Good Morning,
Often while I’m out in the paddock relaxing with TASTY, I have a great deal of time to THINK! It suddenly occurred to ME yesterday that ONE YEAR has passed since I was at BARN 55—-stretching my legs and doing my ‘last lap under tack’ with Steve around the training track.
One year…..WOW! It seems like just yesterday!
It is truly amazing how quickly time flies by. I imagine that is why people always say it is so important to enjoy and appreciate each day. I am really trying to subscribe to this philosophy. Each day is so special….and TASTY and I treat them as such.
A mare is ‘in foal’ for approximately 11 calendar months. Look how quickly this time is progressing for ME. I am due at the beginning of March…so just a few more precious months to go! I am eating properly, getting the appropriate amount of exercise each day….and truly enjoying each moment. LANE’S END does monitor my weight carefully….and I am gaining the perfect amount of weight each month now for a MOM-TO-BE.
MY FOAL does like to ‘move about’ quite a bit. As I understand it, you can actually see my tummy ‘wiggle’ when the baby does so. This is TOO CUTE!
Wishing you a wonderful day!
With Love,
Hugs to All~
Z
Kathy P.
Totally hope for some live video footage of you and that wiggly baby!! Love ya Big Momma!
Alene
Zenny this is such an awesome post. First, I am so pride of you for being the best in everything you do. You take every thing in stride and without any problem. You are truly amazing!1 I`m sure your belly is doing alot of wiggling around. Your little girl will be born before you know it. How lucky she will be to have you as her Mom. Time goes by in the blink of an eye. You know how much each day means. The year that has gone by just seems like yesterday. Everyone loves you so! We are all very proud of you. Love you Zenny!! Alene xxoo
Irene Caty
Zenny,yes it has been one year since you left us here in so. Calif. I feel today the same as I did then, saddend to see you leave us. we all loved you so much and then you just left. I cant really explain it but many of us have never really gotten over that. Maybe when you have your foal our feelings will see a different light. It is exciting to know your foal is readly moving around. This is going to be such a great experience for you. I plan to follow it all the way and I am so happy for you to have your own baby and your owners are going to keep it. Have a wonderful week Zenyatta and we will be thinking of you always, sending our love.
Andrea
Thank You so much for the updates on your condition! Good to hear wonderful news!
Ann Maree / Tennessee
@JAG (Judy) and all who are fans of Cigar: Steve Haskin took his own trip down memory lane and recently re-compiled and renewed some of his past columns about Cigar. Here is the link for Steve’s most recent article: http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2011/12/03/cigar-stories.aspx
Just priceless is his description of being at the Madison Square Garden Horse Show where Madeleine Paulson took her beloved Cigar to be paraded in front of her horsey friends so they could all help her celebrate her remarkable horse. There are other wonderful memories he recounts, which made me regret when I read it not seeing Cigar when he was racing. Thanks so much Judy for mentioning about the web cam at KHP. Did not know that! I visit WinStar’s web site where they have web cams of many of their famous and not-so-famous residents.
Best wishes all, Ann Maree
Deneen in NE
Love you Zenyatta!!!! Please take care and say hi to Tasty!!
Robin
@lauriek–Great photos! I’m in the Zenyattaholics one. How appropriate. @eveline–I am fine now. Thanks for the kind words. @kimS–Glad you enjoyed the post. It was fun reliving the memory. Well, not the surgery part, but the Zenyatta part definitely!
Barbara Grimaldi/NJ
TERRY–I usually only read here, but I had to say I am so happy you are back, because when I read an entire diary, something is missing when your jokes and good nature don’t appear.
Zenny’s fans work hard to name the new foal, and I think people are also doing some matchmaking and picking the next dad for Zenny’s next foal. I suggest Galileo, Medaglia d’oro and Giant’s Causeway. Now remember–I am not a horsewoman! I don’t know all the facts that you do–but I am learning as fast as I can, and those three stallions seem fine matches to me. Much love to you,precious Zenyatta.
Kimberly
Hi Queen, I hope you had a great day…. Be restful…
Marshall (older girl in NC)
Hi, Zenny! Love the image of you with a “wiggly tummy”!! Glad you are feeling well. Many thanks to Dottie for helping you keep us posted — what a wonderful gift! Hope Dottie & John have electricity soon. Thanks a million to the Mosses, also! They are the Best!
@All: Thanks to all who posted photos and video of the farewell last year at HP. Also, many thanks for the reposting of the first Zenyatta diary post.
HUGS to you, Zenny, and to all our “family” on this site, too!
Goodnight and sweet dreams!
