SURPRISE, SURPRISE!!
Good Morning All!
What a day I had yesterday…all filled with GREAT surprises! I now know all of my friends here at Lane’s End had a wonderful surprise planned for me…and they filled TEAM ZENYATTA in on it!
For days, as you know, I have been walking around in my new paddock. The Farm wanted me to be totally familiar with every inch of the area. This is all part of my ‘baby steps’ process. Each day, I was given a bit more space to investigate and explore with Charles, Donna and the crew here! They ultimately had me on a very loose hold during these adventures. I was also given ample time to look at all of my beautiful surroundings and thoroughly relax and enjoy my time outdoors.
After several days of this, the FARM felt I was totally comfortable with my new paddock. A plan was then developed to establish the day when I could be ‘on my own’ outside. It was organized for this to take place YESTERDAY. TEAM ZENYATTA WAS PART OF THE PLAN…and they flew into Lexington TO SHARE THIS MOMENT WITH ME!
As I was being prepared for my morning ‘walk’, David and Mike picked up Team Z at the airport. SURPRISE! Within minutes, they were all right here with me at my Lane’s End Barn! SUCH FUN! (Carrots and mints for EVERYBODY!) Yippee!
Barbara Livingston, from DRF, and Anne M. Eberhardt and Alex, from THE BLOODHORSE, were also on hand. Sweetly, ANN MOSS was going to take some of her own videos…….and MY DEAR JOHN brought his new camera to add to the fun!
When I was ready, we all walked out to my paddock together. It was crisp…but not as cold as the last time they were here. For quite a bit of time, I walked around with Charles. We wanted to show everyone how well I handled this. We walked all over this large paddock…and I checked out everything….just like I have been doing for days now. Ann, Jerry, John, Dottie, Mario and Carmen…all thought I was doing very well. I was really feeling very confident in this space and with the footing.
Then, suddenly, (and to my surprise…and delight) Charles took the shank off me. I was allowed to be ‘ON MY OWN’. Lane’s End positioned many people from their staff all over the perimeters of the paddock area as they wanted to be sure I was very logical and safe at this moment.
GUESS WHAT???? I WAS! At first, I just played around with some alfalfa they had carefully positioned in 2 places in the center area of the paddock. I moved from one patch of this to another…walking and grazing. Then I thought…Hmmmm…this is different! I don’t really have anyone right next to me. Suddenly I looked up and saw so many of my friends all standing several feet away. At that moment, I noticed Mario. I walked over to him and stood there. He hugged me and scratched my neck like he has done for YEARS! It was so special! I walked over to the Moss’. Ann and Jerry both hugged me and gave me some great treats from home.
Then I looked at my dear JOHN…and walked over to him. He gave me several loving pats and then looked down and ‘checked my legs’. (Old habits just don’t go away. This is a TRAINER kinda’ thing. John has checked my legs every single morning for over 4 1/2 years. It was like great old times!) For several minutes more, I was able to walk around and greet all of my other friends. THIS WAS REALLY GOING WELL!
Now…I thought…HMMM! Let’s see what happens when I walk farther out to the other part of the paddock. So I did. I walked around looking at everything. I was careful..and enjoyed this. I WAS ALL BY MYSELF! I stood at one edge of the paddock just staring over the fence. 2 squirrels were playing in the tree…and I just loved watching them. I walked over to see the geese playing in the pond. I then went to greet all of my Lane’s End friends standing in each part of the paddock…..making sure they knew I was safe.
This went on for many more minutes. I just walked, looked, stood…and enjoyed every single moment.
Then, the thought occurred to me…CAN I JOG OFF and RUN? No lead pony, no Steve, no Mike Smith…no equipment…JUST ME! I put up my tail and planted my feet in the snow. It felt good. I jogged a bit and felt the brisk air on my skin. I stretched my legs and stepped right out! Hmmm, I thought! This is fun…and it is really going well. I went over to the other edge of the paddock. Donna was there to meet me. WOW!!!! Am I really doing this? I’m all by myself!
I pranced to the side of the paddock where all of my other friends were standing. I danced for them…and even walked right over to Dottie and gave her a BIG KISS!
I walked back around and greeted every single person as I made my way to the far side of the paddock! SUDDENLY (my confidence now was really strong)…….. I TOOK OFF!
I stretched, I bucked, I played…and then I RAN. What a lucky girl! As I rushed across the paddock, I squealed with delight. It was my way of THANKING EVERYONE for my wonderful, wonderful life.
What a LUCKY, LUCKY GIRL I AM!
