To ALL of my very DEAR FRIENDS,
I would like to wish EACH OF YOU a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a LOVELY, HEALTHY and HAPPY 2012!
It is my fondest wish that this holiday season and the new year brings each of you great joy…in so many ways. May you be blessed with treasured moments with friends and family, wonderful health, and the time to really stop and appreciate the things in life that truly matter!
My pals here at Lane’s End….Mike, Charles, Matt, Donna, Sarah, David and the Farish Family all send YOU their warmest wishes as well!
Oh…..and yes, TASTY DOES TOO!
Please be safe on the roads…and enjoy your day!
With Love,
Hugs to ALL~ (I do mean to ALL OF YOU!)
Z
I also wanted to mention that Santa Anita opens tomorrow. MY JOHN and Dottie will be racing…so we’ll all touch base in the middle of the week and again share all of our holiday and racing news! HERE’S WISHING MANY WONDERFUL BLESSINGS TO ALL!
Karen Gogue
Thank you all for your kind, sweet comments on the SMILEBOXES! You are all so precious and if it brightens your day – I LOVE IT! YOU BRIGHTEN MINE EVERYDAY! <3 <3 (And Zenny too!)
Erin Taylor
what a great picture of u and tasty i hope u had the most wonderful christmas this XOXOXO :)
Julie DuVall / Ontario, CA
What a wonderful Opening Day at Santa Anita! The weather was great, the crowd was huge (reminded me of the “good old days” before intertrack wagering), great racing (hooray for Mr. Commons!!!) and I bought a lovely new pendant from Patti Campisi (White Fox Collection http://whitefoxcollection.com/) — a little jockey helmet in the Mosses colors! It is a brand new design she just brought out. It goes so well with my ZENYATTA bracelet :) When I showed her my bracelet she was so excited and agreed I HAD to get the pendant to go with it :) And … John Shear was back at work! The paddock just hasn’t seemed the same without him these last months. I posted some photos on his FB wall if anyone is interested…
Irene Caty
Dearest Zenyatta we wish you and Tasty a very Merry Christmas and a great New Year with your new Foals. We are anxious to see what you each have and pray all goes well for both of you. We also wish all at Lanes End a joyfull Christmas and a Great New Year. Take care of our great Zenyatta and show her much love. We thank you for that.
signofthetimes
@Julie DuVall
Glad you had a great time at SA. Did you come all the way from Canada to CA for this meet??? Patti Campisi, beautiful work !!!
I like the idea of a jockey helmet in Mosses colors. Not on her web site, guess could call her. Thanks.
signofthetimes
@Darlene from Calsbad
BLINGO is an Artie Shiller, too.
signofthetimes
@Vicki B
Thanks for the post on LA times and “Luck” on HBO, sound like an interesting show. Posted something from bloodhorse a few posts ago.
Kim S in Tampa FL
Zenny, you and Tasty are gorgeous. I’m still trying to catch up on the posts since my birthday. How terrible is that?
I have gotten through diary #398. Totally missed Patty Smith’s and Abigail from Montreal’s brithdays. Hope they both were great and hope NYC was fun for Abigail.
Thanks for the birthday wishes Trina, Dawn Conrad, Terry Crow (Redneck and jokster extraordinaire), Barbara Wood (I did nominate Equestrian Inc every day, for Mike Smith’s Charity for a Day–but didn’t make it), signofthetimes, Karen Gogue, Kari Bussell (who knows best the precious gift of every day) and Shari Voltz. I had a wonderful birthday for several days.
My daughter, Adrianna and I have been having a great time while not at work or school. Of course, we have been at the horse farm most every day.
I will try my best to get through the rest of the diary entries soon but hope everyone had a great Christmas. Sending prayers to everyone to be healthy and happy.
Stay warm and cozy Zenny. Keep those wonderful pictures coming.
Lotsa love to all.
evy
Happy Holidays to Zenny and gang. You all are a light in my life.
Joan Ludlow
Happy holidays to you, Zennie, and to everyone in your family both two and four footed. Special congratulations to your friend Mr. Commons on a spectacular win on opening day at Santa Anita.
Lynn from nearby Hollywood Park
Well Zenny, I went to S.A. Park to WATCH Mr.Commons WIN ! … and oh yeah, it was beautiful. Congrats! I was at the paddock as he was being saddled by ‘your John’. I was happy to run into Dottie. I showed her my photo/badge I made of Mr.C and me pinned to my sweater. Too cute.. She probably thought I was a bit nuts. I think I will adopt him if he needs a forever home in his old age.
My love to you Z. Sleep tight.
