Page 142 - February 2021

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THE ROAD TO DELTA EQUINE CENTER
Born to Willis and Wanda Findley in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1951, Larry Findley and his two brothers grew up around horses. “Daddy started out rodeoing and ended up roping and riding cutting horses,” he says. “He made it to fifth in the non-pro at the NCHA cutting
one year.”
Dr. Findley followed in his dad’s footsteps. “In 1969 I was roping, getting ready for the high school rodeo, and a horse came out of the stop and threw me and broke my arm,” he says. “My daddy taped my arm to my side. I was riding a horse called Old Yeller, and we’d placed second in Arkansas and went on to the national finals, and with a broken arm, I split third and fourth at the National High School Finals in San Antonio.”
His interest in horses and veterinary science led him from Arkansas to Louisiana. “A man named Lee Young had lived close to Daddy and they were lifelong friends,” he continues. “When I graduated from Fordyce [Arkansas] High School, I worked for Mr. Lee for a
couple of weeks at the racetrack. Then when my wife, Anita, and I got married in 1971, we eventually moved to Louisiana in 1972 and went to work with Lee and his wife, Shirley,
at Louisiana Stud, which was in Opelousas at the time. I worked for him breaking racehorses
at the racetrack and the stud farm and going to school at Louisiana State University (LSU) to establish residency.”
The future Dr. Findley applied to LSU’s veterinary program twice without acceptance. “I’ll never forget,” he says, “one morning on our way to Evangeline — Mr.
Lee and I would leave at 6 a.m. and I’d ride with him — I told him I’d gotten turned down a second time and that I was thinking I’d just stay with him and become a trainer. He didn’t even look at me. He was reading the commission book and driving, and he said, ‘You ain’t going to do that, boy. You’re going to be a veterinarian,’ and
I said, ‘Yes, sir,’ and I applied the next time and got accepted to LSU’s third veterinary class.”
During vet school, students would spend some weekends getting experience with Charles Graham DVM, at Southwest Stallion Station
“I worked for him (Mr. Lee) breaking racehorses at the racetrack and the stud farm and going to school at Louisiana State University (LSU) to establish residency.”
– Dr. Larry Findley Sr.,DVM
140 SPEEDHORSE February 2022
Susan Bachelor, Speedhorse