Part 2, Family Farming Series
While the way of life on the farm is vanishing from urban America, some families in west central Illinois are working to keep the farm life alive and well. The farm series will showcase perceptive profiles of local families and their lifestyles that are not only unique to the times we live in but unique in their own right.

Galesburg Cowboys and Cowgirls
Focus Magazine, Family Farm Series, Part 2
By Robin DeMott

When you think about horses and cowboys you often think of the West or Texas--you don’t usually think about them being in Galesburg. Well they are in Galesburg, in fact, they are at 1800 WEST Main. Yes, the horse statue at the edge of town.
This second story of the Family Farming Series is a focus on the Wessels and DeMott families. Gary Wessels has resided on West Main Street for nearly 40 years where he owns and operates the Galesburg Horse Market--a horse sale company. Wessels has been in the horse business since he was a boy, riding and training ponies for local farmers. As a teenager, he began buying and selling horses, and then went on to auctioneer’s school after graduating from ROWVA.
Gary was raised in rural Rio where his parents, Bill and June Wessels, farmed. June had a special connection with horses, teaching most of them how to bow and lay down as well as other tricks. Gary and his brothers developed that same natural ability to work with horses as their mother.  In fact, Gary, Rick and Ben, remain very involved in the horse industry today.
Gary has held horse events and auctions for over 30 years in Galesburg, Knoxville, Peoria and throughout the Midwest. He is a licensed auctioneer by trade and knows horses like the back of his hand. One local veterinarian said of Wessels, “I know what the books say but he has the real world knowledge and experience of working with horses everyday.”
His three children, Robin, Rhonda and Wade are all avid riders, having ridden and shown horses in numerous events throughout the nation making several champion halter and pleasure horses.
Robin, and her husband, Mike DeMott, and their daughters Chelsea , 13, and Mikhayla, 10, are active in the horse industry as well. Mike and Robin met at college in Kansas where they were both on the college rodeo team. Mike competed in bareback bronc and bull riding and worked as the assistant coach. Robin competed in barrel racing on the ladies rodeo team. Later they married and moved back to the area. Now Mike farms, shoes horses and participates in area team roping events. Robin competes in barrel racing events and rodeos, gives riding lessons, is a 4-H leader, manages the office at the horse sales, as well as working at Carl Sandburg College as the director of marketing and public relations.
Chelsea and Mikhayla are founding members of the Rusty Spurs 4-H Club--the recently formed club that focuses on, of course, HORSES. Both girls have been participating in junior rodeos since they were five years old. They compete in barrel racing, pole bending, goat tying, break-away and team roping, and steer riding. They each have two horses they ride for their particular events. “What I like most about junior rodeos is being with kids who like to do what I do. We work hard to practice and cheer each other on,” says Chelsea. “It is something my family and I do every weekend. My favorite event is the steer riding, but I can only do that in Iowa, so my other favorite is team roping.”
This year, Chelsea will be competing in the sixth through eighth grade category. In years past, she has won nearly 30 buckles and in fifth grade she won the All-Around Cowgirl title bringing home her first trophy saddle. Mikhayla has won several buckles of her own for barrel racing, goat tying and pole bending. “It’s fun and you meet so many people,” says Mikhayla.
The DeMotts practice and compete in area jackpots and rodeos year-round traveling throughout Illinois and the Midwest. Mike began his rodeo career as a teenager in Kansas, team roping and bull riding and then going on to compete at the collegiate level in bull riding. He and Robin met at Ft. Scott Community College in Kansas where they both participated in the college rodeo team. Since then Mike took up steer wrestling and is now an avid team roper, heading and heeling.
            Robin grew up riding, racing and showing horses mostly for her dad’s horse sale company. “We would get new show horses each spring, train and prepare them for the show circuit, show them all summer long and sell them in the fall of every year,” said Robin. “I have been riding horses since I could walk,” she said.
            “I can’t imagine raising my girls any other way. What they learn from their horses, their chores and responsibilities is invaluable,” said DeMott. There are times it is tough--no one wins all the time--so they are learning about hard work, determination and goal setting as well as the love of animals and family. They have a true understanding of the cycle of life. They learn about life and death and winning and losing and most of all they learn about competition.
It has been said, “Horses change lives. They give our young people confidence and self esteem. They provide peace and tranquility to troubled souls—they give us hope!” And Winston Churchill said, "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”
The work ethic that one learns on a farm is hard to come by these days. If you know someone who has worked on a farm, you know they have a real understanding of work ethic and dependability.
            Rhonda, Gary’s other daughter, and her family, husband John Flack and children, Madison, 11, and Mason, 7, live in rural North Henderson. They continue to lead active farm lives as well. John is a crop and livestock farmer, Madison and Mason are also in 4-H, showing pigs and cattle, and Rhonda teaches kindergarten at the Galesburg Christian School. “No matter how many cattle we raise or how many crops we harvest, it is a blessing to at least live in the country and to pass this lifestyle and our values on to our children,” said Rhonda.
            Wade, Gary’s son, is a mechanical engineer now living in Minneapolis and returns home regularly to help with the family horse sales and team penning competitions. He regularly accompanies his dad to Michigan and Missouri for horse auctions to work along side him as a ring man. While growing up, Wade qualified several different horses for the World Show and won one reserve world championship with a halter horse. Additionally he races flat track motorcycles.
With life being so busy and everyone going in so many directions, the Wessels family still tries to get together once each year for a family trail ride. The Wessels family hosts numerous horse activities each summer including riding lessons, 4-H activities, clinics and horse shows, as well as rodeo practices and competition events.
“Some folks just think that owning horses takes too much time not to mention the expense. Working with horses teaches life’s important lessons and values,” said Gary. “Passing the tradition on from one generation to the next is what it is all about.”

Here are a couple of excellent sidebars to go with the story.

Our Pony by Don Bishop
Dad brought home a little pony
Pretty as could be
Unloaded her in the spring
I was either two or three

She led trail rides and town parades
Won the 4-H shows
Pulled our cart on birthdays
And the sleigh when it snowed.

There wasn’t time for TV
With all the things she could do.
She helped us round up pretend strays
And catch the bad guys too.

Dad always loved horses
Improving bloodlines what his dream.
But the only one he never sold
Had no pedigree
.
Now that I’m a parent,
The age dad was back then,
I know why he never sold her
She helped raise his children.

Though we never had much money,
We were the richest kids around.
With our pretty little pony
On a farm outside of town.

The Code of the West by Don Bishop.
Be loyal to the boss and the brand
Be thankful for your job
Lay down your life, if necessary for the privilege of defending your outfit
Be proud of your occupation
Be honest, courageous, and cheerful
Demand square dealings
Grant quick assistance to friends and strangers in need
Be generous with your life and money
Never make excuses
Endure hardships without complaining
Treat other with respect
Strive to be better every day
Never tolerate cowards
Share anything you own with a fellow worker
Never quit
A handshake is more binding than legal documents
A cowboy’s word is his sacred bond