Good Morning,
I am having a great deal of fun! Joe Drape, who writes for the NY TIMES, came to visit and did a wonderful article (Z in NY Times) about me for his paper. The photos are outstanding…if I say so myself. There is one showing my friends and I running in the paddock. (I’m in FRONT! Too cute!) WE are having a blast running in the snow and playing together each day!
Please enjoy the photos and the piece. JOE DID A GREAT JOB! He did an update on some of my recent ‘teasing’ activities. Also, as referenced in the article, I have had all of my proper vet checks…and I am a real ‘girly girl’…with all of my body parts in good-working order. In these photos, I think I look terrific…even though they say I’ve gained a bit of weight! Good thing I’ve got a nice, strong frame to carry it off so well!
Also, this is too cute! A travel agency has called the FARM and wanted to know if they could put me on ‘their tour list…as one of THINGS TO SEE WHILE IN KY’. I guess they think LOTS of people would like to come and see me! (I gotta’ love my fans. This is absolutely adorable and made my day!) I’m not sure how this could happen as the roads at the farm aren’t big enough to handle big tour buses…but I could not be more flattered!
Yesterday, Steve Haskin, his wife, Joan, and Lenny Shulman came to visit. I gather Steve and Joan were here on a business trip from their home base in New Jersey. It was great to see them! I’ve known Steve and Lenny (both write for THE BLOODHORSE Magazine) since I was just starting out on my racing career. They have been dear friends for years now! I am so fortunate to have so many dear FANS and FRIENDS!
Just a few days now until my CA FAMILY comes to visit. They will be so excited to see how well I’m doing with all of my new friends. I can’t wait!!!!!!
With Love,
Hugs to ALL!
Z
sherry drish
ZENYATTA< WE ARE SO HAPPY FOR YOU!! THINGS ARE GOING GREAT. LANES END FARM IS SO LOVELY, I AM GLAD OLD FRIENDS AND NEW ONES COME TO SEE YOU. I WOULD ENJOY THAT MYSELF. NEVER FORGET YOU ARE A VERY SPECIAL MARE AND THE MOSS FAMILY AND JOHN AND DOTTIE ALWAYS TRY TO DO WHATS BEST FOR YOU..LOVE SHERRY D.
sue w
Zenny…you coninue to rock the world with your presence. A cover girl for the NY Times! How awesome is that. The next few days will be very busy and exciting for you. Give lots of kisses to your CA folks and remember, you are always our HOY!
Snoprinz
I have to read this NYT article. Is there an online version? Zenny,you are sensational and quite a tour attraction.As soon as LE says GO, I’ll join one of these tour groups to visit you.
I’m praying for you to be crowned HOY.you’re so deserving of that award.I am a returning fan of this sport because of you.
LarriLou Kallsen
Well of course you should be one of the favorite things to do in KY! You are the most awesome race horse in our time, well I think of all time! I know that is where I am planning my next vacation! To Kentucky to see Zenyatta again. You are the BEST!!!
Mary
Fun NY Times article. You are so cute, Zenyatta. Thank you for sharing all the newsy stuff. Have a wonderful visit with your team as they come by on their way to the Eclipse Awards. Tell all your new buddies to keep their hoofs crossed for luck, for you to win the Horse of the Year award. Hugs and Prayers!
jim Kelly
Good luck girl on Monday..You certainly deserve to be Horse of the Year…Maybe if you end up being bred to A.P. Indy..Your parents (The Mosses),should name your first newborn… A Pinyatta.I think that would work..(And on the 7th day..God created ZENYATTA..)
Elaine
OF COURSE everyone wants to see you! We miss you here in California, but it’s great that you are doing so well and are happy in Kentucky.
Roxanne Cook
Zenny, back on November 21, you posted in Diary Post #12 that you had painted a Moneigh that would be auctioned for charity. IT’S AVAILABLE NOW ON EBAY, and I just checked … only 10 bidders – over $3,072 so far bid. Let everyone know your painting and those painted by the other famous horses are being auctioned for charity (Re-Run). Bidding ends in 3 days.
Marian M.
Might NTRA be able to offer a live video stream of the Eclipse Awards presentations? If not the entire evening, perhaps just that portion devoted to the announcement of the 2010 HOY award?
