Zenyatta

Queen of Racing

Z's Diary

Diary Post #386

My Barn 55 pal, Mischa, in the holiday sunshine. Photo by John Shirreffs

Dear Friends,

I sincerely hope each of you had a very peaceful and loving holiday. The time we spent at the farm visiting with everyone was wonderful. I am overwhelmed by all of your support, love, and warm wishes to myself and MY TEAM.

I will forever be grateful to each of you!

In life, things may often travel an unexpected path. Sometimes, the surprises are wonderful and joyful. Other times, no matter how hard you work and no matter how hard you try, the result is totally out of your control and not as positive as you would hope.

I’d personally like to thank each of you for the concern and love you have expressed for CLOUD MAN. He definitely ‘knows’ how you all feel and the many candles and prayers you honored him with yesterday.

Needless to say, it is a very sad time for MY TEAM. They loved him very, very much…and he will be greatly missed.

Your kindness and thoughtfulness, as always, is deeply appreciated and means so much to all of us!

With Love,
Hugs to ALL~(Special blessings…dear Cloud Man)
Z

Reader Interactions

309 Comments

  1. / Reply

    For those who want to give to Valley View Ranch–their site does not seem to have a place to state in whose memory the funds are being given. However,their e-mail address is shown on the site—www.valleyviewranch@gmail.com—so I just sent an e-mail afterwards and let them know that way. Hope this helps.

  2. / Reply

    @Elizabeth in New Mexico—Oh my goodness, what an exquisitely lovely poem! THANK YOU for this beautiful tribute to Cloud Man!

  3. / Reply

    Everyone- it’s days like today that I am so thankful to God nothing everhappened to you Zenny when you went out to race or prctice or just walk. I was always worried you would get hurt or something and I just don’t think I could take the pain of you leaving us….it would have killed me to lose you … you are so great, I am so saddened by the loss of CloudMan it makes me cry, it’s not fair.
    Why do horses have to die??? it hurts so much

  5. / Reply

    Good night, sweet Z. Sleep tight, safe and secure, till the morning light.
    @Joyce in Vegas—-Another truly inspired poem. Thanks so much for posting it. I pray your husband’s condition will improve.
    @Dawn Conrad, Donna, Sue Noel, Linda M and Peggy N—Beautiful posts. Thank you.
    @Abigail in Montreal—Thanks for giving us that insightful quote and its source.

  6. / Reply

    I’m so sorry about the tragic loss of Cloud Man, and the other racers who met sad ends this week. I missed reading Z’s diary yesterday and only just now realized what happened. I hope they do look into the condition of that track since this doesn’t sound like a series of random incidents.

    We come here to read joyful news about Zenny and horse racing and breeding, but this is the sad other side of the coin.

    I am so glad that beautiful, precious Zenyatta avoided injury and was able to retire to her new career in one piece. I pray that motherhood will be as kind to her and that her foals will race to retire uninjured.

  9. / Reply

    I was so saddened to hear the news about Cloud Man. My sincere condolences to the Moss’, Barn 55 and all others who have lost a horse this way. This part of horse racing is so tragic and heart breaking. We are so blessed and thankful that our beloved Zenyatta came home safe and sound.

  10. / Reply

    To all at Barn 55 – know from all us Cloud Man will always be loved, never forgotten. This is a very painful time for all of you. We send our love. Cloud Man, may God bless you and keep you.

  11. / Reply

    Team Z – Such a tragedy losing Cloud Man that way. We are all thinking of you and your loss. As one of the other posters already said – this is the down side of racing. My deepest sympathies go out to you all.

  12. / Reply

    Such a tragic loss all the more devastating due to its sudden nature. My condolences to you Zenny and all your connections. This must be so hard to accept and my thoughts and best wishes go out to you and yours in the sad days ahead. And to Cloud Man may you rest in peace and enjoy greener pastures.

