Zenyatta Going for 18 & What She Means to Girls....

photo used by permission.
As the eve of the Clement Hirsch race at Del Mar approaches and the excitement builds for win number 18 for Zenyatta. We wanted to re-run our post regarding Zenyatta and the lessons that can be learned for young girls from Zenyatta. Original post November 2009.

Zenyatta crossed the finish line on Saturday in the Breeders Cup Classic to a roar of emotion shared by all in attendance. Whether it was tears of joy, amazement or knowing you were witnessing history in the making, all around me and throughout the stands, the win was felt in unison.
As the blush of the win wore off on late Sunday afternoon, I remembered something that I had read previously about Zenyatta. As a yearling, she was purchased for $ 60,000 the bloodstock agent who purchased her said he felt he had possibly made a mistake and was bidding on the wrong horse as he couldn't believe she had slipped through the cracks and he had been able to successfully purchase her at the low price.
The reason why she was only $ 60,000? She had a skin disease that made her less attractive or desirable even though she had "vetted" out well. On the surface she was passed over for other yearlings, who looked better. This got me to thinking about young girls who are passed over every day and have labels put upon them at a young age. These labels can hamper their development for the rest of their lives. So many young ladies today are diamonds in the rough, and I wish society embraced them as girls in transition, not airbrushed creations in magazines.
Now of course, Zenyatta didn't buy into any labels or even know she was dismissed for something superficial, nor did she know that she was bigger than the rest of the yearlings in the sales barn. Zenyatta didn't know that her bones were bigger, and that she would need time to grow into herself to bloom into the stunning mare she would become. But her handlers did. Zenyatta was able to start her first race at the age of three instead of the current trend of two. She was given the time to grow into herself. Patience was given to allow her to become the filly she should be to compete at the highest level. Not rushing her to become a precocious sparkler, but a full blown fourth of July fireworks display.
Girls need the same thing, the time to grow, be nurtured by those around them that care for their well being and to not be forced or rushed into being something that someone else wants them to be. Girls need to accept their bodies and its bounty (and its limitations) without pressure. A beautiful swan can just be under the ugly duckling exterior, love and time will expose both.
Zenyatta is a winner, nothing can take that away. Girls are winners too, my hope is in watching Zenyatta crossing the finish line, that the same girls with their "Zenyatta Rocks" posters last Saturday looked in the mirror that night and said "I rock too".

Del Mar and Saratoga-- Racing and Charity Go Hand and Hand

The Del Mar and Saratoga "boutique" Horse Racing summer season is in full swing and so are the events surrounding the summer race meet.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Bebe Neuwirth and horsewoman Josephine Abercrombie will be honored Aug. 6 at the eighth annual Equine Advocates’ gala at Canfield Casino.This popular event annually attracts leaders in the thoroughbred industry and fans who want to rub elbows with horse racing’s elite. They all have one thing in common — they are passionate about saving horses from senseless slaughter and neglect. Equine Advocates, a leading rescue organization based in Chatham, is the home of 75 horses that have been spared. Neuwirth will be recognized with the Safe Home Equine Protection Award as an outspoken advocate against horse slaughter and for her life-long commitment to protecting animals at awards dinner and charity auction. “It is our patriotic duty to ensure the safety and the well-being of horses in this country,” Neuwirth said. This annual event has always been Equine Advocates’ most important fund-raiser and will be even more so this year due to the down-turn in the economy that has affected most nonprofit organizations across the country. A limited number of tickets at $250 per person are available. For more information, call (518) 245-1599. All proceeds will go toward Equine Advocates’ horse rescue, sanctuary and humane education programs.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Event: After the Finish Line 2009 Annual Charity Fundraiser, Silent/Live Auction and Dinner

"A Tribute to the Majesty of Thoroughbreds" Where: Hilton Hotel- Del Mar Time: 5:30-9:30 p.m. Contact http://www.afterthefinishline.org/

Thursday July 30, 2009
Event: Don McBeth Memorial Fund Dinner with the Jockeys and Actor Tim Conway!

Pamplemousse Grille 12th Annual Dinner-Del Mar
Where: Pamplemousse Grille
Details: Limited to 100 people. Tim Conway will tend bar and the jockeys will wait tables
Contact: Reservation: 858-792-9090 http://www.donmcbethfund.org/

CERF (California Equine Retirement Foundation) 8th Annual Golf Classic
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Del Mar Country Club
Rancho Santa Fe, CA
We will be joined by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club as DMTC's 2009 summer charity golf event. Hosted by Alex Solis and his celebrity friends in attendance. Dinner/Silent & Live Auction to follow a day of golf. For more information, click to see the brochure as a Word document or PDF. Call to be put on the mailing list. Contact: http://www.cerfhorses.org/

12th Annual David Flores Golf Tournament to benefit the children in Tijuana, Mexico.

