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Lane’s End Video Interviews: Part 3

Happy Friday!

We hope everyone is gearing up for the Preakness and some beautiful weather this weekend.

The third part of our Lane’s End interview series introduces you to Charles Campbell. He has been the Broomare Manager for four years, and he was with Zenyatta the night she foaled.

Charles Campbell, Broodmare Manager:

“I’m originally from a small hamlet in England, and I was brought up on a farm where my parents trained and produced racehorses. I was riding an jumping fences before I could walk and have always had a love for horses from this young age.

After graduating from university I decided to travel the world working with horses. I started in South Africa and made it to America. As soon as I arrived at Lanes End I fell in love with the farm and horses here. I worked with the yearlings and then did a season with the stallions before moving to the mares. I find working with the mares and foals the most rewarding aspect of all as it encompasses my interest for science and passion for horses.

As the Broodmare Manager my days are kept busy with reproductive work and insuring all the mares and foals are happy and healthy, including Zenyatta and Baby Z.”

Here are a couple photos that were taken yesterday at the farm.

Enjoy!
-Team Z

Photo Courtesy of Alys Emson/Lane's End

Photo Courtesy of Alys Emson/Lane's End

Reader Interactions

1,329 Comments

    • / Reply

      Dear Sign:

      Hooray for It’s Tricky. Some great efforts in that race. Hugs, JB

    • / Reply

      Sign. Great photos. I especially liked the one of Citation enjoying his retirement with a roll on the grass.

  4. / Reply

    @Trina Nagele:
    Thanks for another lovely birthday poem! You have given us a wonderful portrait of Kathryn Cogswell. Brilliant!

    @Kathryn Cogswell:
    HAPPY BIRTHDAY! And many more beautiful years to follow!
    Thank you for all that you do for our equine cousins.

  5. / Reply

    I cannot find a FB page for Hootie, and I’ve tried several times.

    @Sarah Powell–praying for your dear Buckaroux. Please update as you can. I would be beside myself.

    @Way to go, Shack! Way to go, It’s Tricky! Well done!

    Good night all, Z. and Baby Z. and to all who are missing friends and loved ones serving far away. God bless and keep you all!

  6. / Reply

    A Birthday Poem for Peggy N in South Central Georgia
    (May 29, 2012)

    ’Twas on her adored Misty,
    A Shetland black and white,
    That Peggy N first learned to ride.
    Misty and Peggy did click—
    For Misty, Peggy was IT!
    No one else would Misty abide,
    So no one else could stay astride.
    I don’t know if Misty others would kick
    Or bite,
    But she certainly all other riders would fight,
    And she’d buck them all off, lickety-split!
    Thereafter came Rebel, a chestnut Welsh
    Ridden almost daily
    Throughout those years,
    And Peggy had no fears,
    Riding gaily
    Even on the freeway overpass,
    Till one day it came to pass
    That Rebel did rebel
    With a vigor that Peggy couldn’t squelch.
    As Peggy does the story tell,
    When they were out exploring,
    Rebel started to run—well,
    May I say like hell?—
    Back to the barn,
    Straight across two roads roaring
    At full speed,
    Taking no heed
    For their safety.
    When they arrived
    At the barn,
    Blessedly both still alive
    And suffering no harm,
    Peggy, who’d been scared to death,
    First sought to recover her breath,
    And then it did employ
    To thank the good Lord for their luck
    In not getting by any vehicle struck.
    Next, Flicka, a bay,
    And Big Boy,
    A handsome
    Very light gray,
    Like Hansen today,
    Were the big horses
    Who brought Peggy great joy.
    In recent years,
    It’s been her cats
    Who have brought her cheer,
    Most especially
    The heaven-sent Holly,
    A loving dark calico,
    The sweetest kitty
    One could ever know
    And the darling of Peggy’s heart,
    Though
    I must confess
    That at the start,
    Though sent as we said from heaven,
    Holly wasn’t quite
    Sure
    She’d found
    The right address,
    And her anxious purr
    Was mostly from nerves.
    She’d arrived as a stray
    Late one night
    Looking around
    In Peggy’s carport,
    And in the usual way
    Scampered away
    In fright
    When approached outright.
    Yet all the same,
    Back she came
    Night after night–
    Peggy and she each
    The other did court.
    Then came the night
    When Peggy Holly did sight
    Not very far,
    Just beneath her car—
    Peggy down did reach,
    And by golly
    That dear Holly
    Decided it would be folly
    To take flight
    For this might
    Well be
    The very lady
    Whom she,
    Sent
    From heaven above,
    Was meant
    To love.
    Thus did Holly relent
    From her fears
    And consent
    To Peggy’s soft caress.
    Thereafter she was ever present,
    And the years
    Did their love did cement.
    Holly saw Peggy through
    Her dear dad’s Alzheimer’s and death,
    Her mom’s ailments,
    And Peggy’s own
    Cancer treatment.
    In those years,
    Whenever Peggy felt blue,
    When she cried
    Due
    To her fears,
    Or did with pain groan,
    Holly was by her side
    And industriously would
    At Peggy’s trouser leg
    Pull—
    ’Twas Holly’s way
    To beg
    Her dear Peg
    Not to be sad
    And to say
    You’re not alone—
    I’m glad
    With you to stay
    Come what may.
    Sadly, once Peggy was cancer-free
    Following her surgery
    (She’s now been two years
    Cancer free,)
    Holly exited this sphere
    And left Peggy in tears.
    Nonetheless
    To Peggy it’s clear
    That the Rainbow Bridge is no chimere—
    She and Holly will reunite
    When she too takes that angel flight.
    Till then when she reaches the heavenly stairs,
    Peggy does request
    That we keep her in our prayers.
    And meanwhile,
    Our Peggy N
    Again
    Does smile.
    She tells us exciting tales
    Of her adventures at the Ocala Sales
    And her visits to see
    Pops at Old Friends,
    The great A P Indy
    At Lane’s End,
    And Quiet American at Darley.
    Peggy also delights in Z’s community,
    Especially
    Therein to meet and greet
    Her twin
    Under the skin,
    The lovely Dawn Conrad–
    Both are people-persons without any rancor,
    Have for many years
    Had happy careers
    As bankers,
    Have fought the cancer canker,
    Love horses,
    And of course
    Have been so lucky
    As to make trips to Kentucky,
    Which they again wish to do.
    We hope this dream for both will come true,
    And we wish them longevity too!

