a cake! I can’t wait to see the pics!!
Congrats again on winning the William H. May Award! It says a lot about you that you are the first horse to ever win that award. You are amazing, sweet girl!
Love to all,
Leslie
J Smith
@TRINA, thanks for correcting the time of the FL Derby. I wrote the time down for myself on Friday, and forgot that I had already changed it to PT! I’d forget my head if it wasn’t screwed on.
@SHEMA Have you checked Uncle Mo’s facebook page? He leaves some very funny posts. U don’t have to be a member of fb to look at it. He also has a website now. He had a big crush on Zenyatta, he wanted her to be his Valentine, but since she was already taken by Bernardini, he found another filly in his barn to be his Valentine, Awesome Maria. If you didn’t see his fb page today, do look at it. U will have a good laugh, he is in disguise, and said he snuck into the winners circle with Maria. Other peoples comments are very funny too. Mo’s stable mate and best friend, Brethren, is the boyfriend of R Heat Lightning, who also won impresivly at Gulfstream today. Naturally, they all have fb pages too! I need an assistant to keep up with all this. It’s very entertaining though. Mo’s owner is a big fan of the Moss’s and Z, he is a big contributor to TB retirement funds too. He is also the owner of Stay Thirsty, who is running in the FL Derby on Sun.4/3, Thirsty is a son of Bernardini. OK, u r now caught up!
Signofthetimes, thanks for interesting info on the blankets. I didn’t know that.
Signofthetimes
Dear Zenny
You are filled with a very unique talent as an athlete, that
Is what a champion is. Your talent will never be reproducible
And your calm gentle spirit is also very unique for
A thoroughbred. We are all sooo lucky Mr Kronfeld had the
Intuition to breed your dam and sire so you
Are here on earth of all of us to enjoy and share in your
Life. You are truly a very special thoroughbred race horse
And epitomize the heart, courage and fierce competitive
Spirit of the breed.
Sweet dreams and have a peaceful fun morning in
Your paddock. XXXOOO
Valeria Cannon
AShema, it began when Bernadini was announced to sire Zenyatta’s foal, Uncle Mo has a serious crush on Lady Z. Anyway, he asked Maria to be his valentine and she said yes. You can learn/read all about their romance on their facebook pages and/or Uncle Mo’s website. http://www.unclemo.com
Brethren and R Heat Lightening are together, too! :) :) ;)
Ahhhh, young spring romance, better than the soap operas. Also, all of them have facebook pages, so you can interact with them. Be careful, you’re gonna fall in love with them! ;) ;) :) Especially with Mo, he’s a heartbreaker!
Have fun,
Valeria
Fran
Hi Z! It is very late Sat. night here in CA. It is already Sunday in Kentucky. I am so glad that you had a wonderful birthday and so glad you got a visit from the girls! You are certainly loved, and you have grace, dignity, spirit, and kindness. That will last a lifetime! xxoo
Valeria Cannon
sorry, meant @ Shema