Tuesday, August 11 at Encinitas Ranch Golf Course in Encinitas, CA, near Del Mar Racetrack. Competitors at the golf tournament will play 18 holes under an open four player scramble format with 100% of each competitor's handicaps. Shot gun start is at 1:00 p.m. There will also be an awards ceremony and dinner reception at 6:00 p.m. For more information or to sign up, contact David Flores Golf Tournament, 9230 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 202, Beverly Hills, CA, 90212, or call Jim Loya at (626) 825-6562.

CARMA Cares 2009 Charity Fundraiser

Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament

Silent Auction – Food and Drinks

Thursday, August 13, 2009 - 6:00 p.m.Del Mar Hilton (across from the track)$200 Early Bird Registration (before August 6) or $225 at the door for poker tournament.

For more information call (626) 574-6622. http://www.carma4horses.org/

Will most more events as the summer progresses!

30 Year Old WA Hall of Famer-- Chinook Pass Alive and Well

(Article Reprinted from HorseBytes--Seattle Post Inteligencer)

Some stars require their personal stylist, their trainer and their manager to be accommodated before they will make an appearance.
I met such a celebrity on Saturday in the horse barn at the King County Fair in Enumclaw. His name is Chinook Pass. In his case, all of these roles are handled by one person, Jill Hallin, who is, to borrow a term from his publicity materials, his "long-time companion." And then there's Ellie, his entourage.
Jill does the heavy lifting. Ellie's job is just to hang out, allowing the thoroughbred to hog the limelight while she naps in the corner. Every now and then, though, the entourage decides to make a bid for some attention and emerge from the shadows.
"What happened to her ears?" a concerned visitor asked, clearly fearing that Chinook was responsible somehow.
Jill laughed. "She's a La Mancha. They are not supposed to have ears."
The bay gelding didn't look much like a ear-ripper to me anyway. He accepted the caresses of a stream of young people at the King County Fair, although he kept an ear flicked towards Jill most of the time. She was busy answering the multitude of questions, including mine.
Standing back by the table were Ron and Sharon Ellenberg. They came to the fair just to see this horse, but they don't want to intrude on the kids who are eager to visit him also until I urge them to step in for a photo.
They were there in the stands the day he came tearing down the stretch to win the Longacres Mile in 1983 by six lengths, the crowd roaring.
"They were all on their feet," Ron said.
"He was a wonderful horse," Sharon added.
That was 26 years ago and the last of his 25 races. Chinook Pass celebrated his thirtieth birthday in April at Emerald Downs. He's a member of the Washington Thoroughbred Hall of Fame and the subject of a series of articles written by John Loftus about the horse and his connections that reaches far back into the glory days of racing. With 15 wins, many of them stakes races, and nearly half a million dollars to his credit, Chinook is a well-known phenomenon. He was described by jockey Laffit Pincay as "the fastest horse I ever rode, and the fastest horse I ever saw. I have often thought that he might've been the fastest Thoroughbred that ever lived."
Chinook had the pure speed of a sprinter, who still managed to stretch out and win at a mile that memorable August day in 1983.
The first article in the series by John Loftus also relates how Chinook came to live with Jill, who worked at Donida Farm, where an attempt was made to rehab him and bring him back to the races again. When he didn't handle the return to training, he was retired and eventually became Jill's riding horse, doing dressage and showing. It's not a bad finish for an ex-racehorse who, regardless of his glorious wins, was a gelding and therefore not destined to pass on his genes. Continuing to work has obviously helped kept him going, though he is no longer being ridden. I ran my hand over his haunches and was suprised to feel so much muscle there.
Thirty is not unheard of for a horse, not even close to a record. But it is still fairly remarkable, particularly for a horse that gave so much so young, and I asked Jill what she thought the key to his longevity was.
"Routine," she said. "Structure. Daily turnout." She also watches his diet, but he has never colicked.
Emotional nourishment could be added to that list of key factors. When Jill removed Ellie from the stall during a momentary lull in the stream of visitors, Chinook was suddenly a very different horse. He emitted an uneasy rumbling nicker, and his eyes flashed white as he paced the front of the stall. The moment she returned, the anxiety subsided and he relaxed.
At home, Chinook has an equine entourage - Turbo, another retired stakes horse (registered name Turban) who ran from Jim Penney's barn, Heller (Hellerhighwater) whose career was considerably less grand, an Appy mare and a little POA named Charlie, most of whom are still working in Jill's lesson program (she is a British Certified Riding Instructor). They are all considerably younger, and crowd the fence when someone shows up with a carrot.
Chinook doesn't rush over like the others, but when he shows up, "he parts the waters," as Jill says. The others recognize his celebrity status and step aside.
He doesn't make many appearances these days, but since the fair in Enumclaw was close, Jill trailered him over. He might appear calm now, but he was all excited when they arrived, Jill told me, and pranced all the way to his stall.
For a horse that has traveled to Santa Anita, to Del Mar and to Hollywood Park, getting off the trailer still means something. Just like for his fans Ron and Sharon when they recall his race, the years fall away. His age may show in his swayed back, and his racing years in his bowed tendons, but his self assurance belongs to a horse that is anchored securely in this moment.
I think to the list of Chinook's longevity secrets we should add another - Jill Hallin, who says little of her own accomplishments with him, cheerfully shares his past with his old fans, and helps him acquire new ones.
Hopefully Chinook Pass will continue to make occasional public outings -- he can do more with one touch of his nose to help future generations appreciate former race horses than all the scribbling in the world.

