Page 115 - April2022

“Carlos is very much a gentleman and a very kind person. He’s the most extremely polite person you’ve ever met in your life and he’s extremely humble. He’s not only a pleasure to be around, he’s also a pleasure to do business with.” – Butch Wise
Mr Eye Opener) – She ran third in her
been busy watching our two youngest kids play that way. It’s the Code of the West and we
All American Futurity trial last year and third in her West Texas Derby trial this year, with earnings of $23,690.
“We’re blessed to have the horses we have, and we have high hopes for all of them. I know there’s plenty of competition out there but we’re going to run with it,” Carlos says.
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE
Carlos considers his biggest challenge in racing as staying afloat. “The oilfield industry is up and down, up and down, and sometimes it comes down and you worry about what’s going to happen,” he says. “Then it goes back up and everything is great.”
When they’re not working, the family likes spending time together and traveling when they can. “We like spending time at Ruidoso watching the horses race,” Carlos says. “Right now, we’ve
basketball, and we also enjoy inviting our families over to the ranch to ride motorcycles, cook out and just spend time together.”
Among the others he’s spent time with and who influenced him in a positive way, Carlos names
his partner, Abelardo Gallegos, and Butch Wise. “Abelardo took me under his wing and taught me how to look at horses at auction and at how they run and how they breed. And Butch Wise is a kind man and respectful. I’ve asked him a thousand questions and he’s always been patient with me.”
The admiration is mutual. “Carlos is very much a gentleman and a very kind person,” Butch says. “He’s the most extremely polite person you’ve ever met in your life and he’s extremely humble. He’s not only a pleasure to be around, he’s also a pleasure to do business with. What he says is absolutely what he believes and if he tells you something, it’s
like dealing with people like that. He’s been hugely successful and we’re happy for him and for Abelardo.”
His Code of the West mentality stems from the fact that in all aspects of his life, Carlos credits his Maker first. “As you mature in
life, from being a young kid until now, and you look back, God was always with you and gave you all these blessings,” he says. “My parents were from Mexico, and we had nothing growing up, but He blessed us with so much with the people around us, the blessings of having our own business and the horses. My greatest thing that ever happened was God. Without Him we wouldn’t have anything. I wouldn’t have the horses, I wouldn’t have the business, I wouldn’t have my wife, my kids, my family and friends. My greatest achievement is having God in my life.”
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Photo Courtesy Carlos Lujan