Mary Stanford
I just read the article in the New York Times about you…it was wonderful!!! I smiled all the way through reading it. I love how you are so happy and I like your posse…and you go girl…you are the leader. I am so happy that Mr. & Mrs. Moss share you with all of us fans. They are very kind and caring people …and thanks again to Dottie for helping you with your daily post…what would you do without your executive assistant, Dottie.
For the fans….just go to the New York Times site and click on sports and you will see the wonderful article on Z…so beautifully written. It is cute to read you are a little bit of a flirt to Capone. Hugs to you Z…
Trish & Mike in Colorado
Steve Haskin and Lenny Shulman are the stars and real stand-outs at the Bloodhorse. We never read anyone else there except a couple of the women writers who are also good.
We’re fans of AFTER MARKET and hope he’s the one, because of his great breeding and unusually great looks. Also the CA connection !!!
Janie
Of course people want to come see you Zenyatta! You precious girly-girl. And the NY Times article was wonderful and those pictures – you’re too darlin’ for words. Have fun seeing your California family this weekend and I’ll be watching the Eclipse Awards. Fingers, toes and hooves crossed!
Nancy L
Great article in the NY Times and I love the pictures!Steve Haskin’s blog entries (Hangin with Haskins) about you are the best ever… I hope everyone reads or has read the ones about you. Also, please let people know that Zenyatta Mo-Neigh notecards are available through Re-Run. It is a good option for those of us who cannot afford the painting itself :)
Ann Maree
Hi, Zen, I’m so glad you are getting visitors at least in the professional arena! I certainly hope there are some plans soon for your regular fans to come see you. I miss you, and am eagerly awaiting when it would be ok to visit. I know Lane’s End has their activities they have to tend to….but you know that your fans are very, very respectful of you and would never do anything to endanger you in any way. I’ve looked at all the videos John took of fans visiting you at Hollywood Park and everyone was always very careful and respectful, recognizing that they were guests. I know if some basic rules were set up — and also, a pre-requisite that everyone watch and read Steve Willard’s “How to greet a horse” — that it could work very well. I really do think that if they let a few come at a time that it would be more easily managed (and your fans will get to spend some quality time with you) than if they have one or two large visitations, and then, your fans would not get to spend personal time. So, I’m hoping things get worked out soon….I have family in the area, and friends as well, so hopefully, something can get decided soon. You are so special, and your family all have been so caring to keep us informed….I do appreciate all that is being done — we have really gotten spoiled!!! Good luck on Monday! I will be watching on TVG (if I can get it here in Memphis area). Hugs. Your friend, Ann Maree
Barbara Wood
Dearest Z–
What a great diary post, and what a great article! Finally–some GOOD news in the papers! I loved the pictures. You are so…just YOU. There’s no one like you. I’m so glad you’re enjoying your new friends. I check up on you each day. So glad the folks at Lane’s End are “getting it” about the fact that you are not “just” a California girl! Love you always.
Wendy Bratten
I would love to take a tour that included seeing you, Zenyatta!
Leeann
We loved the NY Times article!! You look great in the pictures to tell the truth you look the same even though you gained 100 pounds!! :P LOVE YOU Z!
Gerrie P.
There must be some way for Zenyatta’s fans to visit her in the future at Lane’s End or another home site.
Zenyatta is more than Horse of the Year, Decade, etc.. Zenyatta has struck a chord with the country that hasn’t been seen or felt for many, many, years. She is healthy, sound, and and seems to enjoy her interactions with us commoners.
Please consider what she means to her fans. I know you have done way more than we could ever expected with regards to keeping Zenyatta accessible to the public. Yet, Zenyatta has become America’s horse. Please, please, let us visit her, even if it isn’t in the near future. She will not be forgotten, she will be admired by her fans for the rest of her life and beyond.
Rhonda Clements
What a great article, and the picture with her crew is fabulous you can see how happy she is! I hope that the right choice is made on Monday night, she deserves this award like no other horse has in recent memory. I cannot wait to hear who daddy will be. In any case it will be fabulous if it is even half as good as mama, no one will ever be as magnificent the Queen there is only one Zenyatta, love you sweet girl
The Kennedys in San Diego
A wonderful article by Joe Drape in the New York Times. The photos were lovely. Both Lenny and Steve are great Zenyatta fans. We look forward to Steve’s article about his visit.
