Legacy of Iris Quarter Horses keeps winning

Warren Garrels, the man who bred Iris Royal Jess, wasn't at Prairie Meadows Oct. 13, when the three-year-old mastered his competition, running the 400-yard final in 20.026 seconds and winning the post-time favorite and fastest qualifier in the Polk County Derby.

Saturday's race was for horses that were fouled in Iowa. Health problems kept Garrels at home in Mt. Pleasant, streaming the race live. His daughter, Kerry Voelker, of Mt. Pleasant, sat next to him.

They were as nervous as if they themselves were standing on the side of the track, hearing the hoofbeats, the horses breathing hard, the jockeys hollering.

It was almost like they were there, watching as jockey Lucas Constantin saddled Iris Royal Jess as both their adrenaline surged. When the last horse was loaded into the corral, Iris Royal Jess was focused, a true athlete.

The three-year-old horse loves to race. A true competitor, he eats well, never has a sick day and always performs at the top level. The gates swung open and Iris Royal Jess galloped forward, pinning his ears back whenever another horse got close and taking off, said trainer Alex Wessels, of Lamont. Iris Royal Jess' big heart makes him hard to beat.

The celebration stretched beyond Prairie Meadows, all the way to Mt. Pleasant.

'When (Iris Royal Jess) won, it was such a feeling of excitement and happiness that all the fruits of my father's labors are still paying off,” Voelker said.

For more than 50 years, Garrels has been breeding horses like Iris Royal Jess at his farm in Mt. Pleasant. A decade ago, he was inducted into the American Quarter Horse Association hall of fame for registering a baby colt every year for 50 years. While breeding horses was a business, Garrels' deep love for it turned it into a life.

'All the care, attention and time that got poured into it over the years keeps coming back,” Voelker said. 'It makes me so happy to see him happy and tickled … It was a love for him. With the baby colts, he'd be loving them, petting them, handling them and spending hours and hours with them. They were part of the family.”

Garrels' father, Elmer Garrels, passed the trade on to Garrels and his brother Richard Garrels, who learned to break, train and jockey horses. The Garrels' family's horses became known as Iris Quarter Horses.

Voekler isn't sure if the name Iris derived for her family's love for Mt. Pleasant, the City of Iris, or for her grandfather Elmer's love for the flower. Either way, the word 'iris” is forever tied to Garrels in the horse racing business.

Grooming the next generation

Derin Blow, of Mt. Pleasant, began breeding and training horses with Garrels a little over five years ago. The friendship began at the perfect time as Garrels was no longer able to physically break the colts himself and Blow wanted to learn the business.

Garrels gave Blow the first horse he broke.

'Warren taught me the best part of racing is watching the horses be born and getting to see what they can do to run and watching them perform,” Blow said

That makes it hard when Garrels himself can no longer attend races.

Wessels trained Iris Royal Jess. His father, Kirk Wessels, was good friends with Garrels. To get to train an Iris Quarter Hourse is an absolute dream, Wessels said.

'Warren has watched me grow up, almost like a grandpa figure,” Wessels said. 'I wish we were able to celebrate with Warren that night … It still feels like he's there because Derin (Blow) is such a big part of this horse and a part of Warren.”

Blow can attest that Garrels' horses are well-known in the racing world. Blow went to Oklahoma City last year to visit a top quarter horse racing stallion ranch owned by Butch Wise. While there, Blow got to meet with Wise.

When he showed Wise the papers on his mare, Wise said to Blow, 'You have a well-bred mare here, young man. I see … you got her from Warren. I know Warren, tell him I said hi.”

Blow soon learned that wherever he goes, someone always knows Garrels.

'Warren definitely has an eye for good horses,” Blow said.

Blow helped get Iris Royal Jess to the Polk County Derby last week. Before leaving for the race, he stopped to bring Garrels pancakes and chocolate milk. On his way out the door, Garrels gave one of his classic sayings: 'Give ‘em heck.”

Wessels and Blow took the message to heart.

'It kind of almost gives you goose bumps thinking about it,” Wessels continued. 'Warren was there with us even though he was an hour and a half away. We really wanted to win for him.”

And they did, Blow said.

'A lot of people say it doesn't matter if it's a $5,000 claiming race where someone can buy your horse or the Kentucky Derby, when your horse wins that day, everyone is happy,” said Blow.

Even if they're an hour and a half away.