    Happy Birthday, Peggy N, and many, many more!

    • / Reply

      Happy Birthday Peggy!!! As has been noted by others, Trina’s poems are such a neat way to “get to know” our Z family, and I loved hearing about all of your horses and Holly too! Hope this will be a great year for you.
      Sandy

      Trina – continued !!!!!!!!! :-)

    • / Reply

      Happy Birthday Peggy N and many, many more. It is very special to receive one of Trina’s poems I agree with other comments, she outdoes herself every time.

    • / Reply

      Dear Peggy N.:

      Wishing you a very Happy Birthday. Hugs, JB

      Dear Trina:

      Wonderful poem. Hugs, JB

  7. / Reply

    Peggy N,
    Happy Birthday Peggy, I feel I know you now after Trina’s lovely poem. Hope you have a great birthday with many more to come! Hugs

  8. / Reply

    @Karen Gogue–thanks for the link. I didn’t know to add the “Zenyatta’s Pony Horse”. I kept bring up “Hootie and the Blowfish”! Where should donations be sent?

    @Trina–every time you outdo yourself! Most of us would run for a cliff to jump from if we were faced with the assignment you have given yourself. This gave us so much info. on Peggy N.

    @Peggy (N)– the happiest of birthdays to you. Hope you are having a big party at work with lots of treats! So glad you are cancer-free. Praying for that to continue. We love you here. Hope you got some rain, but not storms.

    • / Reply

      From Hootie:

      Please go to TrottUSA.org, and click on the donate page if you would like to help me. If you can make a small monthly donation, those buttons are on the available horses page.

      Thank you Barbara!

  9. / Reply

    just realized it Betfair Hollywood Park and not Belfair!! time for another eye exam!!

    Also it’s getting harder to “stalk” my buddy Cigar on the KHP webcam, what with all the tree leaves and such! Haven’t seen him since early May : (

  10. / Reply

    PS – thanks for the info on Trott!

    also, “brain to typing fingers – hello!! wake up!! ‘just realized IT IS’ Betfair. . .”