Sheri
Wow Zenyatta you must be so honored! An arical in the New York Times and now your one of the things to see! Amazing! I hope I get to meet you personaly sometime! It would be like I have died and gone to heaven! Haha! love you Zenyatta and I’m glad you’ve settled in nicely!! :D
Manuela Hudson
Well, that sure is cute about the tour to see you! I’d go! I would just walk, or better, I’d run all the way down and around just to see you!! Who said we need a bus??!!:) Have lots of fun with your dear friends this weekend!! Love you!!
L
As nice of a thought as it is, it really does not seem practical for Lane’s End or any big nursery farm to open up public access to it’s broodmares.
Its one thing to visit the stallions who are singular, healthy individuals. The potential to exposure for a virus to a mare in foal is too great. Think back a couple of years to when KY suffered that epidemic of mares slipping their foals?
Also think about it. Would you all rather have Zenyatta relaxing out in a big pasture, enjoying the sun, the grass and her friends or would you rather she be kept up so she could be brought out and paraded for public appearances?
There is a reason you don’t hear of the big nurseries offering open houses for the mares like they do the stallions. It’s very different types of husbandry and ultimately the well being of every mare on the farm has to be considered before Lanes End could contemplate offering open access to Zenyatta.
At the end of the day Lane’s End is a nursery business, not the Kentucky Horse Park.
Alexandra Bowdoin
My Dear Queen Z, I cried again seeing you run in the paddock with your friends….It
is so Great to see you running free and having a good time! Of course you are in the lead…Have a great visit with your California Family this weekend.XOXOXOXOXO
Jenna
So, in other words, no one will ever get to see her again. For those of us on the East coast who never saw her., we’ll never see her.
CAM
Well put post from “L” who understands how things run.
I’m sure they’ll allow visitations of some type but there will never be an all access pass, per say.
The Kennedys in San Diego
Horse Farms are marketing their stallions. Therefore, they are made available for viewing. Whereas, mares are not. As one KY horseman told us when we visited before the 2010 Breeders’ Cup races, “I try not to fall in love with mares because when they are retired one never sees them again.” I hope it is different with Zenyatta.
L
@Jenna,
I imagine Lane’s End is sensitive to the desires of her fans and maybe they will be able to come up with a logistically sound plan that will allow some level of personal access.
But at the same time there is a reason you don’t hear of tour groups meeting broodmares.
Think about the logistics. A stallion can be brought out at almost any time in the year. How would the farm address access to a broodmare in terms of her foaling date? At what age do you feel it would be safe to expose a young foal to large groups of (even well meaning) people? So do you, as the farm, only make Zenyatta available when she doesn’t have a foal on her side? How do you express that to a tour company?
Next question, yes Zenyatta is a very personable horse who has a loving, trusting relationship with humans. Not every high bred thoroughbred mare is the same. Horses are prey animals and can be stressed by changes in their routines (such as large groups of people showing up). So what do you do? Do you keep Zenyatta completely separate from other broodmares, her girlfriends, so that Zenyatta can be seen but the other mares are not bothered? Do you try to ensure the other mares with Zenyatta are also people lovers? Do you have a set period of time in the day when you bring Zenyatta up out of the field to give her public access to her?
There’s also insurance to be considered, not only for large groups of people coming onto the property but also for the other horses on the property.
Again, I’m not saying Lane’s End isn’t looking at all possible solutions to accommodate Zenyatta’s fans but the reality is Zenyatta is one horse on a farm with a lot of valuable stock. They can’t just swing open the doors and lay out refreshments.
Judy Sims
Hi Zenny:
What a great article in the New York Times. The picture of you and your “Posse” is my favorite. Here is the website for those who haven’t seen it:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/sports/14horse.html?_r=3&hp.
I have a big “Z” on my wall calendar square for Monday the 17th. Good luck but win or lose you will never be defined by one award. You are simply the greatest.
Have a great weekend with your California family. Tell Alyce, Sea Gull and Pirate Queen that I send hugs & nose kisses to them too but you get the most.
Judy 8-)
L
Just to follow up.
The amazing level of access this farm has already provided, through the videos, pictures and this wonderful blog is unprecedented.
Nothing like this was done for the likes of Rags to Riches, or even Azeri (a personal darling of mine). Fans of Rachel Alexandra had no word as to how she settled into farm life.
This is a great deal of exposure from the farm and I’m just grateful they’ve gone to the lengths they have.