Dawn Conrad / Colorado
Dear Zenyatta. Thank you and our fabulous Dottie for the amazing Christmas diary posts you have shared these last few days. I loved seeing little Miss Sophie, the gorgeous Stella and Violet, everyone at Barn 55 modeling their wonderful new holiday sweatshirts (what a great present from John and Dottie) and beautiful Lane’s End!! My Christmas wishes for all were on #404. To our much loved Dottie, John, Jerry, Ann, Mike, all at Barn 55, Sarah, David, Matt, the Farish Family and everyone at Lane’s End, my amazing family of Z-sters and Dumplings, thank you for the wonderful and magical holiday wishes expressed here! SO MUCH JOY TO SHARE!! My Christmas has been so blessed with all of you!! How I love everyone for the happiness I feel here now and throughout the year! Thank you again for everything! I know you and Tasty must have some very yummy treats and special gifts that were delivered by Santa, maybe you even got to meet his reindeer, they are rather famous marathon racers. . And on Christmas Eve I could picture you two lovely mother’s to be standing and looking up at the brilliant stars in the sky, wishing as we all do, PEACE ON EARTH GOODWILL TOWARD MAN AND ALL ANIMALS EVERYWHERE! Sweet dreams my love. Hugs and kisses. XXXOOO
Dawn Conrad / Colorado
@All – I hope everyone had a beautiful, joyful and blessed Christmas with friends and family!!! I am sure Santa was kind, because everyone here is such a kid at heart and amazingly good! I was able to post a photo of Mad for Smarty on Zenyatta’s Facebook. I know several of you really enjoyed the post I shared in Diary #404 about the Christmas story from Three Chimneys on their gift of this son of Smarty Jones to Madison in Texas, “Smarty’s #1 Fan”! What a wonderful gift for those that gave and those that received!
@The Kennedys – I was very glad that I was lucky enough to see the wonderful Smarty Jones at Three Chimneys a couple of years ago. I was also trying to make it to see him at his new home, but unfortunately did not make it this last trip. When I went to Warm Springs Farm outside of St. Louis to see the breeding facility for the Budweiser Clydesdales, we were able to see several mares and foals, they are just beautiful.
@Shari – Christmas hugs to you!! I am so happy you loved the special halter tags I had made. At least I pulled off the surprise! Too fun!! I am very glad that everything went well with your mother and that you were able to spend time with her and your father on Christmas. What a wonderful friend you are, love ya!
@Kari – I so love and admire your beautiful soul!!! Thank you for sharing the wonderful “Ode to Joy”, Zenyatta’s “Glory” and the Temptations “Silent Night”! Congrats to Mr. Commons, Mikey and John, they won!!!! Love and hugs, always!
@Judy Berube – Always so great to see your posts!!! You and your husband remain in my prayers! Thank you for the beautiful holiday wishes, may your New Year be a blessed one!
@Sue Frederick – Congratulations on your wonderful Gracie! And if you are nuts, you are right there with the rest of us! She is a perfect gift. I can’t wait to hear more after you pick her up!
@Karen Gogue – My amazing friend, thank you so much for the wonderful poem, Christmas Past, and for the fantastic cards you have been sharing with me this holiday season. You can’t imagine the joy you bring me! What you continue to do for others is amazing. Hooves crossed that your Hall of Fame packet for Jerry is successful. So glad you went see our sweet boy Giacomo. I will really miss him at Adena Springs! So sorry you did not make it into opening day at SA.
@Kathy Kimber – It was so wonderful to hear from you!! I think about you and Charlotte often, hoping you are both doing well! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you my friend! Please give Charlotte my best wishes also!
@JAG – Thank you for the great video of Ebby’s run. Fantastic, it always feels like flying when we get to ride along!! The animals singing “Jingle Bells” was priceless! Hope you all had a fantastic day at the races!
@Delrene – Yippee, Lentenor!!!!!!
@Cynthia H – Your poem was wonderful, just perfect!!!! You never cease to amaze me sweetie! It sounds like it was a fabulous day at SA!! Hope you are feeling much better!
@Abigail – Thank you so much for your kind words, they mean a lot to me!
@signofthetimes – The Budweiser Clydesdale’s were just too cute!! I do not get HRTV, so will have to watch for the piece about the beautiful AP Indy on You Tube. I know that is how I watched the Charismatic piece.
@Vicki B – Isn’t the Norad Santa tracking fun!!
stephanie(s in san diego)
Congrats to the handsome mr commons.
Heidi (Vallejo.Calif)
I was messing around on youtube and came across this video of Ebby! I haven’t read all the posts and don’t know if anyone else posted. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-i4jxjE0Fqw&feature=related
Heidi (Vallejo.Calif)
BTW… Congrats and what a Race from Mr. Commons!! Fist Pumps and High Hooves to you, young man! Also, The Factor, congrats!!! Anyone know how, Centralinteligence came out of the race? That was a scary moment or two! I hope he’s alright.. Talk to you soon Zen and Dumplings ( I was looking for the name tags at Santa Anita via live feed. Didn’t see any but, saw John with his Z hat and Bo Derek!
debbie
congrats to The Factor and Mr. Commons for their thrilling wins today. just thought i’d let everyone know i just saw on Blood Horse that Chocolate Candy died as a result of a paddock accident. my condolences to his connections. RIP, beautiful boy.