After running free for several more minutes, Charles put the shank back on me. As you know, they have to monitor my time like this to be sure I am safe and don’t get too excited at first. The crew then took turns walking me around the paddock some more. Mario took his turn…and it was ALL FABULOUS!
I HAD SUCH A GREAT TIME!
After all of this exercise, it was time to go back to my barn and have something to eat. My friends and TEAM Z followed me and stayed and visited with me for hours.
What A MOMENT, what A DAY…and what SPECIAL MEMORIES!
I hope to share more photos of this day with you soon. Thank you to Barbara for the one we are using today. This day was all very, very special to me…and I know in my heart it was also very special for all of TEAM Z. They traveled thousands of miles to share this one new stage of my life with me! They all told me…they would not have missed today for anything!
What more could a GIRL want or have…than so many people who love her SO MUCH!
With love,
HUGS to ALL~
Z
Sharon Mathews
You Go Girl!!!
Love ya
Alex
Have a good holiday, Zenyatta Claus!
Rosanne Glynn
Sniff sniff…I am such a cry baby when it comes to you my beautiful girl! I love to hear you make those horse noises in your video. I am so happy for you and wish you the best life has to offer. You are an amazing creature from God and I pray to him not to let anything happen to you. I just want you to have the best life possible. I love you more than you will ever know Zenyatta! xooxoxox
Shari Voltz
Zenyatta this made me cry. I am so glad for you. I kept thinking what wonderful owners and Team you have. People this good who care this much to take care of you. I wish more owners could be like this. I wish more people in the world could be this caring. I love all of them for setting such a good example of good human beings. I am so glad you got to see Mario, John and your whole Team. You are so loved and deserve all of it. I am mailing my Christmas package to you on Thursday. I can’t get to the PO any sooner. It is filled with love from me and my 5th grade class. I hope you enjoy it. I love you Zenny. Lots of hugs and kisses from Shari in Ohio.
Lisa g
Ms Zenyatta, you look to magnificent, so beautiful, so perfect. I loved seeing you gallop, your stretch and really got a kick out of your buck, and then you took off….and I could not breathe, it was the most perfect and beautiful thing you have ever done. Again, I thank God for you, this perfect, beautiful creation of His that we call Zenyatta. I envy the squirrels and geese. As Julie said, you looked like a filly, I am glad you are free. Good Night, Sweet Queen…Love and Hugs..Lisa g
Jan
You are awesome! I can tell from this picture how happy you are, & how much fun you are having.
Happy Holidays to You and All Your Friends!!
Judy Sims
Oh, you beautiful, wonderful, magnificent girl. I have watched the Blood Horse video provided by Lane’s End and looked at the pictures and it made my heart soar. Your team is so fantastic and all your fans will be absolutely delighted to see you run free and buck and whinny and just be you. You take my breath away and I feel so lucky to be alive to have witnessed your memorable career as the most fantastic race horse ever and now to be able to witness your retirement and eventual motherhood. God has smiled upon you, dear one, and your wonderful family of Ann and Jerry and John and Dottie and Mario and Mike and Steve and all the fine people at Lane’s End (Charles is such a cutie). You have transcended the human and animal connection and are more than Horse of the Year (I have voted for you) or any award (although you deserve all of them)you are a gift sent from heaven to make us all realize that heart and courage and mostly love is what life is all about. You are “Horse of a Lifetime” and the best ambassador the horse racing world has ever had. Stay safe and happy marvelous girl and glory in all the love and “freedom” that is now your life.
I love you and bless you for just being you.
I bet that Guinness tasted good today after your big adventure.
Merry, Merry Christmas to you and your team.
Hugs & nose kisses.
Judy 8-)
Kaye
Wonderful!!!!!!!!
Tracy K
Wow Zenyatta, you and all of your friends are so special. I’m so happy for you and hope every day is full of joy, you deserve it.
Ira in Toronto
it’s so amazing that you are taking the time to share this with us! thankyou! and merry christmas.
Linda Craig
Dottie, you do an absolutely fabulous job writing Zenny’s diary. You are a very talented writer.
Tim
Thats my girl, what a great mom u will be
Shannon
What a wonderful day and report. This brings so much love to my heart. Everything about the Zenyatta Team smacks of a class act. Thank you for sharing her with us as she is ours too. Queen Z is the Queen of our Z-Hearts.
