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55 years and going strongHorse racing has been a Wessels family affair

By Dan JohnsonRegina Wessels has gotten the last laugh on her third

grade class.One day the students had to tell their classmates what

they wanted to do as adults."The whole class stood up and said what you were going

to be when you grew up," Wessels said. "I said I wasgoing to be a horse trainer and everybody laughed at me:'What do you mean?'"Sixty years later, Wessels is still doing what she

predicted. She and husband Larry are two members ofwhat is arguably the first family of Iowa quarter horseracing.The Wesselses' involvement started in their hometown of

Lamont in 1956, when Roger (Butch) Wessels, Larry'sbrother, bought his first racehorse. Soon, he got Larry andRegina involved, and then the children of each familybecame followed suit."Butch is the one that started it all," Regina said. "He was

the one that started racing. We were more into barrelracing and horse shoes. We gave Butch money and hebought a yearling for us at a sale, and from then on, wewere making (race) horses."There was competitiveness, but we knew who had the

better horse and it was always Butch.Roger's son Kirk and daughter Amy are trainers. So was

his son Mike and his late son, Jeff. Larry and Regina'sdaughter Kelly is a former trainer and now married tojockey Tom Wellington.

"They're a good family," said trainer John Hammes. "Thewhole family has been in it all their lives. They're hardworking and successful. They've paid their dues. They'revery well thought of."

Jack Coady/Coady Photography

Roger Wessels (left), who started racing horses in 1956,with daughter Amy and son Kirk, both trainers.

Jack Coady/Coady Photography

Regina (right) who trains and breeds horses with husbandLarry, is shown with daughter Kelly and granddaughterKylie.

All eight of the Wessels have trained Iowa-bred stakeswinners. All told, they have combined to win 29 stakes

races, including 23 at Prairie Meadows.Prissy Marshall, who won the 1989 Iowa Stallion

Futurity was trained by Roger and ridden by Kirk.The next year, Kirk switched to training after tiring of

cutting weight so he could ride and won the race withHobo Magic. He is one of three people to win stakes atPrairie Meadows as a jockey and a trainer, along withMark Curtis and Shannon Ritter.For 32 seasons before Prairie Meadows opened, the

Wesselses spent their summer weekends traveling to bushmeets in Iowa and Nebraska."We went when we were babies," said Amy Wessels,

who took up training after graduating from high school"We've never known anything else."There wasn't much money at the bush meets, but it didn't

matter."It was so much of our life," Regina said. "We raced a

Central City along with Butch and everyone else. We ate alot of dirt, but had a lot of fun doing it. We were alinvolved. our son galloped for us. We had a little track (atheir acreage) where we got them ready, and off we wenton Sundays."

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She said the love is still there, especially for horses she and Larry have bred."It's still a thrill to me when you raise a horse and see it from the very beginning when it's out of the mare," Regina said.

"It's different when you raise them and race them, rather than going out and buying one. You're waiting four years beforeyou find out if that horse is going to run or not and if you did the right thing in the breeding part."You get more of a satisfaction when they do well. You get more of an attachment with the horse, because you've had it

so long. When you finally win a race with it and you're getting your picture taken in the winner's circle, it's anunbelievable feeling."The Wesselses will be represented in Prairie Meadows' closing weekend stakes festival, which includes three stakes on

Friday and six on Saturday.

Larry and Regina have Shake Yor Moneymaker for the Future of Iowa. Amy will send out A Pizoli for the Terrace HillStakes.Kirks 10-year-old Cruzin To Victory, fresh off a win against open company in the Prairie Meadows Bonus Challenge,

will try to win the Terrace Hill Stakes for the third time in his career. He was part of an Iowa foal crop that included TrsDashin Rona and Tal Task, who are also still winning at age 10."I don't know if I'll ever have another horse like him," Kirk said. "Horses just don't last like that. It's unbelievable."He also has Pyc Biscuit, a sharp first-time starter in his trial, in the Jim Bader Futurity, and Wheres Your Wagon for the

Polk County Derby.Kirk works at a door factory in Dyersville. While he trains at Prairie Meadows and is helped by his son Alex, a student a

Iowa State, his wife and son Tanner help care for the horses on their farm."We love doing it," he said. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be driving 150 miles to come here. "The thrill is still there," Kirk

Wessels said. "I still have the want-to to win, believe me. When I don't have the drive anymore, you won't see me here. I

doesn't matter if it's a $5,000 claiming race or one of the bigger stakes, I want to win. When it's not much a thrill to me, I'lbe out."It's been very good to us. A lot of people have been real good to me.

De Passem Okey wins Covered BridgesDe Passem Okey completed a sweep of Prairie Meadowsdistance races for quarter horses by coasting to a 3-lengthwin in the $26,500 Covered Bridges Stakes.The Covered Bridges is one of two 870-yard stakes held atPrairie Meadows. The first was the Prairie Meadows

Distance Challenge that De Passem Okey won on Sept. 2.He and First to Ramble (2008) are the only two horses towin both races.De Passem Okey took the lead midway through the farturn. In the stretch, jockey Stormy Smith kept him under ahand ride while taking a peak under his shoulder to makesure he was keeping safely in front of Lfr Simply TheBest. His time was 45.278 seconds.

Jack Coady/Coady Photography

De Passem Okey, ridden by Stormy Smith, takes theCovered Bridges Stakes by three lengths.

I could have rocked a little bit further than that, Smithsaid of the margin. Thats one of the most automatichorses I ever rode. Hes something special. Hes neat, herelaxes, he rates good. Thats probably the easiest 870

horse Ive ever ridden in my life.

It was the fourth win in De Passem Okey's last five startsdating back to his November win in the national finals ofthe Distance Challenge. It was his eighth win in 11 startssince owner Steve Holt claimed him for $7,500 out of arace at Remington Park in April 2010. He has earned morethan $200,000 since.We thought hed be a good horse, but we were jus

hoping he could win a race, said Holt, who is fromGuthrie, Okla. And hes won a bunch. They just mature

a little bit. Hes gotten stronger and hes just grown. Hewas a little underweight and we felt like he could improveNobody knew he was this good.

Its an honor to have a horse like this. Hes kind of ourpet. He loves what he does. When hes done racing, helbe at my ranch. I never dreamed I had a champion. And De Passem Okey might be getting better after havingknee chips removed at the end of 2010.I really think he feels better this year, Holt said. Hehad those chips, and hes really sound now. From whatIve been told, next year ought to be his best year.Holt said De Passem Okey will race twice more this year,with his next start being the Herman Jefferson Stakes atZia Park.