Good Morning Everyone!
I hope you had a wonderful and restful weekend. Mine was terrific!
Dottie and I have been reading over your thoughtful comments in the DIARY responses! Thank you so much for the kind words, not just to ME…but to each other.
I totally agree with all of your comments about MY NEW HOME! LANE’S END is an absolutely beautiful farm with huge paddocks and lush surroundings. I am SO HAPPY here! Everyone is incredibly thoughtful of ME. I truly can’t thank them enough for the warmth and kindness shown to ME each day! Needless to say, TASTY and I are 2 very HAPPY HORSES!
I also love the fact that you are enjoying my new ZENYATTA SHOP! There are many more fun things to come in the future. I hope you enjoy them.
Many of you have asked about TASTY and I and if she is ‘protective of ME’. The answer is ABSOLUTELY YES. She is truly a very special and dear friend. She always wants to be sure that I am safe.
From what I can tell from the time I’ve lived at Lane’s End, we seem to have many more visitors to our paddock than the others. We have various writers and photographers here quite a bit, the charity visitors and their families come to see ME, TV crews are here, and then my own dear family frequently comes to Kentucky to see ME and catch up with how I am doing.
TASTY and I do hang out together ALL of the time. When MY JOHN entered the paddock on this particular afternoon, she came right over. She wanted to ‘check him out’. When I take a nap in the field, she normally stands right by ME to be sure I’m A-OK. In turn, I try to do the exact same thing for her. We just want to be sure that each of US has the opportunity to rest, relax, and enjoy our lives the best WE CAN! WE REALLY TRY TO BE THERE FOR EACH OTHER!
Here she is checking out MY JOHN. When he was hugging ME, she wanted to be sure all was terrific. I told her everything was perfect! During MY time at BARN 55, he’d hug ME like this every single day for 5 years. I explained to TASTY that MY JOHN is truly one of US….a dear, dear friend! He then hugged HER too….and she knew this was so true!
Happy Monday! I’m sharing a BIG HUG with all of you, too!
With Love,
Hugs to All~
Z
Mary
Oh what a terrific post today…love seeing John with you…you two do have a great friendship. It looks like Tasty is really liking the cameras now like you Z…she is getting to be quite good at posing….you two are beautiful. It is wonderful and a blessing to see you so happy in retirement and see you with a best friend. I am glad you and Tasty look out for each other. Have a wonderful day Z…hope it is as beautiful there today as it is here in Central Virginia. Hugs to you Z, and to Tasty…and I will send a hug out to John in CA for being the best trainer ever and a very kind person. Oh also hugs to Dottie…we could not do without our special dear person,Dottie.
Jamie
YOU LOOK FABULOUS! So does your friend Tasty. Thanks for posting the pictures and updating all your fans. Happy day, hugs and kisses.
Cynthia/Where Zenyatta Danced
Zenyatta and Tasty are the very definition of what it means to have a dear friend, and to be one.
12th
harriett (Oklahoma)
A beautiful picture of a happy horse! Tell JOHN thank you for letting you share it with us. I must say, even with a few extra pounds, you look like you could race tomorrow. I have wondered if you and Tasty ever just run around in the paddock for fun. I’d love to see some pictures of that. When you first arrived, you sent photos of yourself running in the snow, and those were so special.
Leslie
Oh Queen Z…you look Marvelous !! So good to see you and your John just like old times. Wishing you all the best…we love & miss you…can’t wait for “little Z” to arrive & bless us once again. Stay warm this winter !
Janet Wendt
That is such a good post to start the day and by the way bought me a Zenyatta Breyer ornament to put on my tree…….you are so Beautiful….Tell Tasty hi and hope to be hearing from you soon….Hugs to you all from Missouri
Carol
Thank you Zenny for always keeping us posted on how you and Tasty are doing. I don’t always have a chance to comment but just wanted to let you know I read your diary every single day and know you are doing great. Thanks to your family for keeping us up to date. Hugs to you and Tasty!
Ann from Indiana
Great picture. Love to see you and your John together, brings tears to my eyes. We miss you racing so much. Can’t wait till baby comes. Glad your family comes often to see you.
mary bobolis
Thank you for the wonderful pictures of you, John and Tasty. I know John misses you terribly and am so happy he gets to visit with you frequently when he’s in Kentucky. I understand that Mike E will be visiting you around Thanksgiving.
Sarah
Zenny, you look incredible–I think this is the first time I’ve seen a really good conformation shot and your baby bump is beautiful! I also especially love pictures of you and YOUR JOHN. He always took such good care of you and I can see how much you LOVE him. Good to hear about you and your buddy Tasty taking care of each other, too!
Abigail from Montreal
Good morning Zenny, Baby-on-board X 2, TT, Dottie & Zensters:
WOW! I just LOVE these photos, Zenny. You always look so lovely to me, but seeing you with John is always one of my most special treats. It’s because there’s just so much history there and the kind of magic that punctuates horses abd their “special people.” Like Eddie & Secretariat + Riva. THAT kind of MAGIC!
I loved reading about you & TT. I know that (all) horses are by nature herd animals and always assumed they needed the company of their own kind to be happiest, but it was the GREAT and AMAZING Barbara Livingston who taught me so much about mares in retirement and their pasture friends. In Barbara’s 2 books, Old Friends & More Old Friends, she spends lots of time writing about special equine friendships. My favourite of all of these is her story about Water Lily & Viva Sec….two lovely girls she pictured & wrote about so beautifully in Old Friends. I just found it so touching to learn about these mares and their important friendships. Touching & inspiring, since I’m now “retired” too (at least, from teaching) and it’s my BFF’s who make each and every day rewarding!