Rita Boucher
Thankyou AGAIN!!! for sharing with us. I feel like I am part of a family letter. And yes, I too have tears in my eyes. Team Z are obviously people with good hearts, and immense character. Yes Z, you ARE a lucky girl, and so am I to have been welcomed into your family via these posts.
darlene sanner
This was wonderful to read and the pics and vid wonderful to see Thank you many times over to ALL who made this possible Team Z you are the best I just wish there were more like you You really care about your horses and you haven’t forgotten us fans Thank you again
Lisa Dominguez
So happy your day went so well Z, we miss you out here in Ca.
hugs and kisses
Lisa
Jean
Crying with joy that is what I did. To see you enjoy yourself like that was the best Birthday present I could have ever wished for. This is the best release process I have ever seen. You have the best family EVER. Team Z love you very much. Awesome job one and all. I loved the video and have already watched it several times. Can hardly wait to hear who Zenyatta will be having her first date with. Who ever you choose, he must be special. Thank you again for all that you do to keep us all informed. Love it all.
Robbie Pfeufer Kahn
Dear Zenyatta: I wrote what follows before I even saw Diary Post #37 because just seeing the video made me unable to wait. Your and Dottie’s description includes so many details that we didn’t see in the video—how you greeted all of your friends, how with your very own “baby steps” you slowly realized that you were on your own! “Hmm,” you said to yourself. Many times you returned to the idea that “I AM ALL BY MYSELF.” Your and Dottie’s description is so vivid, for example—“Then, the thought occurred to me….CAN I JOG OFF and RUN? No lead pony, no Steve, no Mike Smith….no equipment….JUST ME! I put up my tail and planted my feet in the snow. It felt good. I jogged a bit and felt the brisk air on my skin. I stretched my legs and stepped right out!“ This is first class observation, Zenyatta. Forgive me for noticing, but my writer’s eye can’t help it. You two do put words together. Your account brought those exciting moments to life every bit as much as the video did. Even more in a way because we can see your inner thoughts, not just your beautiful physical movements. This is one of the longest Diary Posts you two have created and I can imagine why. Yesterday, you became a world-class thoroughbred racehorse who could run and run without having to be in a race! After I wrote what follows I took one more look at your website and there was Diary Post #37! Not even one response yet! I can’t wait to hide under the cover of other responses. I’m going to post this one right now and that’s that!
Zenyatta, lovely one, here is what I wrote earlier: When Mario stroked your shoulder and you nuzzled his shoulder it seemed to me that you used the equine gesture of comfort and affection reciprocally. Your fondness for one another was very moving. I also loved seeing how you walked along on a lead line, head level with your neck rather than holding your head high, even though that gesture is magnificent to behold. You have said recently that you like to gaze into the distance for long periods of time. It’s nice, though, to see you relax your attentiveness.
Reciprocal communication occurs every day between nonhuman animals of all sorts and their human companions, providing that the human understands the animal’s gestures or vocalizations. When I said in an earlier post (in Diary Post #33) that as a child and adult I preferred animal silence to human speech, I meant those creatures who did not use of human words. It was heart-rending to hear you whinny for equine companionship when you were on the auction block as a yearling (already 16 hands, so I heard). How fortunate that your cry was heard (this is an imagining), for you ended up in the company of the kindest human beings a horse could wish for. And the opportunity to become a world-class athlete!
Animals have languages of their own; they just don’t have the vocal chords to make human sounds. Perhaps even if they did they would prefer not to. Take horses: Monty Roberts and others like him have done much to teach people what he calls “the language of Equus,” so important in the initial training of a young horse or in remedial work with a horse who from unfortunate experiences does not trust humans. Looking back historically, it seems so strange that the German horse Clever Hans and the American horse Beautiful Jim Key caused a sensation because they were taught to respond to human commands with human-like actions—counting, spelling, etc. Even today, animal intelligence often is judged by human standards, for instance the fuss made over primates who have learned American Sign Language from us. It turns out that primates may be less attuned to humans than dogs are—when a domesticated dog looks at a human face, s/he tends to look at the right (or dominant) eye. Humans look at the right eye as well. Dogs and people have lived together for more than 10,000 years; why wouldn’t they be closely attuned to humans?
What strikes me about you is your intelligent generosity toward the human strangers who wanted to be near and touch you. Many, if not most, didn’t know the equine language of gestures—they patted you between the eyes, talked baby talk in high loud tones, and more. By and large you allowed people to express themselves. You might turn your head away, but I never saw you put your ears back or snap at anyone. I was astounded at your big heartedness. Granted you’ve had the luck to spend most of your years with humans who understand horses deeply. It seems, judging from the greeting you gave him, Mario Espinoza especially. Perhaps, just as we imagine your being to exist somewhere between human and equine realms, you imagine Mario’s being to exist in that in between space as well. Otherwise, why would you have nuzzled his shoulder the same way he “nuzzled” your shoulder?
