Larry Larson is well known in the horse world, with a career showcasing years of championships and associations with industry greats, both human and equine alike. His success came through a self-driven passion for horses, good mentors and great opportunities, and a lot of wet saddle blankets.
As the third of four brothers and the only family member with an interest in horses, Larson said he “begged, borrowed and stole horses from friends for years,” before he eventually got his first horse – a bay gelding named Honda. “My Dad and a very tolerant rancher named Fritz Wientjes worked out a unique payment plan, which included deliveries of cases of canned food and cartons of cigarettes bartered from our family store,” said Larson. Needless to say, his first horse was a challenge with lessons learned.
Growing up in the ranch country of north central South Dakota, Larson was exposed to the horse industry in all facets from rodeo to ranching to the horse show arena from a young age and said it has been a lifelong addiction for him. His family owned a general store in the small town of Wakpala, on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, and Larson he is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. They moved to Mobridge in 1963 to continue their educations, where Larson graduated in 1972…