The End of a Racing Meet Finds Me With a Renewed Sense of Hope?

It was Sunday late in the afternoon after the 8th race at Hollywood Park that I decided to visit the backside to see how Spring House was after his race.

Two weeks prior I had visited him in Julio Canani's barn and he was full of himself. You sensed he was ready for a big race. He was jumping out of his skin and the handsome dark brown gelding was a joy to be around. Spring House has become a favorite of mind during this past meet. As usual, the barn was a bustle of activity. If you have never been to the backside of a race track there really isn't anything else like it. It has it's own rhythm, culture and lifestyle. Saturday, the day before the race was much the same. I did note that there were more horse transport vans than usual, and rental vans had desks, chairs, tack and every other item you can imagine loaded up in them, but that was to be expected as the horsemen had been excitedly talking for a week about Del Mar, the next stop on the So Cal racing circuit. I watched as horse after horse were being lead up the ramps, and wondered who he or she was. All with their legs wrapped ready for the long ride down the highway, they were loaded up efficiently.



Well Spring House did not win his race on Sunday, but I was proud of him just the same and wanted to say goodbye before I left. The difference in 24 hours was amazing. The backside at this late hour of the afternoon was a ghost town. Barn after barn were cleaned out, some looked as if nothing had occupied the stalls even a day prior. When I reached Julio's barn, Spring House was happily eating up his mash, and barely flicked his tail in recognition that someone was standing outside his stall. To me that was a sign of a happy and hungry race horse, and so I said goodbye and told him I would see him soon. As I was getting ready to leave, for some reason I looked down the shed row and noticed five or six heads peering out from their stalls. To that point, I hadn't paid attention to who else occupied the barn.



The horses looked forlorn and there was something different about them that drew me to walk down the row. I noticed several of the stalls were empty, most with trash strewn about and these five or six horses. One in particular with the brown eyes that only a horse possesses stared at me. I stared right back and found my pulse quickening. Where was their hay, where was their food, and where were their caretakers? I looked around and there was no one in the barn at all. And then a thought crossed my mind, have these horses been left behind? Are these the "less than's" that I worry about at the end of a racing meet? Surely someone was coming for them? Another horse was eating the straw in his soiled stall, and I was beginning to feel a sense of panic that I couldn't describe. I was imagining things, I told myself, too much time spent thinking about rescuing horses had made me jaded. I faintly heard my friend say "who left these horses here"?



As we both stared at each other and the horses, a van pulled up to the barn. We slowly, in our own thoughts, walked to my car. We looked back in unison to see if the proximity of the van to the barn somehow ensured that we were correct and the van was there to take the horses to the next stop, Del Mar. Surely no one would leave the horses behind, I told myself over and over again. Yes, of course don't be silly Sharla, of course someone will wrap their legs and give them a small bit of hay as they drive down the highway to make the trip less stressful, of course they will, of course they will be running in Del Mar enjoying the cool beach air, of course........ I drove home in silence.



For a story about a horse that was not forgotten read this post from The Blood Horse regarding Boule D'Or.



http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/thoroughbred-bloggers-alliance/archive/2009/07/15/boule-d-or-a-new-beginning-for-an-old-friend.aspx