Getting back to the video that showed you for the first time free from restraint (except for the fence—you did seem to want to go beyond it), it was marvelous to see you be a thoroughbred racehorse who was not in a race. As I watched you toss your beautiful head back and forth, bend your neck as deeply and gracefully as a Grand Prix dressage horse, buck a few times to get the kinks out, then run, your tail held aloft, run and run, changing leads as needed, come up against the fence head held high with a wild look in your eye even though you were near your human friends at one such time. At least in the video I saw, you ran along the rounded fence line as if on an invisible racetrack, and afterwards when back on the lead line you dipped your head and began “dancing,” as you used to do at the track. I wondered if this was the first time you’d been able to run free since you were very young? I imagine that active racehorses need to conserve their energy for training and also need to be protected from inadvertently harming themselves. I wondered if you missed racing professionally now that you’ve had the chance to run? The trouble with many first-class human athletes is that they don’t want to stop practicing their sport—until they hurt themselves or no longer are able to perform competitively. Luckily, you’ve retired in “fabulous” health and can enjoy being a noncompetitive racehorse. Plus, you have a whole new life ahead of you as a mother mare and as a member of a small herd of other female horses. It’s as if the whinnies you plaintively uttered at the yearling sale, your call for equine companionship, will soon be answered.
Much love and respect–Robbie
Edie Dickenson
You and Team Zenyatta are so special! I see how happy you are and how happy you make everyone! You are truly a blessing!
Terry
Oh my Z!! What a beautiful Christmas gift for all of us!! Thanks to all!! It felt so intimate! To see you in a setting that is so calm, makes me feel calm!! You have done it all with such grace and dignity. We love you so much! Pretty soon you’ll be like the rest, and won’t want to come in at all!! Much Love!!
Amy J
What a great life you are having after you worked so hard at a “job” that you loved. I’m so glad you are being cared for and are soooo happy!
Jo-An Holleman
How does this Horse make us all cry?????? This is so unbelievable. We Love her so much. Please lets us see more of her running and playing in her new home it brings such joy to all. I have worked at Churchill Downs for 3 years and never has anyone been so “In Love With A Horse” If she does not win “Horse of the Year” at The Eclipse Awards they should delete the whole thing. Horse Lovers All Over The World Will Ban Together!!!!!
Shoshana
Every day I cry a little for Team Z imagining how, although they are happy you are in the best of hands at Lanes End, they must miss you terribly. My husband thinks I am overreacting but seeing how Team Z flew in to see your special day shoes me just how much the miss you. More importantly, it shows how much they all love you dear Zenyatta. For that I love them all as well! Please thank them all for me and all your fans who feel such a strong and loving connection to you. I am so happy you finally got to run free and buck (so cute!) and play. You are precious and my heart has not been the same since the day I heard about you on NPR of all places! Hugs, kisses and all my love to you and all your loving families!
Robbie Pfeufer Kahn
Thank heavens, Zenyatta, it turns out that a number of people did write before me. It is clear that we cannot turn our attention to much else besides you. Love–Robbie
Vicki Riechers
This brought tears to my eyes. I was more excited watching the video posted earlier today than I was when you won the BC Classic. Zenyatta you are enjoying the life that you deserve. Free to run and play. God’s special creature at her very finest. AMEN!
Debbie Bassett
Sweet Z- I love your picture! This article made me cry. What a special day. You are adjusting so well. What a wonderful surprise that Team Z could be there to see you today! You are surrounded by people everywhere who love you. Your diary touches my heart in more ways than you’ll ever know. God gave you to us all as a very special gift. Merry Christmas!
Anita
What joy you must have been feeling, Zen! All your loved ones there with you and then realizing you could run and be free. You certainly are One Lucky Girl! I feel such joy watching you. Thank you to Barbara and all your team for sharing this beautiful event with us. I’m so happy for you. Merry Christmas to You and Yours, Zenny!
Lino Dominguez
Youre beauty reminds me of someone who looks at you with bewilderment and awe; which I simply adore! Happy pastures, Z!
Stephanie Quilichini
Crying-How much more can we thank Team Zenyatta-it will never be enough for the thought they put in for their fans. What a great Holiday Video to enjoy! Loved seeing Mario smile-he misses her!
debbie gustafson
Wow,Zenyatta tears of joy run down my face as i watched your video, The joy inside of me just seeing you free to run and kick and feel the cold breeze was awesome,,you are so loved by so many and such a wonderfull GIRL, thank you and your family for the post , and Team Z, may you have many more happy days to come ,,Much love Queen,,,,,,,