Leiana in Santa Barbara, CA
@signofthetimes: I think Julie DuVall might be from Ontario, California. ;)
Opening Day was awesome!! I had so much fun. What a crowd!
Vicki B. near Hollywood Park
@Dawn Conrad – Thanks for noticing the Norad Santa Tracking, too. It proved serendipitous and funny, because I emailed a friend when I saw Santa flew over London, that he was surely in her area too, a bit north, and I hoped he treated her well. Coincidentally & unbeknownst to me, the same day this friend found out about some anonymous funds put into an account for her, as she just had breast cancer surgery. So it couldn’t have been better timing, and “Santa” delivered.
Vickie Dana Point Ca
Mr Commons was impressive! Wish I had been there! HUGE crowd! which is GREAT for our sport
Michele A. Moore
Dear Zenyatta, I hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday season. I am so looking forward to your baby who I have named Queen Z’s Legacy, because everytime they announce her/him they will never forget who the Mama was, and because your foal is going to have the longest legs ever. Every time that announcer says It’s Queen Z’s, etc. you are going to be number one again, I simply adore you and you brought joy into my life after my Mother’s death. You made me live, Michele.
Anita Carville
Merry Christmas, Zenny, Tasty, John & Dottie, Jerry & Ann. A Blessed Christmas and New Year to all of you!!
Trisha
What a great picture of you and Tasty.
I hope your Christmas was wonderful.
Love hugs and kisses
Darlene Daniels
I always get such a warm a cozy feeling from this site. Maybe all of us Zsters are the “points of light” Ronald Reagan was talking about and if we keep spreading our love, maybe world peace will happen and it will be because of our awesome, amazing Zenyatta, and Dottie for giving us all the chance to come together on this site. Love you Zenyatta and everyone.
Barbara Wood (Texas)
Good morning all-I’m behind in reading posts but will catch up later. Just wanted to share some wonderful news. Please remember the feedlot rescue ends today/tomorrow. Just got word that the Sarah Andrews 2012 calendar of pictures of horses rescued from slaughter brought in a staggering $33,000 thus far! Proceeds go to One Horse at a Time. Way to go. I bought my calenday (needed one anyway), so by everyone doing that, it ended up being a LOT. Same can happen with Valley View if we put our pennies together.
Am trying really hard to get to War Horse today! Gotta run. Love to all…..
Abigail from Montreal
@ DOOTIE & JOHN & MIKE: So pleased about Mr. Commons’ win yesterday! Mike – Being a HUGE fan of British flat racing & hurdle racing as well, I could tell your experience in the UK really paid off handsomely today. Geez, you looked just like Lester Piggott cutting through those horses!!!! John: Mr. Commons is such a handsome & talented boy, but this has to be one of his best wins to date. Congrats!
@ Karen: What a bummer to sit in traffic & then get turned away! The good news: Unlike yours truly, you can try another time!!!!
@ ALL: Has anyone heard from Judy Berube? I MISS HER POSTS!!!!
Abigail from Montreal
@ DOOTIE & JOHN & MIKE: So pleased about Mr. Commons’ win yesterday! Mike – Being a HUGE fan of British flat racing & hurdle racing as well, I could tell your experience in the UK really paid off handsomely today. Geez, you looked just like Lester Piggott cutting through those horses!!!! John: Mr. Commons is such a handsome & talented boy, but this has to be one of his best wins to date. Congrats!
@ Karen: What a bummer to sit in traffic & then get turned away! The good news: Unlike yours truly, you can try another time!!!!
@ ALL: Has anyone heard from Judy Berube? I MISS HER !!!!
Abigail from Montreal
Geez…DOOTIE????? Sorry Dottie!!!
Marilyn
Merry Christmas, Sweet Z! Next year you’ll be a Mama!!! Love you!
mary bobolis
I have loved Mr. Commons and he seems to be getting better and better. Mike rode an incredible race with that incredible Calvin Borel move. We saw your John was all smiles..Siegel was talking Dubai and Make E’s friend Gary Stevens was so excited and said your Mike E was as good as he was at 22! How exciting! It’s still not the same without you, so we have to get our thrills with those that were close to you. Again, loved the helmet cam of Ebby’s work John posted a few days ago. Still can’t tell whether she has the drive and desire to win like you had. Physcially, I know she covers a huge amount of ground like you did, but I haven’t seen her works except from the helmet cam. Seeing your works with Steve indicated that he could barely hold on and that you always wanted to go faster. So excited to see Ebby and Mike E’s first start. We love you beautiful girl.