Awaiting Royalty

With dire talk about the overpopulation of horses, and the fact that many end up unwanted and perhaps going to slaughter, it seems almost hypocritical to write a post celebrating foals.

But hey - it's almost Spring. Time of hope and renewal. And there are certain foals, born to royal equine parents, which are so eagerly awaited they are a cause for celebration.

Remember the brilliant race mare Rachel Alexandra, who captured not only the Preakness but also Horse of the Year honors in 2009? Last year she was bred to two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, and here is their foal, a colt born January 22, 2012.

But the horse I am most excited about foaling is Zenyatta. After winning 19 races in a row, including the Breeders' Cup in 2009 and being named Horse of the Year in 2010, she was retired to broodmare status and bred last year to Bernardini. She is expecting her eagerly awaited foal in early March. Here she is heavy in foal, with her friend Tasty, (the grey) who is due at the same time:

I have been a huge fan of Zenyatta during her racing days, and I'm not ashamed to admit I'll probably go all gaga over the news of her foal. I even had a "squee" moment when she was moved to the foaling barn last week, in anticipation of her new arrival. Here she is in her new foaling stall:

 

If you'd like to follow along with news of these "royal" horses - Zenyatta has her own "diary" right here: http://www.zenyatta.com/category/diary and even her own facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ZenyattaOfficial and you can learn more about Rachel Alexandra and her foal here: http://www.stonestreetfarms.com/ or here: http://www.drf.com/news/rachel-alexandra-foal-doing-well-day-after-birth

Have you been following the news of either of these "royal" births?

Any other horse arrivals that you are looking forward to?

Sites to Inspire

As we head into the New Year 2011, I wanted to share a few equine sites I visited recently that you might find useful and inspiring.

First, here is an outfit similar to Netflix that specializes in renting horse videos. It's called GiddyUpFlix and boasts more than 1000 training and horse info videos. I have never used it, but with the price of training videos being so high, the concept seems interesting. Here is the link: http://www.giddyupflix.com/

Second, most of you may know that the legendary racehorse Zenyatta was just retired to begin her life as a broodmare. Arriving at Lane's End Farm in Kentucky during a December snowstorm, she spent her time inside her huge new stall, with time outside being limited to handwalking in a snowfilled paddock. Finally acclimated to her surroundings and calming down to her new life away from the racetrack, she was allowed to run free and play.

Here are photos from that first day: http://www.drf.com/news/photos-zenyatta-play-her-lanes-end-paddock

and here is a video of Zenyatta on the first day of her release: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/videos/watch/7BA0A106-8A93-4BDD-A926-78F30706DDD7

And Third, in a post sure to inspire us to never again complain about our circumstances, meet Bettina Eistel, a woman born without arms, who cares for, saddles, rides, and competes in dressage on her horse Fabuleax 5. Here is the link: http://horseandman.com/people-and-places/the-determined-bettina-eistel-and-her-very-special-horse-fabuleax-5/ This is truly amazing.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

Zenyatta's Last Race

Yes, I know I have posted about the great race horse Zenyatta here a lot. For those of you who follow her career, you can barely get enough of this great mare. At six years old, she is unbeaten, winning all 19 of her races. She was featured on 60 minutes last Sunday, featured in Oprah magazine, she has won every single race she's ever run, including the Lady's Classic at the Breeders Cup in 2008, and then defeating the males last year in 2009 in the Breeders Cup Classic.

Saturday, November 6th, 2010 will be Zenyatta's last race.

This morning, she flew across the country from Southern California, which is her home base, to Louisville, Kentucky. There she will compete in the 2010 Breeders Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on Saturday, November 6th - defending her title against the best male horses in the world. After the race she will most likely stay in Kentucky, and be retired to the breeding shed.

The Breeders Cup races are a series of races held over two days meant to showcase the best runners of the season. There are races on the dirt, turf, for juveniles and older horses, for fillies, mares, and colts, and at all distances.