  14. / Reply

    In the midst of all this sadness, one comforting thought has repeatedly come to mind – the fact that Z’s site and Dottie have enabled us as a community to grieve together. When Go for Wand fell at the finish of her Breeders’ Cup race 20 years agi, I was devastated but could not obtain any accurate information from Belmont as to where to send sympathy cards, either to her owner or her trainer. There were no racing forums, no instant communication, no connection other than mail. My cards were returned and since no one else in my family was interested in racing or horses, the sorrow could not be shared. This site has been a blessing with the eloquent words, caring thoughts, lovely poems and outpouring of support and sympathy for Dottie, John, the Mosses, and all of Barn 55. Thank you Z for bringing us together. RIP dear Cloud Man —

  15. / Reply

    @Anyone making donations via PayPal to Valley View Ranch, or anywhere else for that matter: On the PayPal payment page there is a place to add “message to seller.” It is in small type, so you have to look for it. Click on it and a place to type will open. You can use the message to designate what it is for, add a dedication, or what have you.

  16. / Reply

    @Sue Noel/SunValley/ID–what I do is click on “Donate” and that brings up my PayPal account (I had resisted getting one until I “met” MArlene and deadlines would be looming). Then I log in, fill in the amount, and click. Then a small message on the left says “leave note to recipient?” and I click on that. You can type in comments much as we do here.
    @Elizabeth in New Mexico– stunning poem. Thank you.
    We will be leaving shortly for a funeral in Dallas (our second in 2 days). It seems as if sorrwr is making the rounds. In this case, however, it is for a lady who would have celebrated her 100th birthday next March. She was my mom’s best friend.

  18. / Reply

    This is a wonderful, warm community filled with such loving people. That amazing fact, and the respect I have for the way Team Zenyatta conducts itself in each and every situation, makes it less than easy to be the voice of reality here, but I truly believe a dose of less glossy sentiment is needed.

    That glossiness casts us as enablers of the harshness that is still at the heart of racing. As long as the equine fatality rate is sickeningly high (or above zero), we can’t allow our fascination with the beauty of a running horse to obscure the hard facts. When I try to rationalize these losses, one thought always stops me cold: How many owners died on a racetrack or abattoir this year? This decade? Ever?

    We cannot abandon racing, but we can come out of the shadow of denial and keep demanding more protections for these angels. May none of them rest in peace – may they all run free and happy and wild.

  20. / Reply

    @ Pam G – well said.
    It breaks my heart to read this, that Cloud Man couldn’t be saved. I saw the race and looked away, I knew it was bad, I just did. Such a beautiful animal. And this is the part of horse racing that makes me question myself for watching it. They run not only because they love to, but because we ask them to. Very very sad, and it seems too many went down last weekend. I so wish something could be done about it…. My condolences go out to you and everyone at Barn 55 because I know each and every horse there is loved by his/her caretakers. My wish is for the racing community to continue to demand changes and research to protect these beautiful animals. RIP Cloud Man.

  22. / Reply

    Good Morning Zenny, Now it’s a new day I feel I can say congratulations to Maritimer who ran really well at Woodbine on Sunday. Definitely a horse to watch for the Queen’s Plate next year. I hope that YOU and TASTY are keeping warm and eating well.

  25. / Reply

    DEAREST CLOUD MAN, DOTTIE, MR. SHIRREFFS ALL OF TEAM-CLOUD MAN/ZENYATTA & THOSE WHOSE LOVED ONE(S) HAVE LEFT YOU FOR NOW,
    I was up all night reflecting , praying for you & having my own memorial service. I have been reading so many beautiful poems & poetic words others have left at this beautiful place. I am incapable of expressing my sorrow with words. I remembered these words Dottie wrote-“OH DEAR! Life has so many things that can happen to wonderful people.” ….and then I remembered this video….while it made me cry…it brought me comfort…I hope it brings comfort to you…I did Not do this video.
    For CLOUD MAN-SUSIE-OPIE-BOOTS-VICKEY-DOMINIQUE….and all who have crossed over…
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQeM3VCQh6s

  26. / Reply

    Dear Zenny,
    Another new day and another busy schedule for the QUEEN and her friend TT. Have a great romp in the paddock doing your voluntary exercise. Eat healty; frutis and vegetables grain and hay, the best in land for our QUEEN. The pears are coming. Most important rest and relax in the crisp KY air. XXXXXOOOOO

  29. / Reply

    TO ALL ON THIS SITE FOR SUCH WONDERFUL MEMORABLE TOUCHING POSTS/VIDEOS/LINKS

    THANKS SO MUCH. AND THANKS DOTTIE/ZENNY FOR BEING THE WONDERFUL PERSON THAT YOUR ARE. WE ARE SO FORTUNATE
    TO HAVE YOU KEEP THIS SITE FOR US.

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