  12. / Reply

    LAURA J–thanks to your kindness and your explanation, I now feel comfortable about contributing to Hootie so he can stay in his home. TROTT is one of the best organizations we have and I respect it. Thank you again for your help in giving me the real story…

  14. / Reply

    Am hundreds behind….will catch up soon ..
    Meanwhile..Happy Birthdays to all appropriate
    Hope all with health issues are recovering ….
    great races this weekend
    Zenny ..love you….you should know that the annoucers talk about you all the time.. you have set the standard to which all are compared…
    …
    kisses for the soft noses….esp NotSoWeeZee

  15. / Reply

    happy memorial day Zsters! hope it was enjoyable for ya.
    @Kathryn Cogswell & Peggy N: happy bday. hope its good. :)
    may god bless you ladies. hugs
    @trina – your bday poems aretruly wonderful. thru them we get to know ppl better. thk u
    @Sarah Powell: praying for buck. big hugs
    @terry crow- love ur jokdes as usual.
    high hooves to u all
    hugs/prayers

  16. / Reply

    @LauraJ and others who have commented on the number of races that today’s horses run compared to the “old” times.–I have often commented on the fact that Citation ran in, and won, a race between the Preakness and the Belmont. What I have neglected to include, and it also is amazing, is the fact That Citation ran in the Derby trial three days BEFORE the Derby.

    • / Reply

      I did not know that about Citation. The Derby Trial really was a Derby Trial, once upon a time.

    • / Reply

      Dear TC:

      That’s really incredible. I think it’s true that horses were bred for stamina years ago and not so today. Hugs, JB

    • / Reply

      That is so amazing TC. What has happened to the TB; whose influence has made
      them so fragile ????

      • / Reply

        Training methods and drugs.

        Actually, most American horses race every two or three weeks, with the occasional break. It is only the stakes horses that run every once in a blue moon. The claimers and allowance horses are on the track much more often. The horses are not inherently fragile, but they are not challenged as much as they could or (IMO) should be.

        The horses of yesteryear could also run more often because they weren’t on Lasix. Lasix is a diuretic, and it takes a few days for the horse to fully recover from its effects.

        • Good points being made here by LauraJ. Breeding also has a lot to do with it.

  17. / Reply

    Today’s horse joke–A man was walking into the track when he noticed that the wind had blown an old man’s hat off his head. The old man was walking with a cane, so the man chased the hat down and handed it to him. “Bless you,” the old man said. Looking at the entries in the first race, the man saw that a horse named Sombrero was running at 20-1 odds. Thinking that this must be karma, he bet all of his money on the horse and it won. The next race a horse named Fedora was running at 15-1 and he again bet all of his money and it, too, won. To make a long story short, as this is sort of a shaggy dog story, the man comes home and tells the story to his wife. The wife said where is the money. “I’m broke,” the man said, “I bet all of the money in the last race on a horse named Chateau and he lost.” “You idiot,” the wife screamed. The French word for hat is Chapeau, not Chateau. By the way, who won the race?” “Some nag named Yarmulke,” the man said.

  19. / Reply

    Hi Z Family~ I have been busy and have missed a lot of posts. Happy Birthday to Peggy N. May God Bless you always. Happy Birthday to Kathryn. May God Bless you with many more. Happy Memorial Day to one and all. God Bless our Troops : )
    The children had their Hansen Party and the Ice Cream and Pizza was a big hit. Dr. Hansen was very generous and got us more than what I had ordered. I took pictures to send along with our thank you. I hope all have a good day. Love, Shari : )

    • / Reply

      Shari,
      Wow, he is really being great to you and your class…..some of Hansen’s best fans! Maybe one of these days he’ll bring Hansen in!! Wouldn’t that be a trip, ha, ha. Hugs to you and all the kids.

      • / Reply

        Love that idea Sue, Hansen in the classroom; need to get him some sand to roll in, not sure he could be that confined; he is a very active guy.

    • / Reply

      Maybe a paid trip for the class to meet Hansen? Maybe in an Ohio or Chicago track? Or a “Skype Chat” with Hansen like Z did at her party?

  21. / Reply

    Hi!

    Many people are out of work in these United States as I have been reading recently so can’t you hire some people with “horse skills” from these States to work at Land’s End?

    Thank you!

    P.S. I would rather see more videos/photos of Zenyatta and her baby.

    The baby is so cute! I would love to kiss both mother and child.