If you'd like to watch - the television schedule is as follows:
Friday Nov. 5th on ESPN2 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM Eastern Time
Saturday Nov. 6th ABC 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM Eastern Time and
Saturday Nov. 6th ESPN 3:30 PM - 7:00 PM Eastern Time

The Breeders Cup Classic (the race featuring Zenyatta) will most likely be the last race in the schedule. Please make note the times above are Eastern Standard Time, and adjust your times accordingly. The horse racing channels of TVG and HRTV also carry coverage and news of these events, including the gallops and works of all the entrants in the week leading up to the big event. Exciting Stuff!

Can Zenyatta make it a perfect 20 for 20 and retire unbeaten? I'll be right there in front of my television, cheering her on. I hope you will be, too.

Undefeated Zenyatta - 19 for 19

My daughter was lucky enough to be at Hollywood Park last Saturday, October 2, 2010, to witness Zenyatta's last race in California.

Here she is with the bugler that calls the horses to the post, wearing a Zenyatta cap (she scored one for me, too, yay!) and a Zenyatta sign. After that, she snagged a great spot at the rail where she took these fantastic pictures.

Here comes Zenyatta, with jockey Mike Smith up, making her way to the track, doing her little trademark dance that she does each time before a race. The girl is READY.

Here are some of the more than 25,000 fans that turned out to show her some love.

Here's the big girl herself, all 17.2 hands of her, warming up. Isn't she gorgeous? Six years old and the ultimate professional.

Zenyatta loading into the gate. She is undefeated. Can she possibly make it 19 in a row?

Here she comes down the stretch. She's at the back of the pack, as usual, and starting to race past horses, one by one. But a horse named Switch got the jump on her and is three lengths away. Can she possibly make it?

She does! She does! She flies by, right in the nick of time, and wins her 19th race! Number 1, says Mike Smith. Number 1.

A wreath of flowers for the Queen. Notice the cotton still in her ears, so the roar of the crowd won't distract her.

And here she is making her way back to the stables after her win.

Zenyatta has one more race lined up. The Breeder's Cup Classic - on November 6th, 2010 at Churchill Downs in Kentucky. She won this race last year, against the best male horses in the world. Can she possibly do it again this year? That's what she's aiming for, before retirement. Mark your calendars!!

Zenyatta goes for 18

Just a quick announcement that the great race mare, undefeated Zenyatta, tries for her eighteenth win tonight, August 7, 2010 in the Clement Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar racetrack in California. If she wins, she will be a three time winner of this race.

Post time is approximately 6:15 PM Pacific Time, so you can adjust that for wherever you live. It should be televised on TVG, which is a horseracing channel available on many cable and satellite systems.

We've written more about Zenyatta earlier. (You can use the search feature in the upper righthand corner to find out more about this great mare, now six years old.) Can she make it a perfect 18 for 18?

I'd love to see her in person, but instead, I'll be right in front of the television, screaming her on. Hope you can watch her, too!

Zenyatta Makes History

Zenyatta ran into the history books last Sunday, surpassing the records of Triple Crown Winner Citation and two-time Horse of the Year Cigar. With her win in the Vanity Handicap (the third year in a row she has won this race) Zenyatta, unbeaten in any race, extended her winning streak to 17 for 17. Pretty Amazing for a six year old mare, don't you think?

All I can say is that I love to watch this big 17.2 hand horse run. She always comes from dead last to overtake every horse in the race. She takes a lot of time to get her big body rolling, and her jockey, Mike Smith, waits chilly on her until it's time to roll. What a thrill.

If Zenyatta continues to race, and all indications seem to be that she will, tune in to see her. She gives you goosebumps each time. Go Big Z. Count me as one of your biggest fans!

How many of you have watched Zenyatta run?

My Old Saddle

Today I’d like to pay homage to my old saddle. I’m sure many of you have a favorite saddle – one that fits you like a glove, one you’ve hung on to over the years because it’s so comfortable. English, Western, endurance, or any kind of a saddle, a horseperson tends to get attached to the equipment that works best for them.

Here is mine:

I have owned and ridden this saddle for about twenty-five years. I got it with a little trading horse that I bought and resold, but the saddle was so comfortable that I kept it. And kept it, and kept it.

I have another good name-brand saddle in the barn, and it’s nice also. In fact, I owned a saddle shop for many years, and had the luxury of bringing any saddle or piece of equipment home to try on a horse (gosh, that was fun.)

