Land of Enchantment: Ruidoso Downs 08/26/2018

As we talk about our visit to Ruidoso, I would like to talk a little bit about the history of the town and the area.
Ruidoso was settled early on in 1840's. The Hispanos settled in this area and they called the region San Juanito. The village received its name from the Rio Ruidoso (Spanish for "Noisy River), a small stream that weaves through the city. Ruidoso is a mountain resort town that lies in the Sierra Blanca mountain range located in south-central New Mexico. It is also located in Lincoln county, home of the Lincoln County Wars and home of Billy the Kid. Rodeos and horse racing was introduced and a new wave of families arrived and settled in the village. The Ruidoso Downs Race Track saw its beginning in the 1940's. It has developed through the years as a racetrack for both thoroughbred and quarter horses. Today it is the home of the All American Futurity, the richest race in Quarter Horse racing. The Mescalero Apaches are doing well in Ruidoso. They have built a world class lodge, casino, and golf course, The Inn of the Mountain Gods. We will be playing golf on that course Tuesday.
Today Larry got up early, made coffee, and cooked a great breakfast of eggs, cheese grits, bacon, sausage, biscuits and we had Pat's homemade peach and grape jam. I asked Larry if we could expect this every day. He just laughed. After breakfast we went to the Ruidoso Downs track and watched the Quarter Horse races. We did not bet any money on the races, just enjoyed our lunch, and watched the races. This was my first visit to a horse racing track and I was impressed with the professional way it was run. The races were uneventful, except for the 8th race when one horse pulled up lame and had to be removed from the track. We can only hope the horse is going to be okay. In the 9th race a jockey suffered a spill from his horse during the race. Fortunately, we believe both horse and rider are going to be okay.
A nice day. We put out apples for the deer last night and apparently word spread through the deer community that the Hatfields were back in town and apples were flowing like wine. I am pretending to be writing this journal entry while Larry, Pat, and Linda are cooking supper. Grilled pork chops. Larry just brought in the hors d'oeuvres so I am going to wrap this up and join them. Tomorrow we have a tee time at Outlaw golf course at 11:30. Larry and Pat brought me two boxes of golf balls to use. Is that a compliment or what?