Farewell to a Legend: Larry Larson Bids Adieu to Equine Photography at the 2025 Black Hills Stock Show

Larry Larson is widely recognized in the equine community, boasting a career filled with numerous championships and partnerships with industry legends, both human and animal. His achievements stemmed from a self-motivated zeal for horses, supportive mentors, and abundant opportunities, alongside countless wet saddle blankets.  

Being the third of four siblings and the sole family member captivated by horses, Larson recounted how he “begged, borrowed, and took horses from friends for years,” until he finally acquired his first horse – a bay gelding called Honda. “My father and a very patient rancher named Fritz Wientjes devised a peculiar payment arrangement, which involved delivering cases of canned food and cartons of cigarettes traded from our family store,” Larson explained. Undoubtedly, his initial horse proved to be a challenge, offering important lessons in the process.  

Growing up in the ranching region of north central South Dakota, Larson became acquainted with the horse industry in every aspect, from rodeos to ranching to the show circuit, from a tender age, describing it as a lifelong passion. His family owned a general store in the quaint town of Wakpala, located on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, and Larson is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. They relocated to Mobridge in 1963 to further their education, where Larson completed his studies in 1972.  

Throughout his high school years, Larson briefly worked at a nascent racing stable owned by Bill Mott, the son of the Mobridge veterinarian. Mott was a year ahead of Larson in school, attended the same church, and trained racehorses during his high school years. After graduation, Mott ascended to larger tracks, ultimately becoming the trainer of the champion racehorse Cigar and more recently, Codys Wish: 2023 Horse of the Year, with two Breeders Cup Championships and earnings of $3 million. Mott remains a prominent trainer at Churchill Downs and other significant Thoroughbred racetracks nationwide.  

“Initially, I became attracted to AQHA events by forming friendships and closely observing several industry figures at a young age, such as Bill McNeil, who owned a pristine property and top-notch facility on the eastern outskirts of Aberdeen, and Tom Eliason from west of Gettysburg,” Larson remarked. “McNeil possessed an extraordinary eye for outstanding Quarter Horses and had a remarkable knack for fitting and marketing them professionally.” Eliason, an AQHA judge, managed a band of broodmares and successfully showed in nearly every AQHA event available, ultimately achieving an AQHA World Championship in roping. 

After participating in 4-H with a borrowed saddle, he qualified for the state show several times over the years. The gelding Steel Gold came into Larson’s life during the mid-1970s. Together, they competed in western pleasure, and Larson secured his first Grand Championship in halter at the Fort Meade Quarter Horse Show near Sturgis in 1977. “The judge pointed at me, and I glanced behind us to see who had been designated the Grand Champion Gelding, unable to believe the win was actually ours,” he recounted. “I still proudly display that trophy today.” 

For about two decades, commencing in the early 70s, Larson exhibited professionally for others while transporting some of his own home-bred horses within a 500-mile radius of Mobridge.  

“I had just one broodmare named Big Red Princess – a Sugar Bars bred mare I impulsively purchased as Lot 1 at the first National Western Stock Show I ever attended in Denver in 1982. Each year I bred her to various stallions, and she turned out to be a producer!” he stated. “After showing her for a year, I decided to cross her with Joe Quincy, a young stallion I’d previously shown with great successes, alongside Par For The Course, Southern R Cross, and Inspirative, until I ultimately lost her to colic.” 

Her second offspring, named Parsuasive, was sired by Par For The Course, a full sibling to the AQHA Hall of Fame Inductee Zan Parr Bar. She was shown to multiple AQHA class and futurity wins as a foal remaining with the mare. That fall, she was sold to Wyoming and achieved AQHA Champion status, Superior Halter and Superior Western Pleasure, alongside being a Canadian National Champion while also earning a few barrel racing points throughout her journey. 

“At the summer show in Sioux Falls in 1984, my broodmare, her foal Parsuasive, and her yearling filly The Widow Quincy were all in the same Grand and Reserve class – a rare occurrence even today,” Larson commented. 

