DEAR BARN 55 AND MY FANS,
WE DID IT!
YOU ARE TRULY MY DEAR FRIENDS! THANK YOU FOR BEING PART OF MY TEAM AND HELPING ME AND SUPPORTING ME EVERY SINGLE STEP OF THE WAY!
I COULD NOT BE MORE PROUD AT THIS MOMENT!
THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING!
WITH LOVE,
HUGS TO ALL!
Z
Rose
One beautiful thing I learned with Barbaro’s accident and death was to “love all horse’s” reguardless who owned them cause life is so short and these horse’s are so magnificient be it a pasture horse,show horse or a beautiful race horse. Thank You Barbaro!! for teaching me the true beauty of a horse, ZENYATTA and RACHEL came along and helped heal a hurting heart. Thank You Mr&Mrs Moss and Mr&MrsJ.Jackson.
Linda (Canada)
I’m so glad that Mike feels OK now…I know he was probably worrying these past 2 1/2 mos since BC that our Queen’s narrow loss cost her the prize she deserved!
All is well with the Queen of all all hearts and for Team Z.
I wish Mario and Carmen could have been there too….but someone has to watch Barn 55 right? :) I’m sure they were probably watching it on TVG.
Thanks again to the Moss’ for sharing Zennie with us for another year…we will NEVER forget her!
Anne
Thank you to John, Mario, Carmen and Steve who were with her every step of the way making it possible for Mike and Zenyatta to fly! Without a wonderful pilot like Mike Smith we would not be able to celebrate Zenyatta’s huge accomplishment of Horse of the Year.
Linda (Canada)
Thank you Penny Chenery…..how appropriate that a classy lady selects a classy lady for the Inagural of this award. What a fabulous idea! :) :)
max
Congratulations to Zenyatta and Team Zenyatta on another well deserved award. Z, you are the best!
nancy
Sill basking in your win Z, I been re-living it over and over in my mind. God love you Z, Jerry, Ann, John, Dottie, Steve, Mario, Carmen, and everone else from team Z, we love you all.
Sharon
L – solid, AVERAGE year??? seriously?? Blame AND Zenyatta? Not in the races I was watching. And then the BC Classic – average? I don’t think so. I guess it depends on the perspective of the one watching the races. Each horse had flashes of brilliance and each brought to their fans a year of thrilling rides. At least, that’s my opinion.
Robbie Pfeufer Kahn
The owner of Secretariat has created a new award for “Voice of the People,” and Zenyatta is the first recipient. Here is the website:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/horse_racing/wires/01/19/2080.ap.rac.secretariat.award.0193/
J Smith
CONGRATULATIONS ZENYATTA, and to all those who love her. Huge thanks to entire Team Z from beginning to retirement for having the foresight and patience to let her be all that she could be. It’s an honor and an inspiration to be a Zenyatta fan. I feel like I’ve won something!
Ashley
Congrats Zenyatta and team Z, you did it girl!
Long live the queen
Patrick
Congratulations, I am so happy that you won Horse of the year, you are surely a great one!
Robbie Pfeufer Kahn
To Kathryn Cogswell: Thank you for the eloquent recent post. I’d add Thunderhead to your list of iconic fictional horses. I love the way you slipped effortlessly from them to your own real horses. I appreciate the passion and knowledge in your posts.
To Sunny Farm: Your poetic tribute to John Sheriffs was magnificent! I also wanted to thank you for a kind, kind post in response to my first post (#33) about how Zenyatta was retiring, as was I. I was aware that horses talk to us (you had said that your horses talk to you all the time). I wanted to express amazement that for the first time I enjoyed a horse that spoke in human speech (as a child I preferred books in which animals did not speak human words)! Thank you again for your compassion about my retirement.
To Christine Coleman: Thank you for the tribute to Mario (other people have spoken of him, too). Your quote “you are speaking as to who contributed so much to your happiness while you were racing,” expressed perfectly Zenyatta’s demonstration of affection for Mario. I had written about the moment (#37) when Mario stroked Zenyatta’s shoulder and she nuzzled his shoulder.
Thanks to you all–Robbie
Lindsey
Luv you to Z. I was so excited for you when I found out! Congrats Girl! You truly deserve it more then anyone else! You’re an inspiration to many, many fans! And I can’t thank you enough for being you.
Anna
ZENYATTAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!! OMYGOODNESS!!!!!! YOU ARE THE BEST HORSE EVER!!!!!!!!
Nancy L
The Horse of the Decade is now Horse of the Year. Yet you will be remembered for a long long time for your talent, determination and graciousness. Far longer than a “mere” horse of the year. You are the one od a kind Zenyatta.
Ron
Mike Smith start enjoying life again. You rode the HORSE OF THE YEAR. Life is good again.
Elaine
The Queen is crowned! Zenyatta is not only the Horse of the Year, she is the Horse of our Hearts!
Team Z: you all looked awesome up on stage!
