Steve Haskin is a veteran Blood-Horse writer who recently got the chance to visit with Zenyatta. Find out how she's adjusting to life on the farm, a pasture with friends, and if she's physically ready to become a mom.

Our vehicle, driven by David Ingordo, passed through the security gate and headed down a long tree-lined road. You could feel the anticipation. The image that came to mind was Dorothy and company heading down that long corridor to see the Wizard of Oz. Only this time there would be no shooting flames and deceptive illusions. There would be only Zenyatta, in the flesh, a million miles from the world she inhabited for the past three years.

The question on my mind was: how had one month of farm life affected her – physically and personality-wise?

As the road began to curve, leading toward the broodmare barn, four mares could be seen in a paddock, gathered alongside the fence. The hulking dark frame of one of them and the large splash of white on her face and two white hind legs made it clear even from a distance that it was Zenyatta. This time, however, there was no radiant glow or mystical aura around her, as there had been at Churchill Downs, Hollywood Park, and Keeneland; just a large mare in a large paddock silhouetted against the snow, apparently enjoying the company of her friends. All four cantered along close to the fence, never more than two or three feet from each other