Larson’s final home-bred foal, Inspired By Money, was sired by Inspirative by Impressive, and he showed her as a weanling and yearling, achieving numerous class, futurity, and year-end award victories, before showcasing her in western pleasure as a 2- and 3-year-old in various classes and futurities. 

After managing the Oahe Veterinary Clinic in Mobridge beginning in 1973, Larson moved west to Rapid City in October of 1984, taking up residence in an apartment above the newly-opened Hart Ranch arena, offering riding lessons and producing a horse sale he named the ‘Hart of the Hills’ for two years. 

“One of my riding pupils was an 8-year-old girl, and her father, an ophthalmologist, attended one of her riding sessions one Saturday,” Larson shared. “The following week, he offered me a role working with him at the new Black Hills Regional Eye Institute. That day, I was being ‘silently interviewed’ during a riding lesson.” 

In addition to his role at the Eye Institute, Larson continued to train for the family and eventually managed their new Skyline Meadows Stable near Rapid City for several more years. While still working full time, he recently concluded his 40^th year at the facility in December of 2024, having worked in the surgery department for the past 25 years alongside a skilled team of surgeons and medical personnel. 

“After experiencing a slight burnout in the show arena in 1991, I decided to pursue equine photography, despite lacking any camera experience,” Larson stated. “My extensive show background helped guide me and sharpen my eye for the polished pictures, both in and out of the arena. During my two decades of professional showing, photographers were rarely present at events. In 1991, someone was photographing at the Central States Fair show, and I didn’t have any images of my three-year-old mare on the rail – or my clients’ horses – so I ordered a copy even though I recognized it was captured on the incorrect diagonal and was extremely out of focus. I pondered what I could offer the public in terms of quality work if someone could sell such shots. I spent a week in Grapevine, Texas with esteemed equine photographer Don Shugart at his final photography clinic and returned home to document a five-day Quarter Horse Show Circuit the following weekend. 

“I feel extremely fortunate to have begun with film cameras to learn and comprehend manual camera settings. With digital, many just set to auto and allow the camera to decide. Digital cameras have turned everyone into photographers. I continued to use film until 2003 and ventured into the digital realm by flying to Ocala, Florida in the spring of 2004 and training with leading equine photographers.

Jeff Kirkbride and Larry Williams – ultimately acquiring the identical Nikon D1X and complete setups they were employing.”  

Remaining uncertain about this emerging digital phenomenon, Larson kept his film camera ready in the backseat of his vehicle during the first year, just in case the digital format wouldn’t suit him. He recalls that the first equine he captured digitally was Sheza Fabulous, a product of Frenchmans Fabulous, brought forth by the Fulton Ranch at the 2004 Myers and Fulton Performance Horse Prospect Sale. Blake Knowles purchased her, and she propelled him to several of his five NFR qualifications. 

“A key lesson I’ve gleaned from my experience is that photographers are only as proficient as the subjects presented before our lenses. We’re not sorcerers, and Photoshop can’t resolve every issue. I strive to select my backgrounds thoughtfully and minimize dependence on editing beyond what is essential. The less you alter through editing, the more authentic your images become. Keep it straightforward,” Larson stated. 

Beginning in 1996, Larson organized annual equine photography workshops in Rapid City. Initially held at Hart Ranch, they have taken place at the Papendicks’ Highview Ranch just south of Rapid City for two decades. Additional sessions were conducted in Laramie, Wyoming, and Anchorage, Alaska. While showcasing ranches nationwide through photography, marketing materials, websites, and sale catalog design, Larson also writes freelance for numerous national equine publications covering sales and events since 1991 and previously served as a judge for the American Horse Publications contest for all national equine breed publications. 

“For 20 years, I managed, photographed, and assisted in organizing the Black Hills Stock Show Winter Classic Quarter Horse Show and the Black Hills Summer Circuit and Central States Fair Quarter Horse Show Circuit. I served as the official photographer for the AQHA Region Two Championship Show, the South Dakota Paint Horse Association Futurity Show in Sioux Falls, and for 20 years, the South Dakota State 4-H Show in Huron. Additionally, I documented and covered the Fizz Bomb Barrel Futurity in Gillette, Wyoming, the 5-State Breeders Futurity in Rapid City, and the Torrington, Wyoming Barrel Futurity for many years, along with the South Dakota Reined Cow Horse Association and South Dakota Cutting Horse Futurities in Rapid City.” 