Here’s a link to Barbara’s new-ish website and I photo of my girl, Terlingua, with her best friend, Island Kitty and a mare who joined them at some point in friendship, Shared Account:
http://barbaradlivingston.photoshelter.com/image?&_bqG=0&_bqH=eJyLTMwtC_BKDc_Myk1KM0lJj4oPSYtKKfZLMTGwMrEyMrUyNAACK894l2DneEc_F9sSNTDbtiS1KCczL700URsoEBrsGhTv6WIbClKc4ulZWWLplWvi4qoW7.gcYlucmliUnAEACxshVA–&GI_ID=
Abigail from Montreal
WHOOPS! “Ten Cents a Kiss” — NOT “Shared Account” !!! (Just finished doing my monthly budget…LOL!)
Sunny Boyd
Good morning Zetty,
my, what a BEAUTY you are, so splendidly documented by your John’s terrific photo-shoots. And your belly is just expanding nicely, isn’t it? But from the lower pic, it seems Tasty is a quite a bit shorter than you. : What a sweetie :) :) :)
Well, thank you for your great dailies, they’re such picker-uppers :) :) :)
You and Tasty have a great day
Abigail from Montreal
@ ALL: Although I’m certain we all have equine charities, here’s another Christmas gift idea from photographer Sarah K. Andrew. All the proceeds go to a charity that saves horses from feedlots on their way to slaughter and re-homes them:
http://www.hoofprints.com/organizers.html
Jane ( southern Ca)
Happy Monday to you and Dottie! I LOVE the picture of you, John and Tasty! Thank you sooo much for sharing the pictures! We adore and cherish them!
~~~~~~~
Have a wonderful day Zenyatta and baby “Z”! And you too Dottie!
SHERRY D. WV.
ZENNIE THE PHOTO OF YOU TT AND JOHN BROUGHT TEARS TO MY EYES. THE LOVE, THE BOND OF HORSE AND MAN IS SO STRONG YOU CAN FEEL IT IN THIS PICTURE. THANKS TO ALL FOR SHARING THE QUEEN WITH ALL OF US. SHE MAKES MY DAY. LOVE TO ALL SHERRY D.
Kim Noble
Only you could make me smile on a Monday Zenny! Really happy you have a best friend!
Charlotte Sveen
Love reading your posts, and seeing your photos. You are looking even more beautiful than ever. This post especially touched me with the love everyone has for you. I am wiping my eyes as I read it. Many hugs to you all!
Janet Newman
Love the pictures! I love catching up with Z and Tasty. John must be thrilled whenever he gets the chance to see his girl. Dottie is simply amazing keeping the posts updated.
Amy
Love the pic of you, John, and Tasty.
Moe Q.
Zenyatta and Tasty look so great together!
Dottie and John thank you so much for sharing your lives and Queen Z’s with us.
LauraJ (Cincinnati, OH)
@Loretta in AZ and @Heidi, she is due the beginning of March–around the 7th, IIRC. She could deliver any time between mid-February and the very beginning of April, though.
–
@Penny, it looks to me like she has swished her tail to the side in the picture. Signofthetimes is right, though. She has never had a lush tail. Most TBs don’t have especially abundant hair.
Katie Clawson
Zenyatta, you are looking absolutely amazing in these photos! You’re foal just keeps getting bigger! I am loving the new and improved ZENYATTA SHOP!
I hope that we can come see you soon!
Love, Katie(future jockey)
Leiana in Santa Barbara
Lanes End is truly gorgeous! It was so neat of them to have that lunch for the fans — delicious food! and the giveaway hats — and it must be a nice place to retire, acres and acres of lush green pasture.
When Maureen and I spoke with John last month at Santa Anita, he told us a funny story of how Tasty kept standing between him and Zenyatta. She’s the Queen’s bodyguard for sure!
Daina Ryan
WOW Z – you look MAGNIFICENT and Tasty is ADORABLE!!
Shannon from Cool
Yo Mama! You gettin’ BIG!
But you are still the QUEEN OF OUR HEARTS.
Ida Lee
It’s so great to see you and your dear friend Tasty. She loves you so much..that’s obvious. I’m sure you adore her too. You two remind me of me and my best friend of 45 years. You know what..I think I’ll call her today and tell her how much I love her.
Jan S. in Houston
Zenyatta,
What beautiful pictures of you and two of your best friends. :) So glad you and Tasty have each other. Sty helthy and happy Big Mama. Can’t wait to do some major shopping at your store. :)
Susan in TN
Zenny- what wonderful pictures of you and your John and, of course, Tasty T! She looks like she’s not sure if she should be disgruntled or not- glad you and John could reassure her. You (all) look fabulous! Horse friendships are amazing to me, whether they are with other horses, humans or other species. I’ll bet your and Tasty’s babies will be BFFs, too! I have to tell you a little story about our Choctaw. A couple of years ago, I went out to his field where he was grazing. It was starting to get dark. I sat down and started crying- we had just lost our sweet/terrible/much-loved goat Lily. Choctaw stopped eating, came closer and stood above me, gazing out across the field. It took me a little bit to realize what he was doing. He was standing guard for me. He could see I was vulnerable. It was one of the most humbling things I’ve ever experienced. I’ve actually never told anyone that, Z, but I knew you would understand. Love you, sweet girl. <3
Susan in TN
@Dottie: Thank you for all you do! <3
@ my Z friends: I'm behind on the weekend posts, so will get caught up! Hope everyone had a great weekend. Warm wishes and thoughts to all! <3
@Kari B: Sending all my positive energy your way! <3 <3 <3