Joan
@L The horses belonging to the Jacksons deserve the same respect and coming home safe as all track horses do. They don’t pick their owners afterall. To disrespect their horses shows disrespect to all. Now don’t get me wrong , I totally disapprove
of Rachels campaign last year.They ran the heart and spirit out of her, I just pray that she is at peace and happy in her retirement. I commented on a board last year, Zen was the lucky one she got the Moss’, poor Rach got Jess. It is as true today as last year.
Jo Ray
Ultimately the horse that won this was the one with the biggest heart! You proved you are the greatest female of all time by having a bad trip, getting stuck in traffic, and still passing Blame one stride after the wire. Not to mention you ran on his home track, and a month earlier he showed a lack of heart by losing bad to an inferior horse. No question you are the best ever! You inspire me.
Jane in Seattle
Did you all see the Zenyatta HOY baseball cap on Z’s FaceBook page? What I would really like to see is a teeshirt with a big Z with a tiny diamond crown, and horse of the year 2010 under it. Just a suggestion =-)
Love you beautiful Z! You’re the Queen AND HOY – life is good.
Sharon Tracy
Congratulations Zenyatta!!!! You so deserve the Horse of the Year honors. I’m glad that the voters realized that.
Sherpa
To honor Zenyatta, it would be good if everyone shows the same respect and courtesy to Blame/Claiborne and Rachel/Mr. Jackson as Team Z has done. I loved Mrs. Whitney’s line “a candle loses nothing by lighting another”…it applies in every aspect of life. Kind words, too, are candles.
Jeanne
JUst got my laptop back from the geeks, so thie is a little late. Congradulations Zenyatta and all your connections. Mike Smith was right, this award makes everything alright again. I screamed so loud when you won, I just about peed my pants, well maybe did a little. I was waiting for my neighbors to come over to see what the heck I was screaming for, and the cats went in six directions. I wore my Zenyatta shirt to work the next day with such pride. Even in St. Louis, everyone knows who you are my dear Z. Can’t wait to hear who the lucky guy is, Maybe LOOKIN’ At LUCKY ? I seen him eyeing you at Churchill Downs!
Kimberly
Queen, You truly are royalty and have made horseracing fun…We miss you in California. Hope to come and visit with you soon…. Maybe I will see you roll in the grass!!! You deserve a crown…
Kathryn Cogswell
The Friendly Pursuasion, a film from Jessamyn West`s book of the same title, came on the other evening. Jess Birdwell, as Gary Cooper plays him, serves a pivotal role in seeing his growing son tipped to fight for the Union. “If thee has a sword in thy heart, take it out and use it .. . but there is no sword in my heart,” he tells the young man. Earlier, during the Quaker Meeting, a neighbor has leveled accusations at Jess about the depth of his peaceful convictions. “I have doubts of my own,” Jess can say. ~ When Mr. Moss, praising John Shirreffs, said of those who nurtured ‘Miss Z,’ there was . .. “not a bad vibe in the barn,” it was shining, and beckoning. ~ Testing the heart for a sword can be a full time job; finding one, I’ll pull it, broken to a plowshare, the better to serve a more constructive purpose. ‘Z`s Honor.
Barbara Wood
I think we have a perfect example of reaping and sowing here in reference to the Mosses. They have sown kindness and generosity, and they are reaping their reward.
I know that the day after they began Old Friends by donating their beautiful Ruhlmann, they won the Kentucky Derby with Giacomo. Not that we “do” to “get”, but we eventually reap what we sow.
Valeria Cannon
Congrats Lady Z,
on your winning the very first Secreteriat Vox Du Populi (Voice of the People) Award, what a kind and gracious gesture from the family of “Big Red’. You go girl, you’re blazing the pathways for those to come, how ’bout that!
tami reiland
I will never get over you! Congrats to you, your wonderful generous owners and everyone who loves you Zenyatta!
Michelle
Congratulations to the whole team!!! Zenyatta you will always be my Horse of the Year, Horse of a Lifetime! I could not love you more.
Linda O.
Oh Zenny!! What a wonderful ride you have given us! I started following your career after your 4th win. I knew then you were going to be something special! You did not disappoint! My friends and I were at this year’s BC. We planned this trip for a year and we were counting down the days until we left Nashville. We knew we were going to see the greatest race mare in history! It was an amazing day. The energy, excitement, and electricity among the people was unbelievable! When they brought you over from the barn to the saddling area – we were watching you on the big screen. When you started your dance moves the crowd was roaring!! We were standing on the bleachers screaming to the top of our lungs when you rounded the turn for home. To see you go by and pick your competition off one by one was so thrilling! It took my breath away. Even though you lost by inches, we were not disappointed. We had come to see the greatest and did we ever. Those memories will be with me for a lifetime. Thank you to the Mosses for sharing your wonderful horse with the world. You have been gracious and wonderful ambassadors for the sport. Thank you John for your patience and taking your time with her training so she would develop into the amazing athlete she is. Thank you Mario and Carmen for taking such good care of her and loving her the way you do. And a big thank you to Mike Smith for giving her a wonderful ride and bringing her across the finish line safely. We love you Zenyatta! Hail to the Queen! I will be seeing you soon in Kentucky!