During the early planning phases of all the AQHA Regional Experiences (now termed Regional Championships), Larson traveled to Amarillo to collaborate with AQHA staff and individuals nationwide to devise strategies for introducing the new shows. It was tremendously successful, and Region Two in Rapid City remains the largest Regional Championship in the country. 

“For 33 years, my summers and time off from my full-time position revolved around shows, ranch visits, and designing sale catalogs to meet tight deadlines, primarily around the Fourth of July. I’ve come to realize it’s time for me to pursue the things I’ve postponed all these years. I’ve dealt with the weather, contended with flies and winds, adapted to stallion breeding days, traveled late at night and early in the morning, set up and dismantled… all part of the career I selected and pursued with passion. This will mark a significant lifestyle alteration for me, but I’m prepared.” 

Larson mentioned that over the years, his regular clientele became like family, and he has no regrets whatsoever. 

After his treatment for lymphoma in 2007, Larson was invited to ride AQHA Hall of Fame Inductee and multiple AQHA World Champion Harley D Zip, owned by the Papendick Family of Rapid City, at a “Rein In Cancer” fundraising event during one of the finals nights at the 2009 AQHA World Championship Show in Oklahoma City. “It was an unforgettable evening – both moving and humbling,” he recounted. 

Larson is a lifetime member of the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), South Dakota Quarter Horse Association (SDQHA), and Center of the Nation Quarter Horse Association. He has been an active SDQHA member for 52 years and served as its president in 1999. He was also involved with the Rapid City Quarter Horse Association for 30 years, fulfilling roles such as president, vice president, director, editor, point secretary, and various other positions across all these associations since the early 1970s. 

His AQHA affiliations include positions as a National Director (elected in 2000), Director At Large (elevated in 2015), AQHA Foundation Ambassador, member of their Heritage Society, and committees on Marketing, International, and Hall of Fame Selection. He has also received numerous honors, such as South Dakota Horseman of the Year (2016), Black Hills Stock Show Horseman of the Year (2019), AQHA Region 2 Don Brunner Grit & Perseverance Award (2017), SDQHA Legacy Honoree (2024), and most recently, he judged the 2024 Miss Rodeo America Pageant at the 2023 National Finals Rodeo. 

Bill and Deb Myers of St. Onge, South Dakota, own Myers Performance Horses and are well-known as the proprietors of the illustrious stallion Frenchman’s Guy. Bill Myers stated that Larson has been a crucial component in their success story. 

“Larry has been a part of our program for an extensive period – I can’t even recall how long – assisting with our sale catalogs and horse photography,” Myers explained. “His craftsmanship is unparalleled; he never accepts anything less than perfection and has an exceptional eye for horses and their conformation.” 

Myers noted that Larson played a significant role in the nomination of Frenchman’s Guy to the AQHA Hall of Fame in 2023 following the stallion’s passing in 2021. The announcement was made nationally as part of the AQHA “Class of 2024” during the AQHA Convention in Las Vegas in March. His formal induction occurred in early September at the AQHA Hall Of Fame headquarters in Amarillo.   

“Larry’s commitment to our program over the years has been unwavering; he believes in us and our horses,” stated Myers. “However, more than just a professional relationship, over time, we have developed a deep friendship with Larry. We truly appreciate him beyond what words can convey.” 

Having gained national recognition and now entering his seventh decade of life, Larson quickly credits those who supported him along his journey. “I believe that those formative years spent learning from others, combined with my own experiences in the arena, were merely stepping stones that significantly contributed to what I’ve accomplished and continue to pursue today,” he expressed. “I am an all-or-nothing individual with whatever I engage in, and I think a touch of perfectionism influences every facet of my life. I’ve consistently adhered to the motto ‘Do it with passion or not at all.’ I genuinely wouldn’t have altered a single aspect.”