Page 33 - New Mexico Horse Breeder, Fall

A vacation? It’s a luxury Juan Gonzalez
did not have when he, along with his six brothers and seven sisters were growing up in Guadalajara, Mexico. Juan has said that back then vacations were non-existent and Christmas was just another day on the calendar.
Juan Carlos was three years old when his dad arrived in El Paso to train horses. Juan Gonzalez started winning races almost immediately and the number of horses in his barn steadily grew, as did the list of owners who wanted Juan to train their horses.
And Juan Carlos became one of the early beneficiaries of his dad’s success.
“I’ve been around horses since I was little,” says Juan Carlos. “I didn’t have a typical summer like other kids—waking up at 10 or 11 in the morning and just going out to play. My dad would wake me up at 5:30 every morning and said, ‘let’s go work.’”
Juan Carlos thinks he was eight or 10 years old at the time. His dad would give him two or three horses to groom every day and at the end of the week would pay his young hand $200.
Juan Gonzalez saved most of the money for his son, but there was enough left over that Juan Carlos considered himself “the happiest kid ever.”
“There was no toy that I couldn’t have,” says Juan Carlos.
Juan Gonzalez says coming to the U.S. was “the best decision I could have made in my life.” “We could not have had the life we have here
in Mexico,” he says. “We have a comfortable, secure life. In all things, life is better here.”
Make no mistake, Juan Gonzalez is not ready to retire. He says he plans to resume training alongside Juan Carlos soon, likely when the Zia Park meet opens later this fall.
As for Juan Carlos, he says there’s no turning back.
“Yes, I’m in this game to stay,” says Juan Carlos. “I like what I do. It’s long hours, but it’s worth it. That moment when you win by two or three lengths and you have the fastest qualifying times to one of the Triple Crown races, man just that moment in and of itself makes it all worth it.”
Much more than his day job has changed in Juan Carlos’ life.
He’s a married man now. He and his high school sweetheart, Andrea Moran, were married about two and a half years ago. They met when they were sophomores in high school and dated for 12 years. Andrea grew up across the border in Ciudad Juarez and would cross the border daily to attend Loretto Academy in El Paso.
Andrea is a lawyer who does work on immigration issues and works with companies that want to bring business to the U.S. and Mexico. She holds degrees from the University of Washington and the Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston.
Juan Carlos also is an uncle for the first time. With the birth of Isabela’s son Jose Luis two years ago, Juan and Patricia Gonzalez became grandparents for the first time.
He also wants to promote and bring more exposure to the Gonzalez racing operation. And he wants to be more involved with the racing community at large. This summer, he was on the horsemen’s committee at Ruidoso Downs.
“It’s something I’ve been trying to do, get more involved, get people to know me,” he said. With all that he has going on these days,
Juan Carlos still makes sure he’s a vigilant big brother and role model for 16-year-old Manuel. “He’s influenced my life. He’s my role model
and tutor,” says Manuel.
Sometimes, brotherly love comes with a dose
of toughness.
”I stayed another month, then another month and another. Until I decided, you know what,
I’m getting paid way better than when I was
over there.
I’m enjoying it,
so why leave.”
Recently, Manuel was invited to spend a year in Europe training and playing soccer. It was
an enticing offer no doubt for a teenager who already travels extensively throughout the U.S. because of his soccer prowess. Both Juan Carlos and their dad vetoed the idea.
Naturally, Manuel asked them why he couldn’t go and Juan Carlos told Manuel it was because his education would suffer.
“I’ve had a couple of friends do that and they ended up with either a high school or middle school education,” says Juan Carlos. “They went after the dream to Europe and there’s no school involved, just train, train, train. They didn’t make it and now they’re selling cell phones.
“I told him, is that what you want, because ... risking your education. I told him, ‘here’s what I think you should do. It’s going to be up to you at the end of the day, but here’s what I think.’”
Juan Carlos told Manuel if he continues to excel, he’ll have an opportunity to go to a college in the U.S. on a soccer scholarship.
“You go all over the place and there’s scouts all over. You’re going to be recruited by many, many schools.
“He said, ‘you know what, that’s really a good idea. I hadn’t thought about it that way,’” says Juan Carlos.
Manuel says his dream is to play soccer professionally, but notes he spent more time this summer hanging around the family’s barn.
Could it be that DNA thing is getting ready to come calling again?
“I want to play soccer,” says Manuel. “But if things don’t go right, it’s possible I could become a horse trainer.”
Juan Carlos’ nephew Jose Luis Acosta is already working hard at a young age.
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