The 2012 Pioneer Horseman Award Recipient is Larry Oatman
Larry Oatman
August 16, 1940 - November 6, 2012
Larry Allen Oatman was posthumously honored on Sunday, August 25, 2013 with his wife, Judy Oatman escorted by several of his fellow farriers and friends including Ray Magnuson and Rudy Rudeen. Also present for this prestigious award were Holly and David Lefebvre, Hal and Sahleigh Pysick, along with several of Larry’s grandchildren including Kelly and husband Nate, Molly, Trevor and Levi, great grandsons Neil and Nick and some very dear friends Dick and Nancy Joyce.
Larry was born in 1940 in St. Cloud. Larry graduated from Fairbault High School and went on to attend college at Wisconsin State University in River Falls, Wisconsin. In 1973 he married Judy Carlson in Long Lake, MN.
Larry was one of those individuals who supported the Minnesota Horse Industry in ways that, while critical, were not done in a showy prominence. Some may remember the old saying “For want of a shoe, the horse was lost, for want of a horse the rider was lost, for want of a rider the battle was lost, for want of a battle the kingdom was lost.” Larry was the man who made sure the shoe wasn’t lost.
In 1955, he interned with the Tom Casey Farrier Service. He was only 15. After Serving in the U.S. Army from 1959 to 1961, he came home and established his own successful practice. In 1967 and 1968, he established the Farrier Training Program at Anoka Tech and was the head instructor and the director for Farrier Service from 1967 to 1982. He also worked with Dr. Vic Meyers at the University of MN and Ken Griener at Lake Region Veterinary Clinici in Elbow Lake.
Over the years, Larry accomplished a number of things that were appreciated by other farriers as well as his own clients. He gave lectures on the art and science of shoeing. He made an educational film for shoeing that aired on Channel 2, as well as a promotional film for Diamond Tool Company, a leading farrier supply and horseshoe manufacturer. He also designed a special ‘jump’ shoe for Diamond Tool.
His equine interests ranged from training and showing on a local, regional and even national level with his beloved Paint horses. He and his wife, Judy purchased a yearling Paint stallion, The Dutchman, who won the Texas Halter Futurity and went on to earn the title of Superior Halter. He also won a Reserve National Championship. His memberships included the The Church For The Harvest of Alexandria, the Minnesota Farriers Association and the Minnesota Paint Horse Association where he served on the Board of Directors and also as Show Chairman as welll as the American Paint Horse Association.
Larry was proud of the fact that he shod both national and world champions among multiple breeds and disciplines including Arabians, Paints, Pintos, Saddlebreds, Quarter Horses, Hunter and Jumpers, Morgans, Reiners and Cutting Horses.