But this old saddle is the one I still choose to ride most days. I’m guessing it was made in the 1950’s, and although it does not have any markings on it, it appears to be a custom saddle. I’d love to know the maker. Notice the unusual tooling, and the braiding on the swells (which used to be red.)

The only thing I’ve done to it is add silver conchos, long saddle strings, and have a crupper ring put on the back for a little mutton-withered mule I owned for a while. It’s definitely a tough, well-made saddle.

I’ve logged literally hundreds of miles in this saddle. I trained for endurance rides with it, and in fact rode the Tevis Cup (one hundred miles in one day) in this saddle. If it looks a little rough around the edges, that’s why. It’s been used.

If I sound a little sentimental about this saddle, well, it’s true. I even wrote a song called My Old Saddle, had it copyrighted, recorded, and hand delivered it to Ian Tyson, cowboy musician. That never went anywhere, but oh well.

“My old saddle has carried me
Up on the mountains and through the streams
And I’ve sat there and watched the moon rise through the trees.”

My old saddle has fit every horse I’ve owned. Here it is on my old high-withered quarter horse, Buddy. My saddle doesn’t have a padded seat, and these days I ride it with fleece saddle cover, which makes it super comfy.

On another note: Horse Racing Update. If you marked your calendars for the April 9th match-up between Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra in the Apple Blossom, it ain’t gonna happen. At their respective prep races on March 13th, Rachel came in a disappointing 2nd against 3 other fillies, and her connections decide not to run her again so soon. Zenyatta, racing in a field of eight, won handily and is now 15 for 15. She is set to ship to Arkansas today to run in the Apple Blossom Cup on April 9th, as promised. And Zenyatta, with her come from behind style, is worth watching absolutely any day of the year, so if you can find it on television, tune in.

Anyway, back to Saddles. You've just heard about my great old favorite saddle. What kind of saddle do you ride? Do you have a favorite, go-to, never-part-with saddle that you cannot do without? Tell us about it.

Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra

Mark your calendars for Friday, April 9th, 2010. The two great race mares, Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra, arguably the two best race horses in the world right now, are set for a showdown in the Apple Blossom Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas.

Rachel Alexandra, left and Zenyatta, right

Ever since these two wonderful mares, (Rachel is now 4 and Zenyatta is 6) ran such thrilling, undefeated seasons in 2009, fans have wanted to see them run against each other in the same race. It was only recently, however, that the owners agreed on a time and place. Each horse still needs to complete a prep race in March, however, and stay sound and healthy. But if this match-up does take place, trust me, it will be billed as the Race of the Century. (And considering this century is only one decade old, certainly that would not be a stretch.)

Girl power! Both Zenyatta from the West Coast, and Rachel from the East amazed us in 2009.

Zenyatta, a strapping 17.2 hand mare who remains unbeaten in all 14 of her starts, thrills us with her come from behind stretch runs. In October 2009, after beating all the fillies and mares she ran against, she was entered in the Breeder's Cup Classic, a race that brings the best race horses in the world together. Viewers wondered if she could compete against this elite company, all colts and older males. She not only ran, but came from dead last to pass every horse in the race, becoming the only female ever to win the Breeder's Cup Classic!





Rachel Alexandra, the fluid and amazing mare with the distinctive white blaze, won all 8 of her starts in 2009 and was named Horse of the Year (against the only other nominee, Zenyatta, with many horsefolks calling for a tie.) Rachel won two of these races by a margin of over 19 and 20 lengths. Her jockey Calvin Borel chose to ride her in the Preakness over Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird. It proved to be a good choice, with Rachel winning the Preakness, the first time a filly had won that race in 85 years. She then went on to race and win against males in two more races, proving she is a racehorse for the ages.

These two great mares, Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra have probably done more to get people excited about horse racing than any other horses in recent history. It was amazing to watch fans line the racetracks holding up signs that read "Girl Power."

If you get a chance to watch the Apple Blossom on April 9th, whether one or both horses run, please do so. It may be on a major network, but it also might be on ESPN or one of the two horse racing channels: TVG or HRTV. I will definitely be there - glued to my television set, cheering them on. Go Zenyatta! Go Rachel! You are BOTH Amazing!!