Horse Stuffed Toys and Zenyatta

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Horse Stuffed Toys and Zenyatta

Horses in general are a popular animal, making horse stuffed toys ranked right up there with the teddy bear. You would be hard pressed to find a child that hasn't asked for a horse (or a pony) at some time in their life, especially after either seeing and/or riding an equine. Since horses are a luxury not everyone can afford, horse stuffed toys are the next best thing.

If you know anything about horses and [horse] racing, you are likely quite familiar with Zenyatta the six year old female named by Oprah Winfrey as one of the most powerful [females] in America. Up until the 2010 Breeder's Cup Classic at Churchill Downs, Zenyatta, had never lost a race. Her story is the stuff of legend a rags to riches horse, bought for a mere $60,000 dollars in 2005.

Jerry Ross, the music mogul, and his wife Ann bought Zenyatta at the Kenneland September Yearling Sale for what is literally considered peanuts, in the horse world. She was suffering from a form of ringworm which is why she was so ridiculously inexpensive.

Zenyatta was born April 1, 2004 in Kentucky and was named for the band The Police, after their album entitled "Zenyatta Mondatta;" Moss was responsible for signing the group to his A & M record label that he owned with Herb Alpert.

Zenyatta didn't start her racing career until 2007 after she was schooled in Florida at the Mayberry Farm. Jeanne Mayberry and her family have literally spent a lifetime in thoroughbred racing. In Ocala, Florida, where the Mayberry Farm is located, Jeanne, her daughters April and Summer, and cousin Jacki Garcia, work to break 10 to 12 horses per year for Jerry and Ann Moss. In total, they actually break 60 to 70 horses yearly. It was Jeanne who helped the Mosses pick Zenyatta at the yearling sale and it was under the care of the Mayberry family that Zenyatta received her early training. Her first spin around a racetrack took place on a 14-acre farm located close to the Mayberry's called Plumley Farms.

Everyone connected with Zenyatta - from her trainer John Shirreffs to the Mosses says she is nothing but a dream horse. This award-winning champion is the richest North American female racehorse in history having earned 6.4 million dollars over the 18 races she has participated in and won. In the 26 year history of the Breeders Cup Classic, in 2009, Zenyatta was the first female to ever win the Grade I race. According to Laura Hillenbrand who is the author of Seabiscuit (another famous racehorse), "she's absolutely perfect in her profession, and that is very rare not just in sports but in all things. It's difficult to win even one race let alone 18." Unfortunately, the 2010 Breeders Cup Race was not to be Zenyatta lost for the very first time in her racing career by just inches.

While we would all love to have a horse like Zenyatta, with a horse stuffed animal, we most certainly can. The imagination is a wonderful thing and with it, a horse stuffed toy can be whatever or whomever you want it to be.

horse stuffed animals

large plush horse

Copyright Shelley Vassall, 2010. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.

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