    • / Reply

      I’m sure they take American interns, and offer the best experience they can possibly get. Many may choose to go on to other smaller farms, and if they get lucky at the big stables, they will be replacing a retiring senior member if the intern is good enough for the farm’s standards. Many big farms such as Lanes End have experienced staff and crew that have been working with them for years, and they have a successful equation planned out. It takes a long time for someone to get in with the equation so many times, they don’t hire someone who hasn’t previously had experience with such big operations or someone that isn’t closely trusted. If you have a winning equation, why change it? I understand that there are many “horsey people” looking for jobs here in America, but understand that they are family run operations for the past few generations. There are farms that hire Americans like Taylor Made, breeders of Creative Cause, and a couple other good horses, but often even those jobs are successive, as the general broodmare manager might pass on his post to an accomplish relative, or direct family member.

  22. / Reply

    Here are today’s redneck jokes- Especially for Sandy, Ohio chapter president and Shari Voltz, charter member–You might be an Ohio redneck if you know what a buckeye is and you have a recipe for cooking one. You might be an Ohio redneck if, when you speak, towards the lake means north and towards the river means south. For the rest of the rednecks, including Ohio- You might be a computer redneck if you need to ask someone how to spell LOL. You might be a redneck if the trunk of your car is tied down and you are not hauling anything. You might be attending a redneck church if organ music sets the dogs on the floor to howling. You might be a redneck if you have ever repaired a carburetor while sitting on the commode. You might be a redneck if your pre-nup involves chickens. You might be a redneck if there is a belch on your telephone answering machine message.

    • / Reply

      Well, THERE you are! I was pondering how to organize a redneck search party :-)
      On the Ohio redneck front, guilty as charged (except for cooking a buckeye – or anything else for that matter). My sister and her hubby (the . . . er . . . um. . . redneck relatives) were here last week in between some other stops on their Florida to Michigan and back tour, and I took them (navigated) to see some of the houses we lived in when we were growing up in a west side suburb. One of the biggest disappointments was the missing buckeye tree we both remembered as a prime feature of one neighborhood. Now if you want to talk buckeye candy – YUM! Bet you don’t know what I’m talking about :-)

      • / Reply

        You are correct. I am not an Ohio redneck. It’s nice to take a trip down memory lane once in a while.

        • Pieces of chocolate with peanut butter strategically positioned in the middle so that they look like buckeyes! Very popular in the fall (well, anytime, but that’s when the buckeyes start falling on your head!).

      • / Reply

        Sandy Ya Baby those are the best candies. My dear husband loved them too much.
        My Grandma had a Buckeye tree in the back yard. They are in Pa too. I have eaten then as a kid. I have not had any for years. Yes the lakes are the north and the rivers south I think that seems good for my old home too. We have much in common between Ohio and Pa.

        On another note has anyone heard about the baby horse that was going to be named CLOUD? After our beloved Cloud Man. I remember a few weeks ago we had an update that Mom to be was almost there. I would love to hear more on that precious little one that many Zesters helped save last year.
        Please I can’t remember what member posted that information.

        Thank you Sandy and TC GP may I add Skunk Master

        Also Thanks for any update on baby CLOUD.

        Love to Zenny and baby Z.

        LE WE NEED PICS PLEASE WE ARE IN BABY Z WITHDRAWAL DON’T FORGET MOMMA Z TOO PLEASE THANKS

      • / Reply

        Definately do Sandy and soooooo very very good.

        Having gone to OSU, not Okalahoma State University.

        GO BUCKS, GO BUCKS !!!!

        • If Chapter presidents agree, I certainly have no objection. If you want to put it to a vote, let me know.

  23. / Reply

    Dear Z Fans:

    Congrats to Shackleford on his Met Mile win. So happy for him. Hugs, JB

  24. / Reply

    Dear Z Fans:

    Just catching up on all the great posts and links over the weekend. Thank you. Hugs, JB

  26. / Reply

    Mike Smith posted on Facebook Tues. May 28
    hello everyone, Mike here, sorry it has taken so long for me to reach out to all of you!
    I want to thank all of you for your support! I will do my best to post as much as possible but as most of you know I am not too good with computers, lol.
    I am very excited for the Belmont and Paynter is training great so good lord willing we can get a good trip and have a shot!
    Today has been a great day off so far, Gary Stevens interviewed me and Laffit Pincay up at Garys house, went to the gym, and now relaxing having some lunch!
    I look forward to being more connected with all of my fans in the months to come! Thanks again for your support!

    • / Reply

      Awww, don’t feel bad Mikey! I am the dinosaur of all dinosaur’s when it comes to things like that! We lov’ ya you know!

    • / Reply

      Boy, when Mike Smith, Gary Stevens and Lafitte Pincay are swapping stories I would love to be a fly on the wall.