Yvonne and Maurice
Hi Zenyatta. I was fortunate to see you retire (for the second time) – I can’t believe it is a year. You are definitely the Horse of a Lifetime!!! I remember screaming when you won Horse of the Year – and feeling so wonderful when we heard you were going to be a mommy. You are so blessed. You are an angel. Just watched the great show on HRTV, Favorite Trail Horse. The people vote for their favorite weekly horse and tonight they announced the three winners. It was such a great show, they had a mule, mustangs and a wonderful 13 hands high horse, the Bailef, competing. I had voted for Choke a 4 year old mare mustang. She almost died eating her bedding, therefore the name Choke. She was awesome. What a great show. HRTV is truly a horse sports channel. Just love the shows. Lindsay’s Faith, a roan mustang mare won the competition. She had been untouched by human hands less than a year. It is remarkable how smart mustangs are. I was fortunate to go to an Mustang Extreme Makeover here in Texas. It was great. Zenyatta, stay toasty, eat well for two and have loads of fun with Tasty and all of your barn friends. Love you, Angel.
Marshall (older girl in NC)
Hi, Dawn Conrad!
Hope you are well and that you will have a positively wonderful birthday! All the very Best Wishes to you for a great year! Hugs! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! (Love your posts)
MP in NC
Saralee
I can’t wait to be a grandmother again-I am 69-my grandchildren call me Mamaw-I hope your baby will as well- Istill miss watching you race but I’m retired too and babies and grandbabies quickly replace your previous job-love you-Mamaw
Kim Noble
Very happy you are doing so well Zenny and I would love to see your tummy wiggle!!!
cerb
My, how time flies. Thanks for the updates!
Anne from Paramount, CA
Hello-oo there QUEEN Z! Thanks much for the foal update. Where DOES the time go?
@JAG-Auntie and @Judy Sims in Florida: really enjoyed your postcard entries, thanks!
@All who have seen themselves in videos and/or on COVER OF TB TIMES (@Laurie K: a special WOWIE): high hooves to you all!!You all sure get around!
@Terry-aka-Redneck-Crow: as someone else once sang, “how nice to have you back where you belong.” Hello, Terry, Hello Terry… you’re still going strong… :)
@Judy Berube: Hi!
@Kari Bussell: thinking of you. Enjoyed Tinker.
@All, a good night! :)
Molly
Zenyatta, hmmm, wonder who you would pick for your next date? Do you and Tasty discuss such things out there in the pasture? If you like the Roberto line, you could choose from Arch, Dynaformer and Blame (oops)…then on another bent there is Mineshaft, Sky Mesa and War Front. Oh, the decisions that have to be made. I visited Darley just so I could see the breeding shed where you met with Bernardini. I hope you continue to have many visitors as I know how much you love people. We all love you so very much. Stay warm and happy.
Kari Bussell/sending prayers & love from Tn.
@Sandy (Noththeast Ohio)-
I hope you know that you are very welcome and celebrated here. I am always thrilled for Zenyatta to have new fans. I love learning how others first “discovered” her….and fell in love. I know that is how everyone here feels. Never give up on your dreams.Please believe me when I say I do know a little about dreams coming true. Believe!
@Sally (B)-
I would be stalking Tinker. I am in love with that little guy. I hope you get to meet him. He is just too cute & too precious!
@Karen Gogue- How wonderful for you that you and your daughter are in one of his( my heroes) videos. I have the photo he took that Dottie posted to diary of day after BCC for my screen saver. It shows Zenyatta (regal as always) with a ton of people at the fence. The wine boots under her between her front and hind legs are mine. LOL!..I was disappointed in the quality of my raw videos of her too. Like you said, they are my most treasured possessions. I’ll quote what Cynthia H- said to me after the Apple Blossom…The best photos and videos of Zenyatta are the ones taken from the heart. Thank you for sharing yours.
@Ann from Paramount- Your kind words of wisdom a long time ago cross my mind all the time…and I think of you. Thank you! for telling me.
*****
@Dawn Conrad- Happy Birthday!
I hope this new year brings you all the kindness, love, peace, health & JOY you give to me.
@All – I loved everyone’s stories and links today.
Zenyatta & Tasty- I hope you are having sweet horsey dreams. I love you..I’ll be dreaming of you.
Trina Nagele in So Cal
@Terry Crow—Welcome back!
@DJ—Hi, DJ! Thanks for your posts.
Trina Nagele in So Cal
It’s very early in the morning, but today’s the day for Dawn’s birthday!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Birthday Poem for Dawn Conrad
December 7, 2011
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first horse Dawn did adore
Was a dark bay filly
Bought for her by none other
Than her big brother
In the days just before
He went off to the Vietnam War–
He knew his little sis,
Who loved him silly,
Would sorely miss him.
I’ll bet Dawn did kiss him
On the cheek
Many times that week!
The filly, named Cinder, was all
Dawn could’ve wished for—
And even more.
Dawn had a ball
Every hour that she with Cinder spent.
They had a game,
Played always the same:
Whenever Dawn to the pasture went,
Cinder would instantly come
On the run,
Then stop on a dime
At the fence line
In front of her mistress
To receive her kiss and caress.
The years did pass,
And then
That once young lass,
Now into a woman grown,
Fell in love with a filly again—
This time one of world renown,
For who has not heard a lotta
’Bout the great Zenyatta?
