Zenyatta is the Master

As I watch my favorite golf tournament with great interest, I take the time to marvel at the ability of these incredible golfers. The Masters is the perfect name for the greatest golf tournament on earth. Perhaps I appreciate their unbelievable skill just a wee bit more, because I am very familiar with what it takes to play the game well. I am a very good golfer and can play more proficiently than 99% of the world, but truth be told, I can not hold a candle to the men I am watching today. Men like Lee Westwood, Phil Mickleson, and Tiger Woods are true masters. Appreciation of this mastery, and understanding of how truly special what they can do with a golf club and ball, is something as a young man I envied. Now with a little more age, and perhaps wisdom, I find nothing but positives in watching the best in my game. For a myriad of reasons, such as amazing innate talent, a great work ethic to hone their craft, an inner peace and confidence, the courage to excel, I could go on…these greats of the sport are marvelous examples of how one of God’s creatures can reach levels of greatness that boggle the mind. I do not know how many of my readers could care less about the sport of golf, and I apologize for rambling about the game, but in watching the Masters this weekend, I find a strong correlation between these stars and a certain dark bay mare that ran on Friday. You might be familiar with her. Her name is Zenyatta, and she also boggles the mind. Watching her gives us a better understanding of the perfection that we can find in the world. Zenyatta is a master of Thoroughbred horse racing. What she can do with rider Mike Smith on her back is simply better than what other horses can do. Watch a typical stakes race anywhere in the world and you will see marvelous athletes doing what they do best. In beautiful rhythm, they run with speed and grace unlike anything else on earth. These stakes horses do it better than 99% of their breed, but truth be told, they can not hold a candle to Zenyatta. Like comparing Tiger Woods to myself on the golf course, Zenyatta is in another stratosphere. I hope we all take the time to marvel and appreciate what we have for as long as she is on the racetrack. We may never see another like her. She is a perfect 16 for 16, but more importantly, what she can do is perfection. What makes her so phenomenal? I don’t know. It is a myriad of qualities too intricate to calculate, that have all come together to create Zenyatta. On this weekend, one of my favorite weekends of the year because of the Masters golf tournament, I find joy and admiration, appreciation and marvel in Zenyatta. She is a true master, or maybe I should just take that one step farther…Zenyatta is the master.