      • / Reply

        Me too, and a fly on the wall when “The Mig” and Mario and Lava Man are
        on the Belmont track, too.

  27. / Reply

    I have been exchanging emails with a former diary poster who needed some info on how to access the blog. I would hereby like to welcome Doris McQuiddy, who has agreed to take on the position of president of the Alabama chapter. Alabama-If that is not redneck nothing is. Welcome Doris! Don’t forget to hold January 27, the redneck club’s sacred day, open.

    • / Reply

      Welcome Doris I am your close by chapter president from Florida. We need to find a CHP from the state of Georgia and we will have the area covered. Nice to meet you. Enjoy the fun I do. Sue

    • / Reply

      Welcome Doris from Bama.
      TC, what is the order of operations on the 27th? Can we blow off cherry bombs?

        • I’m no expert on things redneck, but…aren’t they supposed to be thrown into a Porta-john?

        • LauraJ-You show definite redneck promise. For those of you relatively new to the club, January 27 is the date of the death of Thomas J. Crapper, reputed inventor of the flush toilet. We celebrate the date of his death because no one knows the date of his birth. Rumor has it that he committed suicide by jumping in to the hole in an outhouse.

    • / Reply

      Welcome Doris; SWEET HOME ALABAMA !!!!

      Glad you are back and welcome to the RNC, it truely is a very fun club.

      January 27, 2013 here we come !!!!

      • / Reply

        Doris is having trouble getting on the blog. I have sent her an email that if she sends me her phone number I will walk her through it.

        • TA DA!! With a little help from my friend, I can see you now! I missed you and have a lot of catching up to do! There was a little quid pro quo working here. I just could not refuse to be the President of the AL Chapter of RNs for learning the missing step to join in the fun again.

          First things first-McDude is fine after surviving rattlesnake bites and another venemous snake that we did not see. The rattlesnake did not survive my husband’s shotgun.

          A little black dog (lbd) was left behind by a neighbor who moved. I fed him and brought water to him at his house, thinking the neighbor would return for him, until he sat at our gate and adopted my heart. He got a trip to the vet before I brought him home to make sure he did not have anything bad to bring to McDude. When the vet said, “What is his name?” I was too embarrassed to say that he didn’t have one yet, so I said, “Daily” as in we thank You for our daily bread. (It’s all that would come to me in the moment!) My husband didn’t like that name, so we tried out about 100 names and I finally said, “come on little tucker tyke. Let’s go to bed.” Tucker became his name. Uncle McDude has been nothing but kind and patient. We had to buy baby gates and he kept all of us Tuckerized for the first month. Both Tucker and McDude are doing well now and survived the transition as did my husband and I. Nice to be back! Zz hugs, DMCQ

        • Doris- so glad to hear from you! You must have been so worried about McDude! I’m so glad he’s better. Tucker is a lucky boy- how kind of you and your husband. I laughed at your name trials and tribulations but I love what you came up with!

  28. / Reply

    Calder to start charging grooms, hotwalkers rent if they live in backside dorms
    http://blogs.courier-journal.com/racing/2012/05/28/calder-to-start-charging-grooms-hotwalkers-rent-if-they-live-in-backside-dorms/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+courier-journal%2FddIR+%28Horse+Racing+Blog%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo

    I’m appauled! Most of these workers send money home to support their families! No bathroom or running water in these rooms!

    • / Reply

      JAG, this is total nonsense! I am appalled too! Outrageous! Bless these people for taking care of these beautiful, precious animals, for who else is going to do it??? Surely not the owners nor the track!! The backside workers are dedicated and hard working, the real backbone of a stable, and can barely take care of themselves and now they want to take the only home they know away from them too!

      • / Reply

        We had a recent discussion on the blog about who owns the barns and the stalls in them. Calder is a party of a big conglomerate involving other track, including Churchill Downs. Once they get their foot in the door at Calder on this issue, the other tracks will follow. I am beginning to understand why it is the Kentucky Derby presented by Yum Brands. Money, money, money. As long as the tracks are operating at a profit, no matter how small, there is no need for this. If they want to defray expenses, lower the pay they give to the useless executives.

        • CORRECT!!!!!!!!!!
          That is not horse racing code. Everyone on the track takes care of one another. I really hate seeing this. They are slowly chipping away at the foundation of racing,don’t they see that.Take all of those executives,make them work on the backside for One day….see how long they will last.

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