Dawn followed all three years
Of Z’s brilliant racing career,
And then
Thanked God (and Dottie!)
When
Z’s diary came along.
Since then a year
Has come and gone–
If you remember,
’Twas in early November.
Z had already raced and won
Nineteen times
To the cheers
Of an ever-increasing throng–
And the racing days
Of this phenomenon
Were nearly done
When Z did pen
The lines
Of her Diary Entry One.
The BCC of 2010
Was just days away,
And then
Z’s retirement would be at hand…
Her many fans did fear
That they’d seldom hear
Of Z in her broodmare years,
But on that first diary day,
Z was making plans
So that she with those fans
In touch could stay
In this novel way,
And thus it was
Before her last race was run
That this new form of fun
For Z and her fans
Began.
Z’s diary with fecundity
Soon did spawn
A new society
Like no other,
With posters of variety,
And one “founding mother”
Was our dear Dawn!
Right from the start,
She would write from her heart
And find the means to convey
With great zeal
What we all feel
About Z’s magical way
(Astounding yet real),
But lack words to say.
This writer extraordinaire
Beautifully expresses
In fluid prose
How Z,
The mare
For whom we all care,
Us impresses
With her magnetic personality
And other-worldly quality.
Thus it was no surprise
When Dawn to the occasion rose
With the advent of March Madness,
As Zenyatta does propose
Her own writing contest
To erase our sudden sadness
And the tears that quelled up
When Z’s first foal failed to develop.
To see if perhap’
We’ll win the bronze
Number nineteen,
Each of us dons
Our thinking cap.
We try our best
In our own words to suggest
The meaning of Z
And to honor the Queen.
When the Final Four are randomly drawn
And their texts are seen,
We judge each sender
To be a worthy contender.
But now we get to voice
Our choice,
And it’s DAWN
Who wins the prize
(And by a landslide!)
For which many vied.
In this I hope she (humbly) took pride—
For sure, it brought joyful tears to her eyes!
Later when the prize arrives,
Dawn a photo does share
Of herself with the bronze of the beloved mare—
Z’s dancing as if before a race—
And we see Dawn’s
Gracious, sweet smiling face
And her coif, a soft shade of fawn.
Then as summer approached,
Since she’d known some cancer travail,
She thought herself to avail
Of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale.
There she the doctors consulted
And with them broached
Follow-up care.
We all said a prayer
It would go well for her there—
And I believe it indeed so resulted.
Leaving there the first week of June,
She soon
Was at Hollywood Park,
Team Z to meet
And to see
Where Z left her mark.
There she met Mr. Commons and E,
And Dawn
Delighted to see horses still graze
On what in former days
Had been Z’s favored lawn.
Now the Dumplings all hope Dawn will be back
To visit Santa Anita track
For the 2012 Breeders’ Cup
And that together at The Derby we’ll sup!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAWN, AND MAY YOU CELEBRATE MANY MORE!
tony
Queen Z, you’re still “da bomb”!
Brenda S..Ontario, Canada
Dear Dawn, It’s 7.30 am in Fort Erie and Vic and I send our best wishes hoping that you will enjoy your special day. Vic is looking forward to next Tuesday, it will be her special day, her 18th, and she is looking forward to becoming an official adult.
@ Trina, Poet Laureate – A lovely tribute to Dawn.
AngelaFromAbilene
@ Terry Crow said: “You might be a redneck if the main source of your income involves manure.” I guess that makes me a redneck because manure smells like money to me!
Trisha
Dear darling Zenyatta, yes time does just seem to fly. I am so thankful you are enjoying yourself in KY and have such a good friend like Tasty. HOWEVER, it seems like EONS since you were on the track. Miss you, miss you, miss you!
Have a wonderful day gorgeous
Love, hugs and kisses
evy
Good to hear that you are taking care of yourself, Zenny…and that the Lane’s End people have your best interest at the top of their list. Please keep the posts coming, Dottie. Love to hear about our special girl.
Barbara Wood (Texas)
@Trina N– great poem to celebrate our Dawn’s birthday. It echoes what we all feel about her. Happy birthday, Dawn!
@Kari Bussell–just want to thank you again for sharing Tinker with us. I have passed the video on to so many.
Victoria B
Hey Queen Z, I can’t wait to see that beautiful baby of your’s!! Be sure to teach it your dance moves, we need more dancing horses! I love you!!
Beth Alexander
Great to hear that you are doing very well and staying healthy for your little colt/filly! I know that Lane’s End will take very good care of you. Love you always!
Shari Voltzfrom Ohio
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY WONDERFUL FRIEND DAWN CONRAD!!! She has brought such joy into my life. I have a friend I can talk horses with. WE share YOU ZENYATTA! No one can take away that bond. I am so blessed that the Queen brought Dawn into my life. I love you Dawn. Happy Day and many more. Love, Shari :)
@ What a Beautiful poem for Dawn :)
Especially Horses / California
@Trina Nagele: You’ve done it again! Wonderful birthday poem for Dawn.